to sing; to sing (one's praises in a poem, etc.); to compose a poem; to recite a poem
indicates possessive; nominalizes verbs and adjectives; substitutes for "ga" in subordinate phrases; (at sentence-end, falling tone) indicates a confident conclusion; (at sentence-end) indicates emotional emphasis; (at sentence-end, rising tone) indicates question
indicates sentence topic; indicates contrast with another option (stated or unstated); adds emphasis
song; singing; classical Japanese poem (esp. tanka); modern poetry
singer; vocalist; nagauta singer (in kabuki); singer of noh chants
cat (esp. the domestic cat, Felis catus); shamisen; geisha; wheelbarrow; clay bed-warmer; bottom; submissive partner of a homosexual relationship
indicates sentence subject (occasionally object); indicates possessive (esp. in literary expressions); but; however; regardless of; whether (or not)
at (place, time); in; to (direction, state); toward; for (purpose); because of (reason); for
to place on (something); to give (someone) a ride; to give a lift; to load (luggage); to carry; to send out (on the airwaves, etc.); to deceive
to express in a refined fashion; to weave a web of words
that; the; part (as in "part two"); um ...; er ...
vocal sound; tone of voice
water (esp. cool, fresh water, e.g. drinking water); fluid (esp. in an animal tissue); liquid; flood; floodwaters; water offered to wrestlers just prior to a bout
small stream; brooklet; murmuring (as of a stream)
like; similar to; as with; in the same way
flame; blaze; flames (of intense emotion, e.g. love, jealousy, anger); passion
violent; furious; extreme; intense; fervent; vehement
avenue; street; coming and going; street traffic; flow (of water, air, etc.); transmission (of sound); reach (e.g. of voice)
to appear ...; to look like ...; to seem ...; to have a trace of; to be tinged with
pluralizing suffix (esp. for people and animals; formerly honorific)
to think; to consider; to think (of doing); to plan (to do); to judge; to assess; to imagine
to stop walking; to pause
to be befuddled (with drink); to be intoxicated; to be infatuated; to be entranced; to be carried away
every day; daily; day after day; days (e.g. good old days)
tumult; great noise; clatter; hustle and bustle
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 forget; to leave carelessly; to be forgetful of; to forget about; to forget (an article)
moment; brief space of time
intoxication; being carried away by; being enraptured by
to taste; to savor; to appreciate; to enjoy; to experience; to go through
to be transparent; to be see-through; to be clear; to be clear (voice, sound)
nail (e.g. fingernail, toenail); claw; plectrum; pick; hook; clasp
argument; discussion; theory (e.g. of evolution); doctrine; essay; treatise
if; when; and; with; used for quoting (thoughts, speech, etc.); promoted pawn; indicates a question
bowstring; string (of a shamisen, etc.); stringed instrument; chord; hypotenuse
to flip; to snap; to repel; to use (an abacus); to calculate; to strum
sound; noise; note; fame; Chinese-derived character reading
to be piled up; to lie on top of one another; to come one after another; to happen over and over; to overlap (each other); to occur at the same time
to spill; to fall out of; to peek through; to become visible (although normally not); to escape (of a smile, tear, etc.)
language; dialect; word; phrase; speech; (manner of) speaking
to sit; to squat; to assume (a position); to hold steady; to hold still