slightly (of an action); (looking) small and quiet
power outage; electricity outage; blackout; failure of electricity supply
to cook (grains, e.g. rice); to boil; to simmer; to stew
certificate; certified document; (the) thumbs up; seal of approval; paper with signature of the shogun or lord
possible; likely; probable
utterly (unknown; esp. of someone's whereabouts); completely; (no information) whatsoever; at all
qualifications; requirements; capabilities
moment; brief space of time
consciousness; awareness; relief; calm
to be able to manage somehow or another
expectation; anticipation; purpose; intention; others' opinions of one; speculation
about; roughly; generally; on the whole; completely; quite
thin veneer; hasty preparation; knowledge or skill learned as a stopgap; re-tempering a dull sword (so that it looks as if it's sharp, but is actually unusable)
writing brush; paintbrush; writing with a brush; drawing with a brush; writing (composing text); the written word
during vacation; during the holidays; during one's break; (temporarily) closed; on break
inarticulate; not making oneself quite clear; slurring one's words; evasive
dots; spots; bit by bit; little by little; here and there; scattered
to stick; to get stuck; to be unavailable; to be busy; to be piled up (e.g. of work); to halt (in one's speech)
speech; expression; wording; language
trauma (usu. psychological)
to begin to walk; to set out
back; rear; background; behind the scenes
to be noisy; to be astir; to rustle; to murmur
to shorten; to reduce; to crumple (fabric); to wrinkle; to make (one's body) smaller; to draw in (one's legs)
to take a step backward; to step back (i.e. to re-think something); to distance oneself (from); to behave humbly; to budge (a little); to make one concession
slanting; tilted; sloping; distorted (feeling); slanted (e.g. view of the world); bad (mood)
whispered conversation; whispering
to break; to be smashed; to split; to crack; to be divided (opinion, vote, etc.); to split (e.g. of a party); to come to light
raw; uncooked; natural; as it is; unprotected (sex); live (i.e. not recorded); inexperienced
to recover; to rally; to improve; to pick up
adviser; someone to consult with; someone to turn to about one's concerns; confidant
boastful talk about one's love life; speaking fondly about one's sweetheart; going on about one's love affairs
to distance oneself (from); to keep (something or someone) at a distance; to maintain a distance (from)
person of firm character; stable person; gutsy person
resourcefulness; ability (esp. to earn a living); dependability; reliability
to be at a complete loss; to be without recourse; to be completely stymied; to have absolutely no idea what to do
good-for-nothing; spineless; gutless; spiritless; feckless; pluckless
entirely useless; completely worthless; no no; don't!
way of talking; speaking style