my sincere congratulations; please accept my congratulations
story; tale; talk; discussion
high and low speed; fast and slow; lenience and severity; emergency; crisis
perfect; complete; flawless
being put to shame; being outshone; being eclipsed; feeling embarrassed
announcement; presentation; demonstration; displaying; showing; introducing
to hesitate to; to waver; to be hesitant about
backboard; dorsal plate; tergum
elegant; graceful; refined; leisurely; comfortable; easy
to join hands together; to join forces; to collaborate
to smile cheerfully; to crack a smile
on time; on schedule; punctually
to become popular; to grow in popularity; to catch on
angular; angular-shaped; sharp-pointed
quickly (e.g. pushing up one's glasses); with a light pull; with a sharp tug (e.g. at a sleeve)
to refuse; to reject; to repel; to repulse; to make (someone) leave; to send away
halfway; half measures; unfinished; incomplete; by halves; half-baked
to have rumors going around (rumours); to have rumors spread
headache inducing; vexing
shiitake mushroom (Lentinula edodes); shitake
engineer; technical officer
song; singing; classical Japanese poem (esp. tanka); modern poetry
something heard for the first time; hearing something for the first time
on a stage; on a platform; on an altar
president (of a country); big man; boss; buddy
Sapporo (city in Hokkaido)
Hakata (old but still commonly used name for Fukuoka)
talks (i.e. formal discussions); conference; meeting
percussion; tapping; examining by percussion; sounding out (someone's intentions); making an approach (about)
several years; a few years
contact; touch; contact lens
China; Chūgoku region (western part of Honshu comprising the prefectures of Okayama, Hiroshima, Yamaguchi, Tottori and Shimane); central part of a country; main region; province of the second lowest rank (ritsuryō system)
absence; being away from home; house-sitting; house-sitter; neglecting (e.g. one's studies); leaving unattended
underhanded; unfair; makeshift; stopgap
concrete; definite; specific; material; substantial