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139 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
- 3rd side (hint)
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one (floor, ceiling)
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一
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The number 1 laid on its side.
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two
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二
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Like the Roman numeral II, which doubles the numeral 1.
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three
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三
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Like the Roman numeral III, which triples the numeral 1.
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four
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四
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Two primitive elements, mouth and human legs.
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five
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五
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six
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六
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Two primitive elements, top hat and animal legs.
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seven (diced)
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七
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The first stroke cuts through the second.
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eight
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八
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Just like the arabic numeral 8 is a small circle placed on a larger one, in Japanese it is a short stroke placed beside a long one.
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nine (baseball, baseball team)
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九
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ten (needle)
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十
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Turn it 45 degrees in any direction and we get the Roman numeral for 10.
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mouth (opening)
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口
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Pictograph of a mouth, since Kanji has no circles it is square shaped.
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day (sun, tongue wagging in a mouth)
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日
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Pictograph of the sun, with the smily face drawn accross the middle.
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month (moon, flesh, part of the body)
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月
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rice field (brains)
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田
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Birds eye view of a plot of 4 rice fields.
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eye (eyeball)
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目
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Pictograph of an eye.
NOTE: sometimes can be turned sideways as a primitive. |
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old
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古
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Ten and mouth, an 'old' tombstone with a cross on top.
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I
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吾
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'I' have 5 holes in my head (2 earholes, 2 nostrils and a mouth).
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risk
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冒
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There is always 'risk' when using your eyes to look at the sun.
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companion
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朋
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In the Bible it says, God took Adams flesh to make new flesh, the perfect 'companion'.
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bright
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明
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The two 'bright' bodies of the sky are the sun and the moon.
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chant
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唱
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One mouth orchestrating and 2 mouths with wagging tongues singing a wonderful 'chant'.
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sparkle
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晶
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A diamond reflecting light from the sun in 3 different directions would have a wonderful 'sparkle'.
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goods
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品
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Mass production of 'goods' is something common nowadays so as to feed all the mouths everywhere.
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spine
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呂
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2 vertebrate of a spine linked together.
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prosperous
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昌
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Anywhere that has 2 suns will soon become 'prosperous', a place where noone sleeps!
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early
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早
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The sun is held up on the stem of leaves where the stem is needle thin in comparison to the sun, like a sunflower. The sunflower is always and 'early' to rise.
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rising sun
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旭
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Think of Japan, land of the 'rising sun', the flag with the red sun hung out during a baseball game (one of Japans national sports).
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generation
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世
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A 'generation' is about 30 years, look closely and you can see 10 + 10 + 10.
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stomach
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胃
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Two primitives, brain and flesh, the part of the body that feeds the brain is the 'stomach'.
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nightbreak
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旦
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The sun coming over the horizon, is when its daybreak or in reverse 'nightbreak'.
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gall bladder
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胆
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The 'gall bladder' filters bile (reducing stress), so the part of the body that rests before nightbreak while you're sleeping cause theres no stress in sleeping.
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span
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亘
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The 'span' of a day between sunrise and sunset.
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concave
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凹
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convex
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凸
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★walking stick (primitive)
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｜
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It carries with it the connotations of lameness
and whatever else one associates with the use of a cane. |
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★a drop of
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丶
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The meaning of this primitive is obvious from the first moment you look at it, though just what it will be a drop of will differ from case to case. The important thing is not to think of it as something insignificant like a “drop in the bucket” but as something so important that it can change the whole picture — like a drop of arsenic in your mother-in-law’s coffee.
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olden times
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旧
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A walking stick is needed for the days of 'olden times'.
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oneself (nose, nostrils)
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自
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Pointing to your nose is an indication of 'oneself'.
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white (white bird, dove)
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白
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The sun gives of 'white' light.
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hundred
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百
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99 year is white year, add one more and you have one 'hundred'.
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in
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中
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Putting a walking stick in your mouth will certainly help to put 'in' medicine.
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thousand
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千
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Drop in a couple of 0's after 10 and we get a 'thousand'.
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tongue
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舌
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Sharing a common 'tongue' or 1000 mouths speaking the same language.
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measuring box
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升
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The little wooden 'measuring box', Japanese people like to pour sake in.
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rise up
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昇
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When the sun is going to 'rise up' its time to get the measuring box ready to drink!
