(おぼん)

Obon (festival for spirits of ancestors)

(きせい)

returning to one's hometown

(らっしゅ)

rush (of travellers)

(はじまる)

to begin

(くうこう)

airport

(えき)

station

(こんざつ)

congestion, crowding

(がつ)

month (counter)

(ふるさと)

hometown, birthplace

(かえる)

to return home

(ひと)

person / people

(りょこう)

Travel; trip

(いく)

to go

(あさ)

morning

(こむ)

to be crowded / to be busy

(はねだくうこう)

Haneda Airport

(おおきい)

big; large

(にもつ)

luggage; package; cargo

(もつ)

to have; to hold

(かぞく)

family

(すがた)

figure; appearance

(たくさん)

a lot / many

(みる)

to see, watch

(こうそくどうろ)

Highway; expressway

(じゅうたい)

traffic jam, congestion

(ある)

a certain (some)

(かいしゃ)

company

(ことし)

this year

(きょねん)

last year

(ながい)

long

(とくに)

especially / particularly

(にち)

day

(くだり)

down train / outbound (from major city)

(みち)

road, street, path

(いちばん)

number one, most

(くるま)

car

(でかける)

to go out

(はやめ)

early, ahead of time

(いえ)

house

(でる)

to come out; to occur

(しんかんせん)

bullet train / Shinkansen

(していせき)

reserved seat

(ほとんど)

almost; most

(うりきれる)

to be sold out

(てつどうがいしゃ)

railway company

(じゆうせき)

non-reserved seat

(じかん)

time

(よゆう)

room to spare, leeway

(くる)

to come

(はなす)

to speak, talk

(らいしゅう)

next week

(はじめ)

beginning; start

(つづく)

to continue

and (non-exhaustive list)

や lists representative examples — Shikoku and Kyushu among other regions (四国や九州).

to become

Expresses a change of state; Kawai became the new commissioner of the Sports Agency.

from (starting point)

Indicates the origin or source. 建物の中から means 'from inside the building'.

is doing, has been doing (ongoing state/action)

Expresses a continuing action or resulting state. Formed with て-form + いる. Can describe an action in progress or a state resulting from a past change.

passive — was done to

Passive form used to indicate that Epstein was sued/accused, not that he did the suing.

according to ...

Cites a source of information. The noun before によると is the source. Often followed by a reported statement.

than / more than

Indicates comparison. Used to say prices rose on average 2.8% compared to last year.

to become (い-adjective)

Expresses a change of state for い-adjectives. Drop the final い and add くなる. Indicates something has changed or will change to a new state.

I heard that; it is said that

倒したそうです and 相談できると答えました report secondhand information about what happened.

it is said that ~

Passive form expressing common knowledge or reputation. It is said that aquaculture of nodoguro is difficult.

had better ~ / should ~

Used in 「仲よくしたほうがいい」to express the survey question about which country Taiwan should have good relations with.

because / since

Gives a reason. Here it explains the gate closes because it is dangerous due to too many people (危ないからです).

please do ...

Polite request form. Formed with て-form + ください. Used to ask someone to perform an action.

until / as far as

Indicates an end point in space or time. Here it expresses how far the balls flew.

plan to ~

Indicates a plan or schedule. Here 出す予定 (plan to release).

お盆の帰省ラッシュが始まる　空港や駅が混雑

The Obon homecoming rush begins — airports and stations are packed

8月になって、お盆の帰省ラッシュが始まりました。

August has arrived, and the Obon homecoming rush has begun.

ふるさとへ帰る人や旅行に行く人で、空港や駅は朝から混んでいます。

With people heading back to their hometowns and people setting off on trips, airports and stations have been crowded since morning.

羽田空港では、大きい荷物を持った家族の姿がたくさん見られました。

At Haneda Airport, many families could be seen carrying large luggage.

高速道路も渋滞しています。

The expressways are congested as well.

ある会社によると、今年の渋滞は去年より長くなるそうです。

According to one company, this year's traffic jams are expected to be longer than last year's.

特に11日と12日は、下りの道が一番混むと言われています。

The 11th and 12th in particular are said to be the busiest on the outbound roads.

車で出かける人は、早めに家を出たほうがいいです。

People travelling by car had better leave home early.

新幹線の指定席は、ほとんど売り切れました。

Reserved seats on the Shinkansen are almost completely sold out.

鉄道会社の人は「自由席は混みますから、時間に余裕を持って来てください」と話しています。

A railway company staff member says, "The non-reserved cars get crowded, so please come with time to spare."

ラッシュは来週の初めまで続く予定です。

The rush is expected to continue until the beginning of next week.