duty; obligation; responsibility
goblin; apparition; monster; ghost; phantom; spectre
to tie; to bind; to bear (fruit); to close (e.g. deal); to confirm; to connect (two distant places); to close tightly
natural; right; proper; naturally; as a matter of course; rightly
injury; harm; evil influence; damage
to form; to make; to build up (e.g. a fortune); to create; to accomplish; to achieve; to change (into)
to bare one's fangs; to snarl (at)
judgement; judgment; decision; ruling; finding; adjudication
target; object (of worship, study, etc.); subject (of taxation, etc.); coverage
to attack; to go for; to come at; to pounce on; to jump on; to swoop down on
the more ... the more ...; as; (arch.) while; (arch.) during; (arch.) because; (arch.) since
vast; extensive; immense; huge; large; grand
appearance of written words; impression given by written letters, characters, etc.; literal meaning (of a piece of writing); superficial meaning; face (of a piece of type)
theory; reason; logic; (unreasonable) argument; strained logic; excuse
to wear the mantle of (borrowed) authority and misuse it
this way; this direction; here; this (one); I; me
common sense; good sense; common knowledge; general knowledge; common practice; accepted practice
as if; as though; (not) at all; (not) in the slightest; really; completely
to be open (to traffic); to lead (to); to flow (of a liquid, current, etc.); to pass (through); to be conveyed (of an intention, meaning, etc.); to be understood (by); to be well versed (in)
isolation; being alone; being friendless
than; rather than; instead of; from; out of; except
to save up; to stockpile; to stash away; to hoard; to amass; to salt away
easy; likely to ...; have a tendency to ...; easy to ...
How did you like ...?; How about ...?; What's going on?; How's it going?
downward spiral; negative spiral; vicious circle
wicked person; evil person; bad child; naughty child; bad thing; mischief
to decline (of morals, character, etc.); to become vulgar (e.g. of a conversation); to stoop (to); to be ruined; to go under; to fall (into hell)
outward appearance; ostensible; public; official
reason; grounds; pretext; excuse; motive
evil; wickedness; (role of) the villain (in theatre, etc.); the bad guy
organization; organisation; structure; construction; system (e.g. railroad, transport, party, etc.); tissue; texture (of a rock)
to pick up; to gather; to find (and pick up; something someone has dropped); to select; to choose; to get (unexpectedly); to hit upon (luck, an opportunity, etc.)
anti-; antithesis; fanqie; traditional Chinese spelling system in which two characters are used: the first one for the onset, the second one for rhyme and tone
society; public; community; social studies
to cling to; to hang onto; to rely on; to depend on; to implore; to entreat
chain; series; connection; linkage
state of affairs; situation; conditions; circumstances
to step on; to tread on; to set foot on (e.g. foreign soil); to stand on; to experience; to undergo; to follow (rules, principles, etc.)
in short; in a word; to sum up; to put it simply; to make a long story short; after all
everything; all; the whole; entirely; completely; wholly
key; lock; key (to a problem, success, etc.); clue