腹をくくる
brace oneself; make up one's mind
→ Brace oneself for the worst-case scenario and make up one's mind to face it.
腹を読む
read someone's mind; discern intentions
→ Proceed with the negotiations by reading the other party's intentions.
腹を割る
speak frankly; open one's heart
→ Let's speak frankly and openly with each other.
胸が詰まる
be choked with emotion
→ Her sad life story left me choked with emotion.
胸を貸す／借りる
practice with someone; lend oneself as a practice partner
→ Practice by taking on a senior as a training partner.
胸を突く
strike the heart; deeply move
→ His words struck me deeply.
懐が暖かい／寒い
be flush with money / be short of money
→ After payday, I'm flush with money.
懐が深い
broad-minded; generous
→ He is broad-minded and forgives anyone's mistakes.
足が早い
spoil quickly; be perishable
→ Fresh food spoils quickly in summer.
足が出る
go over budget
→ I shopped too much and went over budget.
足を洗う
quit a shady life; wash one's hands of
→ Completely leave the delinquent group behind.
身を立てる
make a living; establish oneself
→ Make a living solely through one's cooking skills.
身を引く
step down; withdraw
→ He took responsibility and stepped down from the executive position.
身にしみる
feel keenly; sink deeply into
→ It has become the season when the cold cuts to the bone.
気が引ける
feel hesitant; feel guilty
→ I feel guilty because I'm always being treated.
気が置けない
feel completely at ease with
→ He is a childhood friend with whom I can be completely myself.
気が晴れる
feel relieved; one's spirits lift
→ Talking to a friend about my worries made me feel relieved.
気に障る
offend; rub someone the wrong way
→ His rude words and actions offended me.
気に病む
worry over; brood about
→ Keep brooding over a trivial mistake.
気を利かせる
be tactful; use initiative
→ I tactfully left the two of them alone.
気を抜く
let one's guard down
→ Let's keep trying without letting our guard down until the end.
気を紛らわす・紛らす
distract oneself; take one's mind off
→ Listen to music to take one's mind off sadness.
気を持たせる
lead someone on; give false hope
→ You should stop behaving in a way that gives the other person false hope.
息が詰まる
feel stifled; be suffocating
→ It was such a tense meeting that it felt suffocating.
息を呑む
gasp; hold one's breath
→ I gasped at the sheer beauty.
息を引き取る
pass away; breathe one's last
→ My grandfather passed away while surrounded by his family.
息をつく
take a breath; get a breather
→ The work settled down, and I could finally take a breather.
心が通う
understand each other deeply; connect emotionally
→ After many years together, they became a couple who deeply understand each other.
心を奪われる
be captivated; be enchanted
→ I was captivated by her beautiful singing voice.
心を砕く
take great pains; devote oneself
→ Parents take great pains over their children's education.
虫がいい
self-serving; too convenient
→ Only coming for help when you're in trouble is far too self-serving.
虫が好かない
instinctively dislike
→ For some reason, I just instinctively don't like that person.
泥をかぶる
take the blame; bear responsibility
→ To protect his subordinate, the boss took the blame.
顔に泥を塗る
bring disgrace on; shame someone
→ Don't do anything that would disgrace your parents.
花が咲く
conversation blossoms; become lively
→ Talking about old times made the conversation lively.
芽が出る
begin to show promise; bear fruit
→ After a long period of obscurity, things are finally beginning to show promise.
根に持つ
hold a grudge
→ He still holds a grudge over a trivial quarrel from long ago.
猫をかぶる
pretend to be innocent; hide one's true nature
→ She acts sweet and innocent in front of the person she likes.
尾を引く
linger; have lasting effects
→ That failure is still having lingering effects even now.
しっぽをつかむ
catch someone out; get incriminating evidence
→ We finally got evidence that led us to the culprit.
