indicates possessive; nominalizes verbs and adjectives; substitutes for "ga" in subordinate phrases; (at sentence-end, falling tone) indicates a confident conclusion; (at sentence-end) indicates emotional emphasis; (at sentence-end, rising tone) indicates question
name; given name; first name
indicates sentence topic; indicates contrast with another option (stated or unstated); adds emphasis
by the way; in this connection; incidentally; in passing
bachelorhood; single; unmarried; celibate
be; is; did; (have) done; please; do
provincial city; provincial town; suburban city; regional towns and cities
at (place, time); in; to (direction, state); toward; for (purpose); because of (reason); for
to live (of humans); to reside; to inhabit; to dwell; to abide
worthless; insignificant; unimportant; poor; miserable; wretched
office worker; company employee; company man; salaryman (stereotypical Japanese office worker)
that; it; then; that point (in time); (arch.) there; (arch.) you
indicates sentence subject (occasionally object); indicates possessive (esp. in literary expressions); but; however; regardless of; whether (or not)
why?; what for?; how?; by what means?
this; last (couple of years, etc.); these; you (as in "you liar")
Middle Ages (in Japan esp. the Kamakura and Muromachi periods); medieval times; mediaeval times
-like; sort of; similar to; resembling
sword (esp. a large, double-edged one); blade; bayonet; swordsmanship; stinger; ovipositor
if; when; and; with; used for quoting (thoughts, speech, etc.); promoted pawn; indicates a question
magic; witchcraft; sorcery; spell
the world; society; sphere; circle; world-renowned; world-famous
to be (of animate objects); to exist; to stay; to be ...-ing; to have been ...-ing
indicates a question; or; whether or not; some- (e.g. something, someone); hmm; huh; very
when it comes to ...; if one were to speak of ...; by ... you mean ...; when you say ... you mean that ...; whenever ...; if it's ... then (without fail)
hero; the brave; man of valour (valor)
summons; summonsing; citation; subpoena; arraigning; calling
ceremony; rite; ritual; service
to roll up; to enfold; to swallow up; to involve; to drag into
from (e.g. time, place, numerical quantity); since; from (originator); by; because; since; out of (constituent, part)
waste of time; killing time
network; Internet; net (hair, netball, etc.); net (price, weight, etc.); nett
indicates direct object of action; indicates subject of causative expression; indicates an area traversed; indicates time (period) over which action takes place; indicates point of departure or separation of action; indicates object of desire, like, hate, etc.
nicely; properly; frequently; often; I'm glad that you ...; thank you for ...
to read; to recite (e.g. a sutra); to chant; to predict; to guess; to decipher; to count
that kind of; that way; that move; that trick; that game
talk; speech; topic; subject; discussions; negotiation; rumor
(more than) enough; too much; bitterly; extremely; keenly
by no means; never!; something unexpected; emergency; (arch.) currently; (arch.) for the time being
reality; actuality; hard fact
indicates word or phrase being defined; used for quoting (thoughts, speech, etc.); with; (not) as much as; (not) so much as; the fact that
unexpected; unforeseen; inconceivable