ほら

The word ほら is an interjection that can be used to draw someone's attention to something. It can be translated as "hey", "look", "see", or "come on!"

ほら、これ、見て。リリーが子犬の時の写真。かわいいねえ。
Hey, look at this. It's a picture of Lily as a puppy. She's so cute.

ああ、ほら、リーさんは新たなスーツを着てて、かっこいいねぇ。
Look, Lee-san's wearing a new suit - he's so handsome!

あ、ちょっと、静かにして！ほら、馬の声が聞こえる。
Be quiet! Look, you sound like a horse.

ほら、君の血の色はきれいだなぁ、全て飲んでしまうよ。
Ahh, the color of your blood is so beautiful, I'll drink it all.

なんだ

なんだ is a common word that can be used as an interjection to express slight surprise. It literally means "what is X?" It's used in casual conversation.

なんだ、もう食べちゃったの。一緒に食べたかったのに。
What, you already ate? I thought we wanted to eat together.

その外で見つけた鍵はなんだか？
What is that key you found outside?

なんだ、まだ宿題終わってないの。早くしないと、授業が始まっちゃうよ。
What, you haven't finished your homework yet? You'd better do it soon, class is about to start.

A: リーさんはプロムにリカと行ったんだよ。
B: なんだ？アリスと行ったと思った。
A: Lee-san went to prom with Rika, you know.
B: What? I thought he went with Alice.

もまた

The phrase もまた carries a meaning equivalent to the particle も. It's more formal though, and sounds more emphatic in its usage.

暑いのは好きではないが、寒いのもまた苦手だ。
I don't like the heat, but I also don't like the cold.

リーさんはケーキを焼くだけでなく、ポニーもまた買ってくれたんだよ。
Not only did Lee-san bake me a cake, but he also bought me a pony.

俳句だけでなく、短歌もまた日本を代表する文学の一つとして知られている。
Not just haikus, but tankas are also known as one of the types of literature that represents Japan.

かばんでは、ティッシュがあって、ナイフもまたあるんだよ。
In my bag, I have tissues, and I also have a knife.

における

The phrase における can be used to indicate the time or place of an action or state that occurs. When used before a verb, it's conjugated to において. It's only used in formal language and generally translates as "in", "at", "on", or "during."

アジアにおける歴史に関する問題は、解決が難しそうです。
The resolution to the problems within Asian history sounds difficult.

1964年に東京において夏のオリンピックが行われた。1998年には、長野において冬のオリンピックが開かれた。
In 1964 in Tokyo, the summer Olympics were held. In 1998, the winter Olympics opened in Nagano.

7時から大学のホールにおいて学生会議を行います。
At 7 o'clock there's a student meeting being held in the university's hall.

過去において、その問題について誰も対策を考えなかったというわけではない。
It's not like nobody thought about countermeasures for these problems in the past.

だいたい

The word だいたい can be used with a word or phrase to add a general meaning of "most" or "nearly." The meaning varies depending on the type of word accompanying it. だいたい + Verb = mostly, nearly, or almost. だいたいの Noun = most, almost all, or rough. だいたい + Number/Amount = approximately.

先生の説明を聞いて、この言葉の意味はだいたい分かったけれど、まだ上手に使えない。
I heard sensei's explanation and nearly understood the meaning of this word, but I still can't use it correctly yet.

1年生のクラスでは、だいたい20%ぐらいの学生が、日本に行ったことがあるようです。
In the first year class, it looks like about 20% of the students have been to Japan.

この大学では、だいたいの学生がアルバイトをしている。
At this university, most of the students work part-time jobs.

だいたいの数は分かりますが、正確な数は調べてみないと分かりません。
I know the approximate number, but if I don't try to get an accurate number, then I won't know.

には

A noun or phrase + には can be used to describe purpose in a general statement. These statements are often used to express judgment on the topic's effectiveness, necessity, etc. It can be translated as "to", "in order to", "for", or "when."

風邪の予防には、ビタミンＣをたくさん取って、よく寝るのが効果的です。
For cold prevention, it's effective to take lots of vitamin C and get good rest.

学校のあとにリーさんの家へ行くには、バスがもっと安いと思う。
When going to Lee-san's house after school, I think the bus is cheaper.

