expression / godan ~る verb:

• to be summoned (i.e. of a geisha, by a customer)
• to be offered (the job of ...); to be invited (to do ...) - usu. as 〜の口が掛かる

noun:

• event where young men and women paint each others' cheeks with black ink or soot during Little New Year in the San'in region ➜ 小正月

noun:

• very superior old pale (cognac); VSOP
• one-track mind; person who always acts the same or says the same thing (esp. person who always cracks the same kind of jokes) - humorous term - From English "very special one pattern" ➜ ワンパターン
• VLBI Space Observatory Programme; Very Long Baseline Interferometry Space Observatory Programme ➜ 超長距離干渉計【ちょうちょうきょりかんしょうけい】

noun:

• theater district (quarter); theatre district

adverb:

• ... the heck (e.g. "what the heck?"); ... in the world (e.g. "why in the world?"); ... on earth (e.g. "who on earth?") - emph. form of 一体 - four character idiom

noun / ~の noun:

• full of wiles and tricks; match between persons equal in shrewdness mobilizing all the tricks each can muster; shrewdly avoiding the opponent's strong points and attacking its weaknesses - four character idiom

noun:

• square (shape) ［ますがた］
• square bearing block (at the top of a pillar) ［斗形］
• (in a castle) rectangular space between the inner and outer gates (where troops can gather) ［ますがた］

noun / ~の noun:

• bargaining; negotiation
• turning one's body to the left or right and standing (when leaving the presence of nobility, etc.)
• sailing close-hauled; sailing on a close reach

expression:

• playing while the cat is away; taking a break while the boss is out; doing what one wants when one is (finally) alone; relaxing while the demon is out [literal] - idiom ➜ 洗濯

noun:

• speech; tongue; talk; eloquence ［弁・辯］

suffix noun:

• dialect; brogue; accent ［弁・辯］

noun:

• bento; Japanese box lunch ［弁・辨］ - abbreviation ➜ 弁当【べんとう】
• petal ［弁・瓣］ ➜ 花弁【はなびら】

noun / ~の noun:

• valve ［弁・瓣］

noun:

• Oversight Department; division of the daijokan under the ritsuryo system responsible for controlling central and provincial governmental offices ［弁・辨］ ➜ 太政官・弁官

expression:

• widespread fires in Edo (often after earthquakes); flowers of Edo [literal] - obsolete term

noun:

• first half of the year; first half of the fiscal year ➜ 下半期

noun:

• residential building in which the first floor is occupied by businesses

noun:

• winning technique where the opponent is lifted out by his belt - Sumo term

noun:

• books printed in Japan by the Jesuits (1590-1612)

noun:

• era name selected by commoners (as opposed to the imperial court) - obscure term

noun:

• selling something by the boxful (in a wooden masu box)

noun:

• flagstaff decorated with ivory carried by the emperor or a general

noun:

• tree swayed by the wind ➜ 風木
• thinking about one's deceased parents - archaism ➜ 風樹の嘆

noun:

• white powder for use on the neck (e.g. by geisha)

noun:

• kakistocracy; government by the worst, least qualified, or most unscrupulous citizens

ichidan verb / transitive:

• to change (lower-body clothing: shoes, slippers, pants, a skirt, etc.) ➜ 着替える
• to put on the wrong pair of shoes by mistake ➜ 履き違える

noun:

• slip of the pen; mistake in writing ➜ 書き損じ
• something ruined by a mistake in writing (e.g. postcard) ➜ 書き損じ

noun:

• slip of the pen; mistake in writing
• something ruined by a mistake in writing (e.g. postcard)

expression / godan ~る verb:

• to break the rules; to violate the rules; to infringe the rules