active duty; active service; student taking (university) entrance exams while still enrolled in school; student who passed their university entrance exams on the first try
to digest; to break down; to break to pieces; to be able to use; to be good at; to finish; to complete
to work (for); to be employed (at); to serve (as); to act (as); to conduct a religious service
Man'yōshū (8th century anthology of Japanese poetry); (arch.) thousands of leaves; (arch.) thousands of years; (arch.) all ages
being widely talked about as a prominent prospect (for)
bikini model (usually teenage); pin-up girl
average; medium; mid-grade (item); regular grade; same level as; equal to
to boast of; to be proud of; to take pride in
newsworthiness; news hook; topicality; popularity (of a topic, issue, etc.)
going ahead; going first; preceding; coming before; scoring first; getting off to a lead
poor; pitiable; pathetic; pitiful
shift; move; (work) shift; work schedule; gearshift; changing gears
common; shared; to be common (to); to be shared (by); -wide
opponent; rival; adversary; menace; danger; threat
to manufacture; to produce; to raise (crops); to invent; to dream up; to create
one's true worth; one's true self; what one is really made of
far away; far off; far; long ago; long before
higher rank; better position
to make an example of; to make a victim of; to hold up somebody (something) to ridicule; to pierce with a spear
dregs; sediment; lees (esp. sake); leftovers; by-product; worthless item; junk
(wrestling) ring; forum (e.g. for discussion); sandbag; gabion
another person; other people; unrelated person (i.e. not related by blood); outsider; stranger
international language; world language; global lingua franca; constructed international auxiliary language (e.g. Esperanto)
no big deal; no match; not worth worrying about
successfully; nicely; skillfully
to rally; to make a comeback
stiffening; rigidity; rigor; stiffness; ossification; petrification
merrymaking; high jinks; drunken revelry; spree
far; distant; distant (past); remote (in time); distant (relationship or kinship); having little to do (with someone); far (from something else in quality, degree, etc.)
particular; special; (not) particularly; (not) especially
point in common; common feature
to step into (e.g. someone else's territory); to break into; to raid; to come to grips with; to get to the core of
to find difficult to guess; to struggle to work out; to be unable to figure out
common saying; everyday talk; common parlance
dirty joke; blue joke; indecent topic; bawdy subject; sex talk
money-making; earning money