hard (life); tough (world)
elevation; rise; improvement; advancement; progress
to spend; to expend; to waste; to squander; to devote
sports club (e.g. at school); sports department (e.g. in a newspaper)
emergency food distribution (esp. cooked rice)
periodic; regular; routine
external; foreign (e.g. relations); public (e.g. image)
so; accordingly; now; then; thereupon; therefore
magic; Magic Marker; felt-tip pen; magic number
dinner party; ceremonial dinner; dinner meeting (or lunch, breakfast)
every month; each month; monthly
theme; topic; subject matter; motif; project; slogan
degree of recognition; level of familiarity; visibility (product)
coincident with; while; simultaneously
favorable reception; good reputation; popularity
new menu item; new dish on a menu
addition; supplement; appending; appendix
roughly; approximately; (cutting) in one stroke; (breaking apart) with vigour; (cutting) deeply; (splitting) wide open
approval; agreement; support; favour; favor
concrete; definite; specific; material; substantial
estimate (of costs); budget
high class; high grade; high rank; seniority
last third of a month; 21st to the last day of a month
to pile up; to heap up; to stir up; to enliven; to bring to a climax
candidate; contender; prospect; candidacy; candidature; nomination
with a click (door sound); with tenseness or firmness
through; throughout; in the course of; all over or throughout (e.g. a place)
drawer; withdrawal (of money from an account); variety of knowledge and experience useful for handling things impromptu
competent; suitable; qualified
dropping in on the way; stopping off at; making a side trip; going the long way round; making a detour
song; singing; classical Japanese poem (esp. tanka); modern poetry
lifting a ban; raising an embargo; opening a season (hunting, fishing, etc.); publishing contents; revealing information
The Phantom of the Opera (musical, novel, film, etc.)
full of (e.g. mistakes); riddled with; covered all over with (blood, mud, etc.)
to be (in contrast to something that is not the case)
song lyrics; words of a song; libretto
to drag along; to pull; to force someone along; to prolong; to drag out; to influence strongly
please; somehow or other; one way or another
standard; basis; criterion; norm; reference; datum
shamisen; samisen; three-stringed Japanese lute