to shorten the distance (between); to close the gap (e.g. on the leader); to get closer (e.g. to someone); to close in (on)
difficult to ...; hard to ...
ugh (when angry, irritated, etc.); ack; ach; tsk; keh
young person; young people; youth; young employee; young manservant; young follower
experience; history; record; career
bang; bam; noontime signal gun (carried out early Meiji to Taishō); noon gun; last round in a game of 12 rounds; precisely
middle stage; middle phase; middle game; midfield (in soccer)
water (esp. cool or cold); fluid (esp. in an animal tissue); liquid; flood; floodwaters; water offered to wrestlers just prior to a bout
to hold in one's mouth (without biting, before chewing or swallowing, etc.)
graduation; completion (of a course); moving on (from); outgrowing (something); leaving (a group, company, etc.); quitting
natural; understandable; reasonable; no wonder
beep; honk (car horn); buzz (buzzer); boo (wrong answer, like buzzer on quiz shows)
to drink; to swallow; to smoke (tobacco); to swallow up; to engulf; to suppress (one's anger, bitter feelings, etc.); to keep down
to vomit; to spit out; to breathe out (e.g. air); to exhale; to spend (e.g. saved money); to cough up
dirty; filthy; disordered; messy; indecent (language, etc.); dirty
nonexistent; not being (there); not having; not
still; yet; more; still more; furthermore; in addition
interesting; fascinating; amusing; funny; enjoyable; fun
becoming irritated (suddenly); getting annoyed
anger; rage; fury; wrath; indignation
endurance; patience; perseverance; self-control; self-restraint
cutting in line; queue jumping
gentle; quiet; mild; quiet (color, pattern, etc.); sober
blue; azure; green; green light (traffic); black (horse coat color); blue 5-point card; immature
fleeting; transient; short-lived; empty (dream, etc.); mere (hope); faint (possibility)
girl (usu. between 7 and 17); young lady; (arch.) female between 17 and 20 years old (ritsuryō period)
than; rather than; instead of; from; out of; except
one or two; a couple; a few; first and second (place); the top two
below; down; bottom; beneath; underneath; just after; right after
to shrink back; to wince; to flinch; to recoil
though; although; notwithstanding; while; as; at the same time as
to make fun of; to look down on; to make light of
to protect (someone); to look after (e.g. an injured leg); to defend; to cover for; to stand up for; to stick up for
name; given name; title; fame; renown; pretext
to cry; to shed tears; to suffer (from); to be troubled (by); to accept (an unreasonable request, loss, etc.); to do reluctantly
thuddingly; plumping down (like a heavy weight)
(a) step; one step; level; stage; small degree; small amount
(medieval) knight; samurai on horseback
affectation; pretension; posturing; posing as; behaving as; acting like