Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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Nouns
People
- にんげん、人間 – human (ningen)
- じんるい、人類 – humanity (jinrui)
- ひと、人 – person (hito)
- おとこ、男 – male (otoko)
- おとこのひと、男の人 – man (otokonohito)
- おとこのこ、男の子 – boy (otokonoko)
- おんな、女 – female (onna)
- おんなのひと、女の人 – woman (onnanohito)
- おんなのこ、女の子 – girl (onnanoko)
- あかちゃん、赤ちゃん – baby (akachan)
- わかもの、若者 – youth, young person (wakamono)
- わたし、私 – I, myself (watashi)
- わたくし、私 – I, myself (watakushi [most formal])
- ぼく、僕 – I, myself (boku, mainly used by males)
- おれ、俺 – I, myself (ore, mainly used by males [informal])
- あたし、私 – I, myself (atashi, mainly used by females [softer sounding])
- しょうじょ、少女 – girl (shoujo)
- しょうねん、少年 – boy (shounen)
Occupations
- いしゃ、医者 – doctor (isha)
- かんごし、看護師 – nurse (kangoshi)
- かんごふ、看護婦 – female nurse (kangofu)
- しかい、歯科医、はいしゃ、歯医者 – dentist (shikai, ha-isha)
- せいじか、政治家 – politician (seijika)
- べんごし、弁護士 – lawyer (bengoshi)
- しょうぼうし、消防士 – firefighter (shouboushi)
- けいさつかん、警察官 – police officer (keisatsukan)
- へいし、兵士 – soldier (heishi)
- けんちくか、建築家 – architect (kenchikuka)
- せんせい、先生 – teacher (sensei)
- きょうし、教師 – (academic) teacher (kyoushi)
- かしゅ、歌手 – singer (kashu)
- エンジニア – engineer(enjinia)
Body
- あし、足、脚 – foot, leg (ashi)
- かかと、踵 – heel (kakato)
- すね、脛 – shin (sune)
- ひざ、膝 – knee (hiza)
- もも、腿 – thigh (momo)
- あたま、頭 – head (atama)
- かお、顔 – face (kao)
- くち、口 – mouth (kuchi)
- くちびる、唇 – lips (kuchibiru)
- は、歯 – tooth (ha)
- はな、鼻 – nose (hana)
- め、目 – eye (me)
- ひげ、髭、鬚、髯 – moustache, beard (hige)
- かみ、髪 – hair (kami)
- みみ、耳 – ear (mimi)
- おなか、御腹 – stomach (onaka)
- うで、腕 – arm (ude)
- ひじ、肘 – elbow (hiji)
- かた、肩 – shoulder (kata)
- つめ、爪 – nail (tsume)
- て、手 – hand (te)
- てくび、手首 – wrist (tekubi)
- てのひら、掌、手の平 – palm of hand (te-no-hira)
- ゆび、指 – finger, toe (yubi)
- しり、尻 – buttocks (shiri)
- おなか、お腹 （はら、腹） – abdomen (o-naka)
- かんぞう、肝臓 – liver (kanzō)
- きも、肝 – liver (kimo)
- きんにく、筋肉 – muscle (kin’niku)
- くび、首 – neck (kubi)
- こころ、心 – heart [as in feelings] (kokoro)
- こし、腰 – waist, hip (koshi)
- しんぞう、心臓 – heart (shinzō)
- せなか、背中 – back (senaka)
- ち、血 – blood (chi)
- にく、肉 – meat (niku)
- はだ、肌、膚 – skin (hada)
- ひふ、皮膚 – skin (hifu)
- ほね、骨 – bone (hone)
- むね、胸 – chest (mune)
- かぜ、風邪 – cold [illness] (kaze)
- げり、下痢 – diarrhea (geri)
- びょうき、病気 – illness (byōki)
Family
- かぞく、家族 – family (kazoku)
- りょうしん、両親 – parents (ryoushin)
