late at night; at a late hour
to coil around; to follow about; to be related to; to concern; to be associated with
lukewarm; tepid; lenient; (arch.) slow; (arch.) stupid
conspiracy; collusion; complicity
to fabricate; to invent; to make up (a story); to cobble up; to put together in a hurry
to be flustered; to lose one's presence of mind
National Center Test for University Admissions
to wear; to be dressed in; to be adorned in; to clad oneself with
worry; care; concern; ennui; boredom
to cock one's head in puzzlement; to tilt one's head in contemplation; to wrack one's brain; to think hard
to probe; to search; to sound out; to investigate
to be able to tell apart; to distinguish; to recognize
investigation (e.g. into someone's guilt); questioning; pressing; catching up; overtaking
to displease; to offend; to hurt (a person's) feelings
tolerable; passable; adequate; so-so
ups and downs; bobbing up and down; rising and falling; ebbing and flowing
bog; marsh; swamp; quandary; dire situation from which one cannot extricate oneself; imbroglio
sunlight; rays of the Sun
national language; Japanese language (often as a school subject in Japan); native Japanese words (as opposed to loanwords)
sensual love; love affair
fashion; trend; vogue; prevalence (of a disease); epidemic
everyday life; daily life
the trouble is that ...; the problem is that ...; unfortunately; annoyingly
sense of isolation; (feelings of) loneliness
fashionable thing; popular thing; craze
stupid girl; stupid woman
sultry; sweltering; stuffy; uncomfortably hot-looking (clothing, etc.); stuffy-looking
to work hard; to sweat; to wash off one's sweat
creative work (e.g. artistic, literary)
to be infatuated (with); to be hooked (on); to lose one's heart (on)
clumsy (work); awkward; poorly made; ugly (of a person); unattractive; plain
self-esteem; self-respect; self-importance; conceit; pride
to keep; to preserve; to hold; to last; to endure; to keep well (food)
appendix; postscript; retrofit; post-installation; giving a reason afterwards; making an excuse after the event
odious; hateful; awful; horrid; revolting
to be cloying; to be sick and tired with; to be disgusted with; to stink
to make eyes at; to leer; to ogle; to ingratiate oneself; to toady; to flatter
to coquet (of a woman); to entice a customer (of a prostitute); to flatter; to butter up
to feign composure; to act like one has (time, money, strength, etc.) to spare
to show contempt for; to look down upon; to have a low opinion of; to cause to fall; to make decline