to employ; to hire; to take on; to charter (a car, boat, etc.); to hire
baptism; christening; initiation (into a society, group, etc.); baptism; one's first experience of something; baptism (by fire, etc.)
name; title; appellation; (under the) pretext (of); pretense
emphasizing (a point, argument, etc.); stressing; insistence; arguing strongly (for, against)
to take lessons in; to be taught; to learn (from a teacher); to study (under a teacher); to get training in
season (period in which regulated games are played); season (division of the year); season (of a TV show, etc.); season (for doing something, e.g. ski season, entrance examination season)
strategic arrangement of go stones at the beginning of a game; opening moves; preparations; preparatory steps; arrangements
to pay out of one's own pocket
profit; gains; benefit; advantage; grace (of God, Buddha, etc., esp. as attained through rightful actions, prayer, adherence to one's faith, etc.); blessing
being familiar with; having a thorough knowledge of; being well-informed about
to dive (into or under water); to get under; to get into; to hide oneself (esp. from the government); to conceal oneself
training; drill; practice; discipline
room; wife (of someone of high rank); scabbard; Chinese "Encampment" constellation (one of the 28 mansions)
corner; section; one horn; pillar (of a group, system, etc.); member (of an organization, etc.); first corner
to meddle (in someone's affairs); to poke one's nose into; to interfere; to make a pass (at someone); to hit on
five; five years of age; eight o'clock (old time system)
good thing; nice thing; good excuse; good grounds; interjection used to impress an idea or to urge a response
what one likes, one will do well; you become good at what you like doing
brush strokes; manner of using a brush; use of a pen; penmanship
bodily sensation; feeling in the body; physical feeling; coenesthesia; cenesthesia; coenesthesis
since some time ago; for some time; for quite a while
creeping (of an insect, etc.); crawling; restlessly; fidgeting; hesitantly; slowly
long time; several hours; long spell
concentration (on a task); focusing one's attention; concentration (of population, buildings, power, etc.); centralization; within a collection of works
rough sketch; floor plan; blueprint
knowledge (of a skill, art, etc.); proficiency; essentials; know-how; preparedness; readiness
exercise; physical training; appeal; campaign; motion; movement
to hold between (e.g. one's fingers, chopsticks); to grip (from both sides); to put between; to sandwich between; to catch (e.g. a finger in a door); to trap; to insert (e.g. a break into proceedings)
to master (e.g. a skill); to become accustomed to (e.g. a lifestyle); to acquire (e.g. a habit); to retain
vacantly; blankly; openmouthed; with one's mouth wide-open; with a whack; with a thump
elementary school student; primary school student; grade school student
timetable (esp. a weekly school timetable); schedule
to refer to; to consult; to use as a reference
national language; Japanese language (esp. as a school subject in Japan); one's native language; mother tongue; native Japanese words (as opposed to loanwords and Chinese-derived words)
hiragana; cursive Japanese syllabary used primarily for native Japanese words (esp. function words, inflections, etc.)
endlessly; continuously; (going) on and on; meandering; winding; sinuous
still more; even more; all the more; still less; even less
from the beginning; from scratch
writing down from other written material; writing kanji text from hiragana; transcription (of spoken material); dictation
tempering (metal); annealing; forging; toughening; disciplining; training
to take the form (of); to assume a shape
breaking up (a meeting, gathering, etc.); dispersal (e.g. of a crowd); dissolution (of a company, organization, etc.); winding-up; dissolution (of the Diet, Parliament, etc.)
not quite (right); not very good; somewhat (lacking)
astringent; bitter; austere; elegant (and unobtrusive); sour (look); glum