Words July 2026 Week 2 

The scheduled time to meet was at 7:30 a.m. at Shinjuku Station. (“The appointed time” is also correct.)

The hydrangeas are in bloom. (This flower loves water, the “hydra” in hydrangea means “water.”)

It was raining when we arrived at the peach orchard. (The tourists had the option of eating pre-picked peaches or picking the peaches and eating them in the rain.)

The Tamagawa Aqueduct is a 43‑kilometer, gravity‑fed waterway constructed in 1653–54. (Parts of this aqueduct are still in use today.)

The Edo-Tokyo Museum was closed in 2022 for a major renovation, and it reopened on March 31, 2026. (The renovation made the building stronger against earthquakes and made high-tech additions.)

I got a call from a friend. (A friend called me. I got a phone call from a friend. Don’t say, “I got a phone from a friend” which would mean that a friend bought a phone and gave it to you.)

She is frugal, but not stingy. (Being frugal means being careful with how you spend money and avoiding waste. Frugal is a positive trait. In contrast, stingy means being selfishly reluctant to spend money. Stinginess carries a strong negative connotation.)

Curiosity killed the cat. (Asking too many questions about someone’s personal information can cause problems.)

I’m not a very curios person. (She doesn’t ask many questions, especially about people’s personal information.]

He is a TV personality or celebrity. (He is very talented means that he can do many things very well.)

He is a first-year junior high school student. (He is a seventh-grade student.)

A meteor is a streak of light produced when a space rock burns up in Earth's atmosphere. (A meteorite is a fragment of that rock that hits the ground.)

I had a stiff shoulder. (He had a pain in his shoulder.)

I rang a bell while walking to the shrine to scare away bears. (Bears usually only attack people when they are suddenly surprised to see them)

The movie was a tear-jerker. (It was an emotional movie that caused people to cry.)

He got out of his car. (We “get in” and “get out” of cars.)

I walked my bike up the slope. (A slope can be either slight or steep.)

I scraped my elbow and bruised my leg. (As we get older, we need to be careful walking.)

Cancer pain management is the common name for palliative care. (Unfortunately, I have heard of several people requiring this.)

The Ōkunitama Shrine was founded in 111 AD. (It is one of Tokyo's oldest shrines and is considered one of the five major shrines in the city.)

The large bamboo and grass ring is known as a Chinowa. (On the first pass, step through with your left foot, and walk around the ring to the left, returning to the front. On the second pass step through with your right foot, and walk around the ring to the right, returning to the front. And on the final pass, step through with your left foot, walk around to the left, and then proceed straight ahead to the main hall to pray.)

A Suntory brewery was located near there. (A brewery is where they make beer.)

My motor scooter battery died so the starter wouldn’t work, and the kick-starter was also broken. (It was a bad-luck day.)

We shouldn’t use our fingernails as tools. (This can damage the nails.)