adverb / ~と adverb:

• stiff and slackless; tense without any looseness - onomatopoeia ➜ きりっと
• cling tightly; pulled or stretched as far as possible
• creaking of a door or oar

noun:

• rice gruel with diced sweet potatoes
• gruel with ivy broth and finely minced Japanese yam served at large Imperial banquets

noun:

• on-off timer (i.e. to automatically turn an electrical device on and off at specified times)

noun:

• concealed winning hand consisting of chows, a pair that isn't a value pair, and an open wait - Mahjong term - From Chinese

noun:

• preparing one's own lunch; bringing one's own lunch; paying for one's own lunch
• working without pay; volunteer work

noun:

• lucky tea (var. of tea made from sea tangle, black soybeans, pepper, pickled plums, etc. and drunk on festive occasions); New Year tea

noun:

• deviation-value-oriented education; education focussed on test results; education that stresses studying and passing exams to raise one's ranking; academic cramming

godan ~る verb:

• to pledge; to vow; to promise; to swear
• to have sexual intercourse (esp. between husband and wife); to share a bed

godan ~く verb:

• to dawdle; to waste time doing nothing in particular
• to fret; to sulk; to complain
• to rain on and off

conjunction:

• but; however; though; nevertheless; still; yet; even so; also; as well

particle:

• even
• however; no matter how; even if; even though
• ... or something
• either ... or ...; neither ... nor ... - as 〜でも〜でも

prefix:

• pseudo-; quack; in-name-only - before an occupation, etc.
• for lack of anything better to do - before an occupation, etc. ➜ でもしか

noun:

• hovering one's chopsticks back and forth over side dishes, when trying to choose which one to take (a breach of etiquette) ➜ 迷い箸

noun:

• hovering one's chopsticks back and forth over side dishes, when trying to choose which one to take (a breach of etiquette) ➜ 惑い箸

noun:

• 1995 Okinawa rape incident; kidnapping and rape of a 12-year-old Japanese girl by three U.S. servicemen stationed in Okinawa

noun:

• paper flowers ［紙花］
• paper flowers for a funeral ［紙花］ - archaism
• paper handed out as a means of congratulations in a red light district (as a promise of a future money donation) ➜ 小菊【こぎく】

noun / ~する noun:

• life plan; plan for one's life; planning one's life

noun:

• party to welcome (e.g. new employees) and send off (e.g. retiring employees)

ichidan verb:

• to cut up; to cut and discard; to eliminate systematically (in fault-finding); to isolate

noun:

• (in P2P networks) a program that monitors (and adjusts) activity of a P2P program - colloquialism - IT term ➜ モニター

godan ~る verb:

• to clamber; to climb with hands and feet; to crawl up; to creep up ➜ 這い上がる【はいあがる】

adjectival noun:

• very hungry; starving; famished - onomatopoeia

~と adverb / adverb / ~する noun:

• fawning; bowing and scraping; being obsequious; being servile; kowtowing; bowing repeatedly; cringing - onomatopoeia ➜ ぺこん
• giving in; being dented - onomatopoeia ➜ ぺこん

noun:

• yellow sand; yellow dust; Asian dust; dust carried on high winds from Mongolia, northern China, and Kazakhstan
• loess ➜ 黄土
• desert ➜ 砂漠

expression / adjective:

• being driven into a corner; having no way out; being caught between a rock and a hard place

adverb / ~と adverb:

• gradually; by degrees; little by little; more and more; increasingly

noun:

• steps; stairs; staircase; terrace

ichidan verb:

• to rendezvous; to meet at a prearranged place and time; to arrange to meet

expression / adverb:

• with all one's strength; with might and main; as hard as one can