海外旅行には、このスーツケースを持って行くと便利ですよ。
For trips overseas, it's convenient to take this suitcase.

レストランで食べるには、静かに話したほうがいいんだよ。
When eating at a restaurant, you'd better talk quietly.

あまりにも

The phrase あまりに(も) can be used to indicate that the degree of something is excessively high. It often translates as "too much" or "excessive." Also note that this line is used in Ayato's lovely song 血極 Night when he's talking about drinking lots of blood.

この読み物は、あまりにも漢字が多すぎて、何が書いてあるのかまったく理解できない。

This reading material has too many kanji in it, and I can't understand what's written at all.

リーさん作ったスープはあまりに辛すぎて、食べれなかったんだ。

The soup that Lee-san made was way too spicy, and I couldn't eat it.

隣の家のパーティーがあまりにうるさかったので、警察に連絡した。

The party at the neighbor's house was too loud, so I called the cops.

このクラスではあまりにも男の子がいて、女の子がどこでいるの？

There are too many boys in this class - where are the girls?

だけで

A noun or verb + だけで can be used to express that just having X or just doing X is fine. It's often translated as "just by [verb]" or "just with [noun]."

日本に行ったら、英語は使わないでなるべく日本語だけで生活するつもりだ。
When I go to Japan, I plan to not use English and to live just using Japanese as much as possible.

この植木は２週間に一度水をやるだけでいいですよ。世話が簡単です。
This plant just needs to be watered once every two weeks. It's easy to care for.

スミスさんは自分で勉強しただけで、日本語が話せるようになりました。
Smith-san studied all on his own, and he got to where he could speak Japanese.

お金を入れてボタンを押すだけで、暖かいラーメンが出てくる自動販売機がある。
It's a vending machine where just by inserting money and pressing a button, you get warm ramen.

Verb Stem + 上げる

A verb stem + 上げる will form a compound verb with varying meanings. The meaning is often something like "finish something up", "upward", or "to a great extent." It's best to learn the verbs individually, though.

今日中にこのレポートを書き上げてしまわなければならない。
I have to finish up writing this report by the end of the day.

この荷物は重すぎて誰も持ち上げることはないが、機械なら簡単に持ち上げられる。
This luggage is too heavy for anyone to be able to lift up, but a machine could easily lift it.

日本語を勉強している学生達が、自分達で日本語のブログサイトを立ち上げた。
The students studying Japanese started up a Japanese blog site on their own.

泥棒はコンビニの店員を縛り上げて、レジのお金を盗んで行った。
The robber tied up all the konbini's employees, stole the money from the register, and left.

Verb Stem + がけに

The verb stem of a motion verb + がけに can be used to express "on one's way."

会社への行きがけに銀行によって、お金をおろして行こう。
On the way to work I'll stop by the bank and take out some money.

リーさん会社の帰りがけに嬉しく小さい子猫を見つけて、家に連れてきたんだ。
On his way home from work, Lee-san found a happy little kitten and brought him home.

高校生の頃は, 学校の帰りがけに友達と映画を見たり、本屋に行ったりしたものです。
When I was a high school student, on my way home from school I used to do things with my friends like see movies and go to the book store.

パーティへの行きがけに、転んで腕が折られちゃった。
On my way to the party, I fell and broke my arm.

につれて

The structure X + につれて can be used to express something that takes places as X occurs. X is usually a verb, or a verbal noun (like a する verb).

暖かくなるにつれて、雪が溶け、木が緑になっていく。
As it gets to be warm, the snow will melt, and the trees will become green.

リーさんが練るにつれて、体がもっと強くなるんだな。
As Lee-san works out, his body becomes stronger.

日本語が上手になるにつれて、日本人と話すのが恥ずかしくなくなってきた。
As you get to be good at Japanese, you won't be embarrassed to talk to Japanese people.

日本の歴史を習うにつれて、もっと不思議になるんだよね。
As I learn about Japanese history, it becomes more curious to me.

だんだん

The word だんだん is used to describe a state that changes slowly over time, and is usually translated as "gradually" or "little by little." It often occurs alongside the ていく and てくる forms because of this.

