main cause; primary factor
laying the groundwork; behind-the-scenes maneuvering; consensus-building process; digging around the roots of a tree (before transplanting)
duty; obligation; responsibility
admiration; being impressed; admirable; praiseworthy; astonishment; being appalled
to be perturbed; to be agitated
posture; pose; position; attitude; approach; stance
benefactor; patron; person to whom one owes a great deal; person to whom one is (deeply) indebted
shield; buckler; escutcheon; pretext; excuse; grounds (for)
to appear; to come in sight; to become visible; to be expressed (e.g. emotions); to become apparent (e.g. trends, effects)
happy; auspicious; propitious; naive
(apparently) that's what it's like, isn't it; that sort of (thing mentioned immediately prior)
one-sided; unilateral; arbitrary
false accusation; trumped up-charge; pretext; statement that cannot be retracted; saying something one cannot take back
precipitous; rugged; inaccessible; grim; severe; stern
character (esp. kanji); letter; handwriting; penmanship; the ... word (e.g. "the L word" = "love")
polite; courteous; civil; careful; close; thorough
(dead) body; corpse; remains
this is why; that is the reason why; it is the case that; so; thus; with that
immediately; at once; soon; before long; easily; readily
hard worker; hardworking person
battlefield; battleground
brave; courageous; gallant; valiant; heroic
soldier; combatant; warrior
interrogative sentence-ending particle expressing doubt
to cut into (a conversation); to interject
diligent; earnest; attentive to detail; brisk (working, moving); frequent (e.g. checking)
gradually; by degrees; little by little; steps; stairs; staircase
they; those guys; those fellows
always; constantly; at all times; habitually
polite; courteous; careful; close; overly courteous; overly careful
to drop by; to stop by; to drop in; to approach; to draw near; to come close (to)
to put a burden on; to tax (e.g. strength)
opportunely; conveniently; at the right time
to take home; to carry home; to bring back home; to take out (e.g. food)
difficult to imagine; quite unlikely to; very doubtful; would not expect
to carry out (of somewhere); to transport; to take out
complicated; complex; intricate; confusing; difficult; troublesome
oneself (itself, etc.); I; me; you; by oneself (itself, etc.); interjection expressing anger or chagrin
property; fortune; assets
(doing) together; one lump; one mixture; the same; identical; (at) the same time
outside ...; beyond ...; not included in ...
unlawful; illegal; unreasonable; outrageous; unjust
bothersome; tiresome; bother to do
to exchange blows; to hit each other; to punch each other; to fight
the one before last; two generations, etc. previous