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round
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丸
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Adding just a little more to 9 we get 10 a nice 'round' number.
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measurement (glue, glued to)
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寸
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One tenth of a Shaku, or a drop out of the ten.
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speciality
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専
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Ten fields of experience (competance) glued together is about what is needed to have a 'speciality'.
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Dr.
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博
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Someone with a speciality of needs is a Dr. or acupuncturist.
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★divining rod
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卜
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A walking stick to look for the drop of water is a 'divining rod'.
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fortune-telling
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占
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Divining rod with a mouth, can only be 'fortune-telling'.
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above
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上
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A divining rod standing 'above' the horizon.
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below
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下
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A divining rod 'below' the ceiling.
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eminent
*conspicuous |
卓
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A magician with a sunflower for a magic wand is 'eminent'.
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★mist
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◆no kanji◆
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Needles falling on a sunflower must be 'mist'.
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morning
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朝
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the early 'morning' mist as the moon sets.
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★animal legs
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◆no kanji◆
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Simple legs.
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★human legs
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◆no kanji◆
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Little more complex legs.
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★wind
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◆no kanji◆
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Second stroke, bends out like a gust of wind blown from above.
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★bound up
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◆no kanji◆
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The sense of bound up is that of being “tied and gagged” or
wrapped up tightly. If you have trouble remembering when it serves as an enclosure (with the hook) and when not (without the hook), you might think of the former as a chain and the latter as a rope. |
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★horns
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◆no kanji◆
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'Horns' of animals.
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only
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只
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There is 'only' one pacman, the mouth with legs.
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shellfish (shells, oyster, clam)
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貝
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One eye and legs, reminds me of a giant walking 'shellfish'.
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upright
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貞
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It would take a magic wand to make a shellfish walk 'upright'.
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employee
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員
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A good 'employee' keeps their mouth slamped shut with a shellfish.
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see
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見
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To 'see' anything with your eyes you need to use your legs to get there first.
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newborn babe
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児
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In the olden times a 'newborn babe' would ofter crawl around on the floor.
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beginning
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元
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In the 'beginning' there were 2 people with legs, Adam and Eve.
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page
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頁
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If I was going to write a message on an oyster I'd only have one 'page' to write on.
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stubborn
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頑
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In the beginning of the bible it shows how 'stubborn' people were and still are.
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mediocre
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凡
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Just as a drop in the bucket is insignificant a drop in the wind is 'mediocre'.
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defeat
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負
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2 oysters bound in mortal combat spells 'defeat' for one.
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ten thousand
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万
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Japanese people count in groups of 'ten thousand' hence 1 group of bound up numbers = 10,000.
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phrase
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句
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A 'phrase' is a group of bound up words.
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texture
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肌
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The 'texture' of the flesh is affected by the wind.
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decameron
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旬
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A group of 10 days is a 'decameron'.
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ladle
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勺
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A 'ladle' is used to scoop precious drops.
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bull's eye
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的
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If you can catch a white bird in a ladle 'BULL'S EYE'.
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neck
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首
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Horns... nose... 'neck'
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fishguts (fishhook)
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乙
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Foul-hooked fish in the stomach.. eww 'fishguts' everywhere.
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riot
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乱
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When tongues get ooked there's a 'riot' coming!
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straightaway
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直
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A straightened hook can go through the eye of a needle 'straightaway'.
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★tool
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◆no kanji◆
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The 'tools' are placed on the carpenters table.
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tool
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具
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A 'tool' has eyes to watch over your craft.
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true
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真
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Only tools of 'true' value have a needle hole pierced in the top so that they can be hanged.
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★by one's side
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◆no kanji◆
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Where your hands fall when you let them drop 'by one's side'.
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craft
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工
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The "I" beam is used in the 'craft' of heavy construction
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left
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左
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The 'left' handis often associated with the dark side of crafts.
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right
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右
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A mouth in your hand by your side is like your conscious and is almost always 'right'.
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possess
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有
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A piece of meat by ones side is enough to drive demons out of even the most 'possessed' souls.
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bribe
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賄
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Its easy to 'bribe' people possessed with money (shells).
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tribute
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貢
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The art of collecting money in a way people think its a 'tribute' is truely a clever craft.