毎日日本語で話すようにしていると、だんだん上手に話せるようになりますよ。
If you make an effort to speak Japanese every day, you'll gradually get to where you can speak it well.

祖父は毎日英語を勉強して、だんだんペラペラ読めるようになったんだわ。
Grandpa studied English every day, and he gradually got to where he could fluently read it.

せっかく４年間も日本語を勉強したのに、大学を卒業してからあまり使わなかったら、だんだん忘れてしまった。
Even though I specially studied Japanese for four years, when I didn't use it very much after graduating from college, I forgot it little by little.

リーさんはジムに行き始めて、だんだんすごく強くなったんだな。
Lee-san started going to the gym, and little by little he got to be very strong.

たものだ

A plain past tense verb + ものだ can be used to express the English equivalent of "used to", referring to an action that used to be performed. It's often used in a nostalgic fashion to reminisce about the past.

子供の頃は、毎年夏休みになると、家族と海に泳ぎに行ったものです。
Every year when I was a kid, when it was summer break I would go swimming in the ocean with my family.

高校の頃は、クラスの後いつもリーさんと映画館に行ったものだな。
Back in high school, after class I always used to go to the movies with Lee-san.

携帯電話がなかった頃は、よく友達を待たせたり、逆に待たせられたりしたものだが、今はすぐ連絡できるのでとても便利だ。
Back when we didn't have cell phones, I often used to make my friends wait, or the opposite, was made to wait by my friends, but now I since I can quickly contact them it's really convenient.

トキが子猫の時は、ドアの近いに小さい壺に寝たものだねぇ。
When Toki was a kitten, he used to sleep in the little pot near the door.

Verb ては Verb

The structure verb + ては + verb can be used to express that those verbs are done repeatedly or over and over, usually over a period of time. The verbs can be repeated again for additional emphasis.

僕の犬は散歩に連れて行くと、ちょっと歩いては立ち止まって鼻をクンクンさせ、なかなか前に進まない。
Whenever I take my dog on a walk, he'll repeatedly take a few steps and then stop and sniff over and over, and not really move forward at all.

ダンスパーティーで、リーさんは踊っては歌って、踊っては歌ってたんだ。
At the dance party, Lee-san was repeatedly dancing and singing, dancing and singing.

今日は朝から、雨が降ってはやみ、降ってはやみしていて嫌な天気だ。
The weather's been bad ever since this morning - the rain has started and stopped, started and stopped.

先週の週末私は病気だった、食べては吐いてしまったんだな。
Last weekend I was sick, and I repeatedly ate and threw up.

姿

The word 姿 means appearance or figure, and can be used to describe someone's physical form or appearance. When used with nouns, it means "one's appearance in" or "wearing..." and when used with verbs, it means "the way one [verb]."

日本では秋になると仕事の面接に行くスーツ姿の学生が増える。
In Japan when it becomes fall, the amount of students going to job interviews wearing suits increases.

リーさんは歩く姿のを見ると、どきどきしてしまうんだなぁ。
Whenever I see the way Lee-san walks, I get nervous.

母が病気で苦しむ姿を見て、私は将来医者になろうと心に決めた。
I see the way my mom suffers in her illness, so in the future I decided that I shall become a doctor.

ワイシャツ姿の男はすてきだけど、ドレス姿の男はとってもかっこいいね。
Guys wearing dress shirts are lovely, but guys wearing dresses are so handsome.

～代

A number that's a multiple of 10 + 代 can be used to describe someone's age, with 20代 meaning 20's, 30代 meaning 30's, etc. If it's used with a year in the format of 1950年代, then it's referring to the 1950s.

私は10代で結婚してすぐ子供を産み、40代で孫が産まれ、「おばあさん」になりました。
I got married in my teens and soon had a child, and in my 40's my grandchild was born, and I became a grandmother.

20代でリーさんに会ったんだけど、30代で付き合い始めたんだ。
I met Lee-san in my 20's, but I started dating him in my 30's.

1980年代の後半から1990年代の初めにかけての日本の経済は「バブル経済」と呼ばれている。
The soaring Japanese economy from the second half of the 1980s to the early 1990s is known as a "bubble economy."

彼は２０代で会社を作り、３０代で、大金持ちになった。
He started a company in his 20's and became rich in his 30's.