a few years ago; some years back
to be crushed; to be squashed; to go bankrupt; to go under; to be ruined (of a plan); to be cancelled; to be lost (of one's voice, eyesight, sense of smell, etc.)
cram school; private tutoring school
trace; tracks; site; remains; scar
multi-floor building; multi-storey building; bill; check; bill; promissory note
one house; the same house
(measuring) scale; rule; scale; scope; (musical) scale; weighing scale
cram school; private tutoring school; juku
advance (into a new market, industry, etc.); expansion (into); launch (into); advance (to the next round of a competition)
major company; big company; front castle gate; force attacking the front of a castle
preparatory school (for entrance examinations); cram school; cramming school
like; similar to; something like ...; someone like ...
invasion (e.g. of a country); raid; aggression
to match; to be a match for; to rival; to equal; to compare with
evacuation; withdrawal; revocation; repeal; retreat
running off in the night (to leave one's old life behind, e.g. to get away from debt); moonlight flit; skipping town overnight; upping and leaving under the cover of darkness; midnight vanishing act
sense of impending crisis; sense of danger
to follow (a road, path, etc.); to trace; to follow (a clue, scent, tracks, plot, etc.); to trace (a route, history, family tree, etc.); to head towards (of a situation); to go in the direction of
even if I say so myself; for me (to do such a thing)
to be amazed; to be shocked; to be astonished; to be astounded; to be disgusted; to be exasperated
yo!; hello there!; wow!; oh!; yah! (yell)
to wait; to await; to look forward to; to depend on; to need
specialist; expert; professional; authority; pundit
to play dumb; to feign ignorance; to play the fool; to be in one's dotage
(spoken) line (in a play, film, comic, etc.); one's lines; comment; remark; stock phrase; set phrase
to go out to meet; to receive; to call for; to summon; to accept (e.g. as a member of a group or family); to take (e.g. a wife)
storey; story; stairs; stage (in chronostratigraphy); counter for storeys and floors of a building
blond hair; blonde hair; golden hair
depiction; description; portrayal
omitting (reluctantly); leaving out; dropping; giving up (reluctantly); parting with; sharing
depending on; as soon as; immediately after; as (e.g. "as one is told", "as one wishes"); whatever (e.g. "whatever is at hand"); order; program
a little; a bit; somewhat; slightly; rather
dramatization (e.g. of a novel); dramatisation; adaptation (for the stage or screen); embellishment (of the facts); exaggeration; dramatization
to add (one thing to another); to add (a few more words, an explanation, etc.)
clothes (esp. Western clothes); clothing; dress; counter for doses of medicine, gulps of tea, puffs of a cigarette, etc.
middle-aged man; Buddhist priest
(religious) faith; belief; creed
target; object (of worship, study, etc.); subject (of taxation, etc.); coverage
easy; likely to ...; have a tendency to ...; easy to ...