I'm afraid to say; I'm sorry to say; unfortunately
handmade; homegrown; hand-crafted; homemade
same; similar; (just) like; equal
faint; trance; swoon; stupefaction
to talk or say too much; to go too far; to overstate; to exaggerate
middle of the night; dead of night
teatime; tea break; coffee break
now that you mention it; come to think of it; that reminds me; on that subject; speaking of which
to bend oneself forward (esp. in curiosity or excitement); to hang out (e.g. over a balcony)
to finish reading; to read through
detailed; minute; articulate
to teach; to instruct; to tell; to inform; to preach
necessary; needed; essential; necessity; need; requirement
other (place, thing, person); the rest; outside; beyond; nothing except; nothing but
homework; assignment; pending issue; unresolved problem; open question
absent-mindedly; vacantly; idly; in a whisper
poor (at); weak (in); not very good (at); not one's cup of tea; not one's favorite
(school) subject; curriculum; course; item; heading; entry
bothersome; tiresome; bother to do
let me see; well; errr ...; uhh ...
general; overall; across-the-board
whole; entirety; whatever (is the matter)
honest; frank; candid; honestly; frankly
any; anything; whatever; I am told; I hear; I understand
idea; notion; sense (e.g. of duty); resignation; preparedness; observation and contemplation
like; similar to; (I) think (that); (I) have a feeling (that); feels like; feels similar to
release; unleashing; liberation; deallocation (of computer memory)
easy; simple; there's no way that ...
if anything; conversely; putting it the other way around; coming at it from the opposite angle
satisfaction; pride; one's strong point; one's forte; regular customer; regular client
for; for the sake of; to one's advantage; because of; as a result of
not less than; ... and over; beyond (e.g. one's expectations); above; above-mentioned; aforementioned
claim; insistence; assertion; advocacy; emphasis; contention
national language; Japanese language (often as a school subject in Japan); native Japanese words (as opposed to loanwords)
interest (in something); curiosity (about something); zest (for)
matter; thing; affair; circumstance