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paragraph
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項
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To write on the first page with a craftmans skill we use calligraphy to write the first letter of the 'paragraph'.
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sword (dagger, sabre)
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刀
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The handle of a great sword.
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blade
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刃
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See the blood on the dagger's 'blade'.
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cut
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切
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Dicing with a dagger to 'cut' up everything in sight.
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seduce
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召
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Putting ones "sword" into the "cave" is a good way to 'seduce'.
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shining
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昭
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The sun was seductively 'shining' outside.
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rule
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則
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An oyster thats measured against the hilt of the sabre to check if it doesn't break the undersized 'rule'.
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★wealth
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◆no kanji◆
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One mouth eating all from one field must be someone of great 'wealth'.
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vice ~
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副
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Second in charge, next to the wealthy (general) with a sabre in hand is the 'vice' captain.
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seperate
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別
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Mouth bound and sabre cast to the side, the ultimate 'seperation' for the samurai.
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street (nail, spike)
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丁
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The sign and the pole at the corner of the 'street'.
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village
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町
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Street signs at the edge of the rice fields to define the 'village' boundaries.
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can
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可
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"I think I 'can'" was what came from the mouth of the train as it gobbled up the spikes on the train tracks.
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place on the head
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頂
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To 'place on the head' a nail is to show humble acceptance.
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child
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子
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Head, body and arms holding on tight. Is the picture of a 'child' on their mothers back.
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cavity
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孔
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Children and hooks, only thing I can think of is a child off to the dentist to get a 'cavity' fixed.
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complete
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了
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When a childs arms are tucked away in bed, you know your days work is 'complete'.
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woman
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女
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2 arms and 2 legs and a head, thats all thats needed of a 'woman'.
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fond
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好
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Woman are always 'fond' of a good looking child.
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likeness
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如
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A woman's mouth bears the 'likeness' of "zero" in katakana.
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mama
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母
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A woman with 2 small drops (nipples) is most likely a 'mama'.
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pierce
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貫
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Mama has shell earrings and we all know Japanese people call earrings 'pierce'.
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elder brother
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兄
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Big mouth and human legs, nuff said, can only be an 'elder brother'.
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overcome
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克
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Teenagers need to 'overcome' the needle (drugs).
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little
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小
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3 small drops or 'little', little, little.
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few
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少
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A 'few' of something little, or a little of something little.
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large
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大
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A person stretched out to take up a 'large' space.
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★cliff
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厂
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The edge of a large 'cliff'.
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many
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多
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The story started 'many' moons ago when 2 moons were partially obscured by cloud ~.
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evening
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タ
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On a nice 'evening' with a cloud partially obscuring the moon.
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eventide
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汐
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Drops of water coming up the shore in the evening, the time of 'eventide'.
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outside
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外
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In the evening taking your wand 'outside' makes for more powerful magic.
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name
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名
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In the evening imagine a father whispering to a child their 'name'.
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stone (stones, rocks)
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石
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When standing under a cliff its safer to stand in a cave so a 'stone' from above won't hit you.
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resemblance (spark, candle)
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肖
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A little bit of flesh, like the 'resemblance' of a little boys flesh to his fathers.
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nitrate
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硝
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Nitric acid or 'nitrate' acid when poured on some stones, you can see sparks fly.
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smash
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砕
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If you hit a rock with a baseball bat 10 times, you are sure to 'smash' it.
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sand
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砂
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If there are no stones or very few on a beach, the 'sand' is often good.
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plane
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削
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Sparks from a sabre as you 'plane' something flat.
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ray
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光
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The little pieces of dust that walk in the door with human legs that you can see in a 'ray' of light.
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plump
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太
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A larger person falling into a chair like a drop of oil, kerrr- 'plump'.
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utensil
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器
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The 4 people sitting around the corners of a large table with hungry mouths waiting for 'utensils' to start eating.
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stinking
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臭
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Someone with a nose large enough could smell something 'stinking' from very far away.
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exquisite
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妙
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Out of all the woman in the world, very few are truely 'exquisite'.
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focus
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省
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Hold up something a few centimeters from your eye so that you can 'focus' on it well
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thick
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厚
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A child left standing at the bottom of a cliff under the sun has to have 'thick' skin so as not to cry.
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strange
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奇
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Trying to speak with a large nails around your mouth would look very 'strange'.
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