size; dimension; large and small (sizes); various sizes; daishō (matched pair of long and short swords); large and small drums; long months and short months
to anticipate; to expect; to place confidence in; to put trust in; to find promising; to see good prospects (in)
standard; criterion; norm; average; the norm; the ordinary
judgement; judgment; decision; ruling; finding; adjudication
candidate; contender; prospect; candidacy; candidature; nomination
to collect; to assemble; to gather
affinity; compatibility; chemistry (between people)
consideration; inquiry; enquiry; investigation; study
surname; family name; last name
working; in operation; running; active
to arrive at (e.g. a decision); to reach (a stage); to lead to (a place); to get to; in the extreme case of; (arch.) to come
transition; changeover; switchover; transfer (of powers, weight, etc.); shift (e.g. of centre of gravity)
before I knew it; next thing you know; when I came to; all of a sudden
something to think about; one's thoughts; concern; thinking about something; being absorbed in one's thoughts
signal; signalling; signaling; traffic light; traffic signal
habit; (social) custom; practice; convention
to set aside; to keep in reserve; to hold on to
looking up (e.g. a word in a dictionary); search (e.g. on the Internet); retrieval (of information); reference
story; tale; talk; discussion
there in body, but not in spirit; distracted; in one ear and out the other
this area; around here; this point; this much; this extent
sole; single; solo; independence; singleness; singularity
capture (of enemy territory); taking (by storm); defeating (an opponent); attacking (a problem) strategically; strategy; tactics
to try; to attempt; to have a go (at)
unwell; in a bad state; not working properly; out of order; inconvenient; troublesome
to measure; to weigh; to survey; to conjecture; to infer; to surmise
sharp (words); harsh (manner, tone, etc.); hostile (mood, attitude, etc.); spiky; prickly; jagged
very early in the morning; so early in the morning; at this ungodly hour
Wood Snake (42nd term of the sexagenary cycle, e.g. 1905, 1965, 2025)
favorite; favourite; pet (e.g. teacher's pet); bookmark (in a web browser)
securing; obtaining; ensuring; belay; belaying
in order to do; for the purpose of doing; must; should
lunch; (Western-style) single-plate lunch set; plate lunch; launch (boat); ranch
likability; favorability; popularity
to be treated to a meal; to be given a meal
it doesn't matter what; anything is fine