expression / godan ~す verb:

• to finish off; to ensure (something) is dead; to deliver the coup de grace
• to put an end to; to deliver the final blow
• to be the best for A - as ＡはＢに止めを刺す

expression:

• if you do a favor for somebody, you will get a return favor; if a fish is friendly toward water, water will be kind to the fish too [literal]; you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours - proverb ➜ 魚心あれば水心

expression / godan ~る verb:

• to get down to business; to cut to the chase; to get straight to the point; to move on to the main subject

noun / ~する noun:

• telephone call; speaking over the telephone

counter:

• counter for telephone calls of a set duration

noun:

• shooting star; falling star; meteor - Astronomy term ➜ 流星【りゅうせい】
• star (white patch on the forehead of a horse) ➜ 星月【ほしづき】

noun:

• sillago (any fish of genus Sillago, esp. the Japanese whiting, Sillago japonica) - 鼠頭魚 is gikun

expression / godan ~く verb:

• to draw closed the curtain (of a theatre, etc.); "to come to an end" [figurative] ➜ 幕を閉じる

expression / godan ~う verb:

• to live together; to be close friends; to eat out of the same pot [literal] - idiom

noun:

• pacifist constitution (often applied to the Japanese constitution); constitution which outlaws use of arms ➜ 日本国憲法

noun:

• keen eyesight; the eyesight of Lilou (character with superior eyesight in ancient Chinese folklore) [literal] - archaism - idiom

noun:

• Hakke Shinto (Shinto tradition transmitted by the House of Hakuo Shirakawa); Hakuke Shinto

expression / ichidan verb:

• to be pleasure to the eye; to delight the eye; to please the eye; to feast one's eyes on ➜ 目を悦ばす

noun / ~する noun:

• notification; official notice; directive (e.g. from higher to lower levels of the administration)
• being well versed (in something) ➜ 精通

noun:

• parenthood; parent or someone with children on the way (esp. an expecting mother)
• (of a fish) containing roe (eggs)

noun / ~する noun / ~の noun:

• outrider (person riding horseback in the lead position of a cavalcade); outriding
• harbinger; herald; precursor; forerunner; foretoken
• anticipation

proper noun:

• Hachiko; Akita dog that waited every day at Shibuya station for the return of his owner (1923-1935) ➜ 忠犬ハチ公【ちゅうけんハチこう】

~の noun / ~たる adjective / ~と adverb:

• gasping for breath; at one's last gasp; breathing feebly; on the brink of death; more dead than alive - four character idiom

noun:

• recipient; receiver; acceptor; taker
• skilled practitioner (of judo, sumo, etc.) - Martial Arts, Sumo term
• person who picks up the cards (in karuta games) ➜ 読み手

noun:

• one's course of action; deciding what to do with oneself, whether staying in the present position or leaving it - four character idiom

noun:

• plane with a blade at ninety degrees to its base used for maintaining the bases of other wooden planes

noun:

• tao-tie (mythological Chinese creature engraved on bronzeware during the Shang & Zhou dynasties) - archaism
• brutal person - idiom
• coveting of wealth (property, etc.)

noun:

• universal life force (the source of animation for all things)
• free spirit (i.e. a mindset unencumbered with worldly concerns)

conjunction:

• even so; however; still; whereupon; even though; nevertheless; on the contrary; as a matter of fact; despite

noun / ~する noun:

• seasonal change of clothing; changing (one's) dress for the season - reading is gikun for 更衣 ➜ 更衣【こうい】
• renovation; facelift; changing appearance

noun / ~の noun:

• putting one's life on the line; giving everything one has got; acting out of desperation