late blooming (flower, talent); late flowering
natural; intrinsic; from birth
aptitude; aptness; suitability
tone (of voice); parlance; style; intonation; accent
to look young; to seem young
working; in operation; running; active
... is the reason; ... is my excuse
good luck; fortune; happiness; harvest; yield
virtue; benevolence; profit; benefit
elder sister; effeminate man
the big two...; two major...; two main...
to support; to back up; to revive (e.g. a company); to boost (e.g. morale); to bring up; to raise
Muromachi period (1333-1573)
illegitimate family lineage
to be left in the dust (of); to be outdone (by); to be subordinate (to); to play second fiddle (to); to take second billing (to)
rise and fall; ups and downs; welfare; vicissitudes
disturbance; agitation; commotion; upheaval; riot
of established reputation; fully established; (universally) recognized; acknowledged; leading
worldly wise; sophisticated; street smart; knowledge of the world (acquired in the school of hard knocks); toughness
inborn; innate; inherent; a priori
to be awarded (e.g. a prize); to be given an award; to be gifted or endowed (e.g. with a talent); to be blessed (e.g. with a child); to be initiated (e.g. into a secret)
bringing up (one's daughter) like a princess
thoroughbred (horse); person of lineage; blue-blood
filling (up) a hole; filling in (for a gap, vacancy, etc.); stopgap; making up (for a loss, damage, etc.); covering (a deficit); cloze deletion (test format)
sub; substitute; reserve; sub-
chitter; chatter; giggle; screeching; squealing
pouring one's energy into; focusing one's efforts on; concentrating on; committing oneself to
about 80%; almost certainly; mostly
Kshitigarbha (bodhisattva who looks over children, travellers and the underworld); Ksitigarbha; Jizō
temple hall with a Kshitigarbha (Jizo) image
optimization; optimisation
travel planning; travel plans
self-esteem; self-respect; self-importance; conceit; pride