it's OK to ...; it's best to ...; it's alright to ...
to speak distinctly; to speak clearly; to put it bluntly; to get to the point; to be frank
heave-ho; oops; yes; yeah
red bean paste; red bean jam; filling (e.g. of a manjū); stuffing; padding
kinako mochi; mochi sprinkled with sweetened soy flour
having; holding; wear; durability; charge; expense
linkage; entanglement; involvement; relationship; interaction
to be in high spirits; to be full of vigor (vigour); to be enthusiastic; to be eager; to stretch to breaking point
completion; conclusion; perfect (tense, form, aspect)
mochi; (sticky) rice cake
freshly pounded (rice cake)
rice cakes; pounded mochi rice
to melt; to thaw; to fuse; to dissolve
midwinter; cold season; coldest days of the year
soup containing rice cakes and vegetables (New Year's dish)
osechi; food eaten during the New Year's Holidays
New Year (esp. first three days); first month of the year; January
noodles with duck meat and Welsh onions
New Year's Eve; December 31
chicken; coward; scaredy-cat; chicken
winter vacation; winter holidays
indicates two contrasting actions; (arch.) indicates possessive (often found in place names and compound words)
to perform; to do; to conduct oneself; to carry out
mass meeting; convention; tournament; competition; grand event
established practice; custom
every year; yearly; annually
finally; after; following; at the end (of)
mid-January festival in northern Japan, with snow huts in which children play house; snow hut
snow shoveling (shovelling); snow clearing; snow removal; snow shovel; snow plow; snow plough
happiness; well-being; joy; welfare; blessedness
rendezvous; tryst; (lover's) meeting; (secret) date
interval; period of time; among; between; good opportunity; chance
rather; better; instead; if anything
not a chance; not likely; oh no; yuck; fault; defect
the more ... the more ...; as; (arch.) while; (arch.) during; (arch.) because; (arch.) since
at once; right away; promptly; on the spur of the moment
reality; actuality; practice (as opposed to theory); truly; really; bhutakoti (limit of reality)
action; operation; effect; function
to grant (a request); to accept; to hear (a prayer); to comply with (a demand)
to fill; to become full (of); to wax (of the moon); to rise (of the tide); to flow; to expire (of a period of time)