old tale; folk tale; legend; reminiscence
slipping out (a chuckle, giggle); unintentionally (letting out a quiet laugh)
something heard for the first time; hearing something for the first time
hard to please; moody; crusty; fastidious
branch (of a river); tributary; branch; offshoot; something not mainstream
wise; sagacious; intelligent; sensible
heir; inheritor; successor
head house (family); birthplace; originator
public works; public-works projects; public utilities
magnification; enlargement; expansion; amplification
topic of discussion; agenda
incomprehensible; nonsensical; puzzling; I don't get it; I'm confused; I'm lost
in good health; alive and well; going strong
slaves (lowest class in the ritsuryō system); bondservants; male and female servants; manservants and maids
corresponding to (in meaning, function, etc.); being equivalent to; appropriate; suitable; to be proportionate to; to be in keeping with
work; labor; achievement; performance; salary; income
lowly people (esp. as a caste); humble people
good citizens; law-abiding people
to sever; to cut off; to suppress; to eradicate; to abstain (from); to give up
discharge; outward flow; efflux; leak of (private) information or pictures
to dispose of; to sell off
protection; safeguard; guardianship; preservation; conservation
statesman; administrator; politician; policymaker
killing two birds with one stone
plan; policy; means; fifth principle of the Eight Principles of Yong; right upward flick
live-in domestic service; live-in apprenticeship; public duty; public service
to work (for); to be employed (at); to serve (as); to act (as); to conduct a religious service
by (means of); by doing; due to; via; through
to take back; to regain; to get back; to recover
to have been decided (so) that; to have been arranged (so) that; to be the result (of); to be the outcome; to be the reason (for)
to transcribe; to duplicate; to describe; to film; to picture
heir; successor; family estate; family fortune; headship of a family
to marry (a woman); to take to wife; to take in marriage
to hang; to suspend; to dangle; to swing; to carry
Chinese firebird; Chinese phoenix
guidance; lead; guide; primer; influence; connections
secret; private; surreptitious