at the very beginning of one's speech; the first thing (one) says after opening the mouth
expectation; assume will happen; forecast
rag; scrap; fault (esp. in a pretense, pretence); defect; run-down; shabby
to make a distinction; to differ; to be different
essence; true nature; substance; reality
excursion; field trip; school trip
(one) matter; (one) item; (one) case
crunching; chewing or crushing something hard; hard and crunchy; very skinny; emaciated
cannot (due to external circumstances); cannot afford to; must not; impossible to; no way one can (do)
to avoid (physical contact with); to avoid (situation); to ward off; to avert; to put aside; to move out of the way
(school) class change; class shuffle; rearrangement of which students are in which teacher's class
vague; ambiguous; shady; disreputable; fuzzy
to blur; to shade off; to gradate; to obscure; to make ambiguous
echo; reverberation; sound (esp. the distinctive sound of an object or activity, e.g. rain, gun, gallop, drum); noise; quality of a sound (e.g. a fine phrase, clear voice, resonant bell); feeling of a sound
great; excellent; very troublesome; awful; tiring; tough
confidence; trust; faith; credit (finance)
to fix upon (one-sidedly); to (ignore somebody's position and) arbitrarily decide something is the case; to scold; to take (a person) to task
hazy; misty; foggy; hazy feeling; uncertain feeling; feeling gloomy
depths; deep place; bottom (of one's heart)
to lurk; to hover in the background; to be coiled up; to stretch tortuously
to live up to expectations; to meet expectations
gossip; corner of the mouth
to go away; to become more distant; to fade away; to be estranged
to turn back; to go back; to come back; to return; to retrace one's steps
cinnabar; vermillion; red pigment (and ink made from same); red text (as used to correct documents)
dyer's knotweed (Persicaria tinctoria, used to produce indigo dye); indigo (dye); indigo (colour)
to mix with; to be mixed; to be mingled
time; (the) hour; favourable time; opportunity; chance
to set out (on a journey); to start (a task)
entrance; front door; entryway; entranceway; entry hall; vestibule
here I am; I'm home!; presently; right away; right now
cram school; private tutoring school; juku
sound of a button or switch being pressed
in a daze; absent-mindedly; dimly; hazily; with a roar (of flames); with a whoosh
to rise to the surface; to come to the front; to emerge (e.g. from obscurity); to stand out (e.g. against a dark background)
oh my god!; oh my gosh!; you got me!; wow!
to come to one's senses; to calm down
air con; air conditioner; air conditioning
embarrassed smile; embarrassed laugh; bashful smile
to be at wits' end; to be greatly perplexed; to be troubled