sensible; perceptive; quick to understand; understanding; sympathetic
to change the subject (e.g. away from something awkward or inconvenient)
to be born and raised (in); to be born and brought up; to be born and bred
foolish; idiotic; stupid; ridiculous; absurd
your native country; your hometown; my home country (i.e. Japan); countryside; country; (arch.) daimyo's territory (Edo period)
poor (at); weak (in); not very good (at); not one's cup of tea; not one's favorite
to include (in a group or scope); to instruct; to make one understand; to include (a nuance); to put in (an implication); to put in (someone's) mouth
internal conditions; true state of affairs
to search about for; to hunt around for; to look high and low for; to look everywhere for
sashimi (raw sliced fish, shellfish or crustaceans)
to become possible; to become able to (do)
statesman; administrator; politician; policymaker
duty; function; office; mission; task
insight; discernment; perception; perspicacity; acumen
detective; investigator; sleuth; detective work; secret investigation
to lie in wait (for); to be on the watch (for); to wait (for); to watch (for)
the past; bygone days; one's past (that one would prefer remained secret); past (tense); preterit; previous life
important; serious; valuable; precious; serious matter; major incident
personal feelings; self-interest
to fail to hear something; to miss; to act as if one didn't hear something; to let a remark slide
to begin some form of lifestyle
bottom layer; undermost layer; lowest (societal) class; bottom (economic) stratum; lowest caste
higher rank; better position
very interesting; of great interest
friendly; easy to get on with; easy to talk to; easy to like
carefree; buoyant; lighthearted; ease
to touch; to come in contact with; to receive (e.g. visitor); to attend to; to receive (news); to get; to encounter
on the sea; on the ocean; offshore
completely; absolutely; (not) at all; (not) a bit; earnestly; intently
getting mixed up in; getting embroiled in; involvement; entanglement; by-blow
bombarding; shelling; bombardment
prior; beforehand; in advance; before the fact; ex ante
fighting back; returning fire; counter-attack; responding to an attack; accepting a challenge
to rank next to; to come after
very hard; with utmost effort; as hard as one can; with all one's might; for dear life; eagerly
to delay; to postpone; to put off; to slow down; to hold up; to retard
person concerned; people involved (in an event); those concerned; staff