stage; step; level; rank; order; stairs
to become better; to improve
betterment; improvement; kaizen (Japanese business philosophy of continuous improvement)
it does not mean that ...; I don't mean that ...; it is not the case that...
total darkness; pitch dark; bleak future; poor prospects
before one's eyes; under one's nose; immediate (e.g. interests); present; foresight; near future
such; like that; that sort of; very
to pile up; to stack; to load (car, ship, etc.); to pack; to acquire; to accumulate
sauce; Worcestershire sauce
odour; odor; scent; aura; whiff; smacks of ...
completely exhausted; dog-tired; dreadfully weary; terribly frustrated; limp; weak
to sit down (and refuse to move); to sit-in (in protest)
(in a) long time; long time (ago); while (ago); long ago; long while (ago); (in a) long while
deep (colour); dark; strong (flavour, smell, etc.); thick (consistency); dense; strong (possibility, etc.)
takoyaki; octopus dumplings
to be prominently ...; to be persistently ...
flavor; flavour; charm; appeal; experience; taste (e.g. of victory)
to pierce; to penetrate; to sting (wound or sensitive area, etc.); to smart; to be infected (with vice); to be steeped (with prejudice)
to use (a thing, method, etc.); to make use of; to use (a person, animal, puppet, etc.); to employ; to use (time, money, etc.); to spend
is that so? (generally rhetorical)
to come to one's senses; to calm down
to take in one's hand; to pick up; to obtain
pale; pallid; bluish-white
fascinating; voluptuous; bewitching; captivating
temptation; allurement; lure; enticement; seduction
light; well-lit; bright (of a colour); brightly-coloured; cheerful; bright; encouraging (for the future of a project, etc.)
somehow; for some reason; without knowing why
to draw or pull something towards oneself (e.g. chair)
club activities; extracurricular activities
just (now); quite (near); unintentionally; subconsciously
to approach; to draw near; to gather (in one place); to come together; to stop by (while on one's way to another place); to drop by; to grow old
to compare (something) to; to liken; to speak figuratively; to use a simile; to use a metaphor
to be sullen; to be offended; to be huffy; to be stuffy; to be stifling; to be muggy
contour; outline; summary; outline; looks; features
to raise one's face; to lift one's head; to raise one's eyes
space; air; midair; (from) memory; (by) heart
to loiter; to putter; to prowl; to wander about; to roam about; to knock around
basket (shopping, etc.); hamper; cage
imprisonment; captive; prisoner
Latin-Japanese (e.g. dictionary)
sad fate; tragic doom; ill fate