these days; nowadays; present day; at this time (of the day)
educational institution; school; academy; campus
participation; joining; entry; adherence
attractive; good-looking; stylish; cool; smooth; neat
misunderstanding; mistaken idea; wrong guess
valuable; worthwhile; worthy; worth doing
plain; frank; candid; open; direct; straightforward
these guys; these fellows
to screw up; to put the screws on (a person); to constrict (someone, something)
to drink up; to drain (cup)
yum cha; eating snacks (esp. dim sum) with tea
tea drinking; teahouse; tearoom; coffee lounge
qipao; cheongsam; mandarin dress
wearing (e.g. uniform, seat belt); having on
qipao; cheongsam; mandarin dress
O-Bon; Obon; Bon Festival; tray
to pick up; to find; to gather
to be seen; to be in sight; to look; to seem; to come
to anyone; to everyone; by anyone; by everyone; in everyone; in anyone
feeling; sense; impression
most; highest; maximum; best; wonderful; finest
as expected; sure enough; after all (is said and done); in the end; too; also
to attach; to join; to furnish (a house with); to wear; to put on; to keep a diary; to make an entry
string bikini; g-string; thong
to turn up; to roll up (e.g. sleeves); to do over and over again; to do relentlessly; to stage a comeback (against) (in mahjong, horse racing, etc.); to come from behind
though; notwithstanding; although
to become stiff (of muscles); to get absorbed in; to develop a passion for; to be elaborate; to be intricate
as one would expect; just as you'd expect (from); still; all the same; even ... (e.g. "even a genius")
fresh; refreshing; invigorating; clear (e.g. voice); fluent; eloquent
safe (e.g. choice); secure; innocuous; acceptable; passable; satisfactory
to make use of aizuchi; to back-channel; to throw in interjections to show that one is paying attention
somehow; for some reason; without knowing why
to pull; to tug; to draw (attention, sympathy, etc.); to attract (e.g. interest); to draw back (e.g. one's hand); to draw in (one's chin, stomach, etc.); to draw (a card, mahjong tile, etc.)
difficult problem; challenge
to pass through; to pass by; to pass (of time); to elapse; to have expired; to have ended; to exceed
to that extent; to that degree; so much; so
pure; true; genuine; unmixed