beginning; outset; first; onset
at that time; at that moment; then; on that occasion
always; constantly; frequently; often; nonstop
quirk of fate; curious coincidence; happy chance
certain; sure; doubtless; I have no doubt; You can depend on it; It's a safe bet
as expected; sure enough; after all (is said and done); in the end; too; also
various; all sorts of; variety of; (arch.) various colors (colours)
to be troubled; to have difficulty; to be bothered; to be inconvenienced; to be badly off; to be hard up
to say; to utter; to name; to call; to go (e.g. "the alarm went ping"); to make a noise
primary school; elementary school; grade school
retort; sealed plastic pouch typically containing ready-made sauce or stew; boil-in-the-bag; retort; glass vessel used for distillation (now largely obs.)
to hear; to listen (e.g. to music); to ask; to enquire; to hear about; to hear of; to follow (advice, order, etc.)
seeming ...; appearing ...; -ish; like a ...; typical of ...
now that you mention it; come to think of it; that reminds me; on that subject; speaking of which
takoyaki; octopus dumplings
to make; to produce; to prepare (food); to brew (alcohol); to raise; to grow; to till
materials; ingredients; material (for a novel, experiment, etc.); subject matter; grounds (for a decision, judgement, etc.); basis
to gather (bringing something); to gather (to exchange something)
being in charge (of an area of responsibility); being responsible (for a work role, etc.)
to bring; to take (something) along; to fetch; to get
to forget; to leave carelessly; to be forgetful of; to forget about; to forget (an article)
without; unacceptable; not alright; unsatisfactory
cooking, esp. frying or stir-frying; heating; tempering; -ware
to say everything one wants to say; to exhaust a topic
extent; degree; limit; bounds; (span of) time; (a) distance; the state of
to fail; to blunder; to make a mess; to drink up; to eat up
to give; to let (one) have; to give; to do for one; to take the trouble to do; to do to someone's disadvantage
ill will; malice; evil intent
somehow; for some reason; without knowing why
to permit; to allow; to forgive; to pardon; to exempt (someone) from; to remit; to acknowledge
that's the way it is; such is life
so much; so often; oh, yes!; that's it; that's right; quite
perhaps; probably; generous; many; much
sound; noise; note; fame; Chinese-derived character reading
department (in an organization); division; club; part; component; category
grace (of God); benevolence (of Buddha); assistance; help; effects; influence
to think; to consider; to think (of doing); to plan (to do); to judge; to assess; to imagine
so; therefore; accordingly; like I said; I told you already
mama; mamma; mom; female proprietress (of a bar, etc.)