to act as an intermediary; to step in; to come between; to intervene; to interject
vague; ambiguous; shady; disreputable; fuzzy
insincere smile; ingratiating smile; polite smile; forced smile
satisfaction; pride; one's strong point; one's forte; regular customer; regular client
Nagano (city, prefecture)
rural area; countryside; the sticks; hometown
coming out; emerging; being born into (a certain family); being a native of (a particular place)
father and mother; parents
fate; chance; relationship; tie
surgery; operation; procedure; skill with one's hands; sleight of hand
thanks to ...; owing to ...; because of ...
filial piety; being kind to one's parents; taking care of one's parents
to be unable to; to find difficult (unpleasant, awkward, painful) to do; to serve two or more functions or roles simultaneously; to contain (or combine) two or more features; to work in two or more jobs simultaneously (positions, etc.); to do alongside
to manufacture; to produce; to raise (crops); to invent; to dream up; to create
apocryphal sutra (composed in China or Japan)
experience; history; record; career
establishment; creation; posing (a problem); options setting; preference settings; configuration
important; essential; significant; major; key; principal
personal history; background; career
to be duplicated; to be repeated; to overlap; to fall together (of dates, etc.); to repeat (a failed course, school year, etc.); to make a double play
appeal (e.g. for peace); plea; appeal (of something); attractiveness; appeal (to the referee); emphasizing
gradually; steadily; slowly; little by little; step by step; by degrees
physical education; PE; gym (class)
inspection; study by observation; field trip; sitting out (e.g. PE class)
self-confidence; confidence (in oneself)
nonexistent; nil; none; nothing (at all); bugger-all
late-growing rice; late-ripening crops; late-blooming flowers; late developer (e.g. child who reaches puberty late); late bloomer
quiet unsociable person; obstinate person; blockhead
there's no (other) way; cannot be helped; unavoidable; it's no use (doing); pointless; hopeless (person)
to find difficult to guess; to struggle to work out; to be unable to figure out
to reach an extreme; to reach a limit; extremely; to be stuck; to be in a dilemma; to be decided
to associate with; to keep company with; to go out with; to go along with; to follow someone's lead; to accompany someone
feel uncomfortable; ill at ease; not feel at home
to be conceivable that; to be thinkable that
to look at from the outside; to view from an outsider's perspective; to be seen from the point of view of an onlooker
around the world; throughout the world
to celebrate; to congratulate; to present (a gift) in celebration; to drink in celebration; to wish for (a happy future, good fortune, etc.); to pray for
My goodness (expresses surprise, wonder, etc.); very; extremely