indicates sentence topic; indicates contrast with another option (stated or unstated); adds emphasis
friend; companion; comrade; accompaniment; companion (e.g. book); complement
koto (13-stringed Japanese zither); (arch.) stringed instrument
something broad and flat; common; ordinary; low-ranking employee; freshman
together with; as X, then Y (e.g. as we age we gain wisdom, as wine matures it becomes more valuable, etc.)
feudal domain (Edo and early Meiji periods, precursor to current prefectures); fiefdom; province
indicates possessive; nominalizes verbs and adjectives; substitutes for "ga" in subordinate phrases; (at sentence-end, falling tone) indicates a confident conclusion; (at sentence-end) indicates emotional emphasis; (at sentence-end, rising tone) indicates question
reform; reformation; reorganization
indicates direct object of action; indicates subject of causative expression; indicates an area traversed; indicates time (period) over which action takes place; indicates point of departure or separation of action; indicates object of desire, like, hate, etc.
but; however; (and) yet; nevertheless; still; for all that
indicates sentence subject (occasionally object); indicates possessive (esp. in literary expressions); but; however; regardless of; whether (or not)
language; dialect; word; phrase; speech; (manner of) speaking
at (place, time); in; to (direction, state); toward; for (purpose); because of (reason); for
to bewilder; to perplex; to puzzle; to tempt; to seduce
wife; (arch.) my dear; (arch.) dear; garnish (esp. one served with sashimi); embellishment
that; it; then; that point (in time); (arch.) there; (arch.) you
to be aware of; to know; to notice; to feel; to understand; to comprehend; to remember
older brother; elder brother
to cut down; to slay; to truncate; to round down; to omit; to discard
called; named; as many as; as much as; all ...; every single ...
event; affair; incident; case; plot; trouble
to get up; to rise; to wake up; to be awake; to occur (usu. of unfavourable incidents); to happen
to plan; to attempt; to plot; to conspire; to aim for; to strive for
too; also; both A and B; A as well as B; even; as much as
will or decree (esp. of shogun); emperor's wishes
to shoot (at); to attack; to defeat; to destroy
to do; to carry out; to cause to become; to make (into); to serve as; to act as; to wear (clothes, a facial expression, etc.)
festivities; celebration; wedding; marriage ceremony
to be temperate in; to refrain; to make notes; to jot down (e.g. phone number); to be in preparation for; to be in waiting for
if; when; and; with; used for quoting (thoughts, speech, etc.); promoted pawn; indicates a question
to part (usu. of people); to part from; to separate (of a couple); to break up; to lose (e.g. one's mother); to be bereaved
to throw away; to cast away; to abandon; to desert; to give up; to resign
Edo (shogunate capital, now Tokyo); Yedo
quiet (place); still; silent; inconspicuously; modestly; quietly
to disappear into; to be lost in; to do something under the cover of (confusion, etc.); to be almost indistinguishable; to be confusingly similar; to be diverted from (negative emotions, etc.)
morning; breakfast; (arch.) next morning
a (short) time; a while; one time (in the past); a period; (arch.) two-hour period
ken (6 shaku, approx. 1.818 m); counter used to number the gaps between pillars
moat; fosse; canal; ditch