sky; air; ether; firmament; the heavens
palace; tonic (of the Japanese and Chinese pentatonic scale); ancient Chinese punishment (castration for men, or confinement for women); zodiacal sign
poor; meagre; meager; feeble; scanty; shabby
birth; birthplace; born in (country, month, imperial era, zodiac year, etc.)
reference; bibliographical reference; consultation; browsing (e.g. when selecting a file to upload on a computer); checking out
calculation; reckoning; count; forecast
it cannot be that...; it is highly unlikely that...; it is impossible that...
to be enigmatic; to be puzzling; to be wrapped in mystery
whispering; whisper; secret talk; murmur
mimicking someone's speech; imitating someone's way of speaking; mimicry
to erase; to drown out (e.g. a voice); to make disappear
Chinese "star" constellation (one of the 28 mansions); Singapore
rank; place (e.g. first place); decimal place; counter for ghosts
to come out; to appear; to turn up; to emerge
tail end; tailender; last person (to arrive, finish etc.); ass; arse; butt
word game; wordplay; playing with words
influence; effect; to influence; to affect; to have an influence on
in comparison with; when compared with; according to; in light of; in view of
to change completely; to change suddenly
to curse (at someone); to call someone names; to speak bitterly
serious; not joking; straight
to catch up (with); to draw level; to pull even; to be compensated; to make up for one's losses
banzai; hurray; something to cheer about; something worthy of celebration; eternal life and prosperity
to appear in the newspaper
blunder; fault; error; mistake; failure; disgrace
(special) correspondent (e.g. for a newspaper); representative; delegate
clumsiness; awkwardness; ineptitude
disappearance; running away; going missing; absconding
uncertain; vague; ambiguous
to be frowned on; to invite frowns of disapproval; to displease (people); to disgust
young person; servant; errand boy in a samurai family; person of lowly status
to be answerable (for); to take the blame
in regard to; concerning (usu. of disputes)
government service; the bureaucracy