expression:

• a friend is a good thing to have; a good friend is a great blessing ➜ 持つべきものは友

expression:

• something that cannot be done no matter how hard one tries (and is slightly frustrating because of this); eye drops from the second floor [literal] - idiom

noun:

• fluorescent lamp; fluorescent light
• person who is slow to react; someone slow on the uptake

noun or verb acting prenominally:

• which can exist solely due to the presence of; whose existence is determined entirely by; which owes everything to

expression / noun or verb acting prenominally:

• which can exist solely due to the presence of; whose existence is determined entirely by; which owes everything to - emphatic version of あっての ➜ あっての・こそ

noun:

• form of magic or divination (e.g. animating objects to act as the sorcerer's agent)

noun:

• unscrupulous business practice of making sales by posing as an inspector and declaring the need for replacement items

noun:

• one country, two systems (Chinese policy allowing for the communist mainland and capitalist areas such as Hong Kong)

noun:

• miyairigai (Oncomelania hupensis nosophora); freshwater snail that acts as an intermediate host of the Japanese blood fluke ➜ 片山貝

noun:

• staying the night (of an itinerant priest in Zen buddhism); itinerant priest's lodging - Buddhism term
• providing a room for an itinerant priest so that he may meditate for a long period of time - Buddhism term

expression:

• It is hard to explain; It is hard to say

expression:

• Heaven is black and earth is yellow; heaven and earth - four character idiom

conjunction:

• but (still); and yet; nevertheless; even so; notwithstanding

interjection:

• yes; yea; aye; affirmative

~る verb (irregular) / intransitive verb:

• to be so - archaism

expression:

• contrary to expectations; or so we thought, but ...

expression:

• therefore; and so; for that reason; accordingly; consequently; hence

noun:

• succession of words of similar meaning; redundancy (e.g. free gift); tautology ［じゅうごん］
• kanji compound in which the same character is repeated - e.g. 堂堂

noun:

• dried small sardines, etc. used to make fish stock ➜ 煮干し
• person in bank transfer scam whose role it is to withdraw the cash - slang

noun:

• coping; top rail; cap piece; head board; what covers the top of a wall, torii or gate, not necessarily made of wood - Architecture term

expression:

• a day in life is better than a thousand days in the afterlife; better one day in this world than a thousand in the next - proverb

prefix:

• precisely; exactly; plumb; totally; very much - occ. written 度 (ateji)
• damn; stupid; cursed

expression / godan ~る verb:

• to turn out just as one wished; to play into the hands (of)

noun:

• main menu in a restaurant, as opposed to the lunchtime menu

noun:

• skipping grades; the act of entering a new school as a non-first-year student

godan ~ぐ verb / transitive:

• to act as an agent for; to intermediate
• to announce (someone's arrival); to answer (the door, the phone); to receive (a guest at reception); to usher in (a guest)
• to convey (a message)