participant; entrant; player; competitor
rapid increase; sharp rise; proliferation; surge; explosion
terrible; dreadful; terrifying; surprising; startling; tremendous
conformity; alignment; tuning; same tone; same pitch
judging from; on the basis of; from the point of view of
stupid; meaningless; worthless; hopeless (person, situation); beyond help; beyond saving
pillow; bolster; introduction (e.g. to a rakugo story); lead-in
to turn over; to turn upside down; to knock over; to tip over; to overturn (e.g. a decision); to upset
to be conceivable that; to be thinkable that
gate (for entry, boarding, etc.); gate; logic element
and so on; and so forth; et cetera; comment; criticism
to forget completely; to leave behind
simply; merely; only; solely
now that you mention it; come to think of it; that reminds me; on that subject; speaking of which
to go out of use; to become obsolete; to die out; to decline (e.g. of morals); to be lost; to go into decline (of a town, business, etc.)
to harm; to hurt; to fail to do; to do amiss; to almost do; to come close to doing
just now; at this moment; at this point of time
incomprehensible; mysterious; inexplicable; inscrutable; enigmatic; baffling
depending on; dependent on
appearance; emergence; advent; arrival; showing up; coming to existence
humorous; funny; amusing; enjoyable (e.g. life); pleasant; fun
to do (something negative); to make (a blunder); to commit (an error); to eat (up); to drink
to colour; to color; to apply make-up; to decorate; to garnish
facial expression; countenance; look; appearance; expression (vocal, etc.)
to put on airs; to assume importance; to be self-important; to be pretentious; to be pompous; to stand on one's dignity
to be disconnected; to get out of place; to miss the mark; to get it wrong (e.g. guess, expectation); to be removed; to be excluded
stupid; meaningless; worthless; hopeless (person, situation); beyond help; beyond saving
before one knows it; before one realises; without one's knowledge; without noticing
judging from; on the basis of; from the point of view of
human relations; personal relationships
awkward (movements, speech, etc.); jerky; stiff; strained (relations); sour
obstruction; impediment; hindrance; inhibition; blocking; check
to spread (of a rumour, news, etc.); to travel; to be handed down (from generation to generation); to be passed down; to be introduced (to a country, region, etc.); to be brought; to be conveyed (of a feeling, impression, etc.)
same feeling; same sentiment; same opinion; sympathy; agreement; concurrence
act (usu. undesirable); action; deed; conduct
to make matters worse; besides; what's more; in addition; on top of that
steady; honest; sober; straightforward; reliable
before one knows; before one becomes aware of; unnoticed; unawares
to decrease (in size or number); to diminish; to abate
registration; accession; register; entry; record; subscription
reality; actuality; actual conditions; ultimate reality; absolute truth