serious; earnest; sober; honest; sincere
since some time ago; for some time; for quite a while
wearing one's hair in braids
lesson; class; teaching; instruction; classwork; schoolwork
to hold out (e.g. against an attack); to hang on; to withstand; to endure; to last
dark; gloomy; depressed; dispirited; dark (in colour); dull; ill-boding
large drop (of rain, sweat, tears, etc.); large grain-like object (e.g. grape, cherry)
intermittently; bit by bit; little by little; in drops (e.g. of rain)
on the occasion of; at the time of
heavy rainfall; heavy snowfall; steady rainfall; downpour; raining in earnest
one's normal condition; one's usual state; keynote (esp. shamisen); proper key
to take advantage of; to impose on; to exploit; to enter (an item in a ledger); to make an entry (in an account book)
(a) weakness; shortcoming; failing; sore point
at present; currently; so far; for now; for the time being
to take a breather; to take a rest; to catch one's breath; to take a breath
I'm told; is what I heard; is how it is, apparently; is what they said
feeling of relief (for the time being); peace of mind (for now)
to look down (on); to condescend (to)
reopening; resumption; restarting
to experience (something unpleasant); to go through; to suffer
high speed; rapidity; rapid-service train (not as fast as express); rapid train
sudden; abrupt; unexpected; unforeseen
accompanying (someone); going with; travelling together; the same bank; the said bank
the other day; a few days ago
son-in-law taken (adopted) into family
homeroom; form room; home run; human resources; HR; heart rate
direct transmission (of mystery, skill, secret, etc.); initiation
entreaty; imploring; begging; spoken portion of a song; oral recitation
practical use; application; making good use of; conjugation; inflection
to say; to utter; to declare; to name; to call
Chernobyl disaster (April, 1986); Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident
it is, isn't it?; I know, right?; innit?
to go on a trip; to go out to play; to go and visit (a friend)
extremely; exceedingly; deeply; painfully
continuation; rest (of the story, work, etc.); flow (e.g. of a piece of writing); pacing (of a story); succession (of); sequence
to put oneself on guard; to stand ready; to square off
to wet; to moisten; to dampen; to soak; to dip