expression:

• like chalk and cheese (superficially similar, but completely different) (the moon and a turtle shell are both round, but they are otherwise completely different); like day and night; like the difference between heaven and hell

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

noun / ~の noun:

• a line; a streak; a stripe; a ray (of light); a wisp (of smoke)

noun:

• one item (in an itemized form); one clause; one passage (in a book)
• one matter (affair, event, case, incident)
• the same logic; the same reason - archaism

expression:

• it is darkest under the lamp post; it's hard to see what is under your nose; go abroad to hear of home; you must go into the country to hear what news at London - proverb

godan ~る verb / transitive:

• to restrict; to limit; to confine

godan ~る verb / intransitive verb:

• to be restricted to; to be limited to; to be confined to
• to be best (for); to be the best plan; to be the only way (to) - as ...は...に限る

expression / ichidan verb:

• to incline one's head to the side (in doubt); to tilt one's head to the side (in confusion); to be puzzled

adverb:

• in short; in brief; to sum up; ultimately; in the end; in the long run; when all is said and done; what it all comes down to; when you get right down to it ➜ 詰まり【つまり】

noun:

• the western part of Japan (esp. Kyushu, but ranging as far east as Kinki) - abbreviation
• western nations (esp. India or Europe)
• 33 temples in the Kinki area containing a statue of Avalokitesvara ➜ 西国三十三所
• a pilgrimage of these temples ➜ 西国巡礼

noun / ~の noun:

• flowers in full bloom; time of year in which flowers are in full bloom
• the age at which someone (esp. a woman) is at the peak of their beauty
• booming or peaking (in popularity)

expression:

• as far as the eye can reach; as far as the eye can see

noun:

• last day of winter in the traditional Japanese calendar (usually February 3 or 4); holiday for end of winter (accompanied by a bean scattering ceremony)
• last day of any season (according to the traditional Japanese calendar) - original meaning

noun:

• opening section of a Chinese poem or essay (in which the topic is broached); broaching the topic of a poem or essay in its opening lines

noun:

• peoples formerly of northern Japan with distinct language and culture (i.e. the Ainu) - archaism ➜ 蝦夷
• provincial (i.e. a person who lives far from the city)
• brutish, unsophisticated warrior (esp. used by Kyoto samurai to refer to samurai from eastern Japan)
• foreigner; barbarian - derogatory term

noun:

• hit
• success
• guess; prediction
• affability; friendliness
• sensation; touch
• bruise (on fruit)
• situation in which a stone or chain of stones may be captured on the next move (in the game of go)
• bite (of a fish on a hook); strike - also written as 魚信 ➜ 魚信

suffix:

• per; each

~する verb (spec.):

• to be on the verge of; to be about to; to be on the point of

noun:

• type of long chopsticks used in the preparation of fish; type of long chopsticks used to hold the fish in carving knife ceremony

noun:

• renting a house in the same block of houses as somebody else ➜ 相借家【あいじゃくや】
• person who rents a house in the same block of houses as oneself ➜ 相借家【あいじゃくや】

noun:

• renting a house in the same block of houses as somebody else ➜ 相店【あいだな】
• person who rents a house in the same block of houses as oneself ➜ 相店【あいだな】

noun:

• dropping; losing - abbreviation
• missing item; something one forgot to write down
• trap
• wooden protrusion from a Japanese door frame that fits a hole in the threshold, acting as a lock when closed
• conclusion (of a speech, etc.)
• metallic bowl used to hold the charcoal in a wooden hibachi ➜ 落とし掛け

noun:

• top and bottom; high and low; above and below; upper and lower ends; up and down

noun / ~する noun:

• going up and down; rising and falling; fluctuating
• going and coming back

noun:

• upper and lower classes; ruler and ruled; the government and the people
• first and second volumes

noun:

• miniature shrine with double doors (used to store important Buddhist items such as sutras, etc.)
• cabinet with double doors (used by the nobility to store books, etc.) ➜ 厨子棚
• (in Okinawa) carved and decorated stone container for storing the bones of one's ancestors ➜ 厨子甕

noun:

• four gods said to rule over the four directions
• (in China) four gods said to rule over the four seasons

expression:

• one cannot understand even a holy man's teachings without study; one cannot know the abilities of a great man without putting him to use; one cannot know the delicious taste of fine food without eating it [literal] - proverb

noun:

• one mobile telephone ring (used by companies, usually sex-related, to register a phone number on a mobile in the hope people will return the call. Also used between acquaintances when swapping telephone numbers, or to get another person to call oneself)

expression / godan ~む verb:

• to be descended from; to be drawn from (the tradition of); to be derived from; to follow the school (tradition) of