preface; foreword; introduction; beginning; start
thing; matter; incident; occurrence; circumstances; situation; work
indicates possessive; nominalizes verbs and adjectives; substitutes for "ga" in subordinate phrases; indicates a confident conclusion; indicates emotional emphasis; indicates question
first of all; in the first place; to begin with; for starters
grandfather; old man; kyogen mask used for the role of an old man
indicates sentence topic; indicates contrast with another option (stated or unstated); adds emphasis
already; yet; soon; shortly; further; more
to be (of animate objects); to exist; to stay; to be ...-ing; to have ...-ed; to be ...-ed
beginning; opening; start; outset
from; since; through (e.g. a window, door); via; because; as; from (as in "made from")
very; extremely; terrible; horrid; remarkable; extraordinary
violence; assault; rough (handling, language, etc.); reckless; rape; sexual assault
talk; speech; topic; subject; discussions; negotiation; rumor
indicates the subject of a sentence; indicates possession; but; however; and; used after an introductory remark or explanation; regardless of ...
possibly; apparently; (seem) likely; somehow or other; with difficulty; barely
this; this one; this person; now; this point (in time); here; used to stress the subject of a sentence
to move; to shift; to inspire; to rouse; to change; to alter; to operate
very difficult to ...; nearly impossible to ...
fact; truth; reality; in fact; actually
this; last (couple of years, etc.); these; you (as in "you liar")
called; named; as many as; as much as; all ...; every single ...
fellow; guy; thing; object; he; she
at; in; to; toward; to; for; because of
to become; to get; to result in; to turn out; to consist of; to be composed of; to be completed
day; days; sun; sunshine; (the) day; daytime; date
to ascend (as a natural process, e.g. the Sun); to rise; to be promoted
and; besides; because; since; the thing is; for one thing
noon; midday; daytime; lunch
if; when; and; as well as; with; together with; used for quoting (thoughts, speech, etc.)
hopeless; futile; no use; beyond help; cannot be done
matter; thing; affair; circumstance
to close one's eyes; to lower one's eyelids; to shut one's eyes; to die; to breathe one's last
ear; hearing; ear (for music, etc.); edge; crust; ear (of a pot, jug, etc.)
indicates direct object of action; indicates subject of causative expression; indicates an area traversed; indicates time (period) over which action takes place; indicates point of departure or separation of action; indicates object of desire, like, hate, etc.
to stop up; to close up; to stand in the way; to obstruct; to occupy; to fill up
feigned ignorance; pretending not to know
to take for granted; to assume; to pretend (to be); to pose (as); to go through with (what one decided to do); to persist in doing
by the way; incidentally; well; even if; no matter (what, where, how, etc.)
it does not mean that ...; I don't mean that ...; it is not the case that ...
to take (a resource, e.g. time or money); to hang; to come into view; to arrive; to come under (a contract, a tax); to start (engines, motors); to attend
severe; strict; hard (to do); difficult; intense (e.g. cold); harsh (weather)
reality; actuality; hard fact
in front (of); before (e.g. a building); before; earlier; (the) front; frontal part; forward
to do; to carry out; to cause to become; to make (into); to serve as; to act as; to wear (clothes, a facial expression, etc.)