(linguistics) grammatical tense / (Japanese grammar) a conjugation form of a verb

one's clothing and appearance / one's body shape or form / one's circumstances or situation / the shape or form of something

following the 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “continuative or stem form”) of a verb, indicates the state of the affixed verb or phrase: compare English just as

shapes

Americas, North America and South America

American Civil War (civil war in the United States (1861-1865))

(history, collective, of China) the Northern and Southern dynasties / (history, collective, of Japan) the Northern and Southern Courts

(literally, collective) east, west, south and north / (figuratively) everywhere; all directions

Japanese food, Japanese cuisine

Japanese foods, Japanese cuisine