- こども、子供 – children, child (kodomo)
- ちち、父 – father (chichi)(«otou-san»)
- はは、母 – mother (haha)(«okaa-san»)
- つま、妻 – wife (tsuma)
- おっと、夫 – husband (otto)
- あに、兄 – older brother (ani) (onī-san)
- あね、姉 – older sister (ane) (onē-san)
- おとうと、弟 – younger brother (otōto)
- いもうと、妹 – younger sister (imōto)
- きょうだい、兄弟 – brothers, siblings (kyōdai)
- しまい、姉妹 – sisters (shimai)
- そふ、祖父 – grandfather (sofu) (ojii-san)
- そぼ、祖母 – grandmother (sobo) (obaa-san)
- まご、孫 – grandchild (mago)
- おじ、伯父、叔父 – uncle (oji) (oji-san)
- おば、伯母、叔母 – aunt (oba) (oba-san)
- いとこ、従兄弟、従姉妹、従兄、従弟、従姉、従妹 – cousin (itoko)
- めい、姪 – niece (mei)
- おい、甥 – nephew (oi)
Life
- いきもの、生き物 – living creatures (ikimono)
- ばけもの、化け物 – monster (bakemono)
Animals
- どうぶつ、動物 – animal (dōbutsu)
- チーター – cheetah (chītā)
- いぬ、犬 – dog (inu)
- ねこ、猫 – cat (neko)
- うし、牛 – cow (ushi)
- ぶた、豚 – pig (buta)
- うま、馬 – horse (uma)
- ひつじ、羊 – sheep (hitsuji)
- さる、猿 – monkey (saru)
- ねずみ、鼠 – mouse, rat (nezumi)
- とら、虎 – tiger (tora)
- オオカミ、狼 – wolf (ōkami)
- うさぎ、兎 – rabbit (usagi)
- りゅう、たつ、竜 – dragon (ryū, tatsu)
- しか、鹿 – deer (shika)
- かえる、蛙 – frog (kaeru)
- がま、蟇 – toad (gama)
- しし、獅子 – lion (shishi)
- キリン、麒麟 – giraffe (kirin)
- ぞう、象 – elephant (zō)
- とり、鳥 – bird (tori)
- にわとり、鶏 – chicken (niwatori)
- すずめ、雀 – sparrow (suzume)
- からす、烏 – crow, raven (karasu)
- わし、鷲 – eagle (washi)
- たか、鷹 – hawk, falcon (taka)
- さかな、魚 – fish (sakana)
- たい、鯛 – red snapper (tai)
- えび、海老 – shrimp, lobster (ebi)
- いわし、鰯 – sardine (iwashi)
- まぐろ、鮪 – tuna (maguro)
- かつお、鰹 – bonito (katsuo)
- さんま、秋刀魚 – pike (sanma)
- あじ、鰺 – horse mackerel (aji)
- さば、鯖 – mackerel (saba)
- イカ、烏賊 – squid (ika)
- タコ、蛸、章魚 – octopus (tako)
- むし、虫 – insect (mushi)
- ちょう、蝶 – butterfly (chō)
- ガ、蛾 – moth (ga)
- せみ、蝉 – cicada (semi)
- トンボ、蜻蛉 – dragonfly (tonbo)
- バッタ、飛蝗 – grasshopper (batta)
- クモ、蜘蛛 – spider (kumo)
- ホタル、蛍 – firefly (hotaru)
- ハエ、蝿、蠅 – housefly (hae)
- カ、蚊 – mosquito, gnat (ka)
- ゴキブリ、蜚蠊 – cockroach (gokiburi)
- カタツムリ、蝸牛 – snail (katatsumuri)
- ナメクジ、蛞蝓 – slug (namekuji)
- ミミズ、蚯蚓 – earthworm (mimizu)
- かい、貝 – shellfish (kai)
- かいがら、貝殻 – shell (kaigara)
- トカゲ、蜥蜴 – lizard (tokage)
- へび、蛇 – snake (hebi)
- くま、熊 – bear(kuma)
Plants
- しょくぶつ、植物 — plants (shokubutsu)
- くさ、草 — grass (kusa)
- はな、花 — flower (hana)
- み、実 — fruit (mi)
- き、木 — tree (ki)
- は、葉 (はっぱ、葉っぱ) — leaf (ha, happa)
- ね、根 (ねっこ、根っ子) — root (ne, nekko)
- くき、茎 — stem (kuki)
- きのこ、茸 — mushroom (kinoko)
- きく、菊 — chrysanthemum (kiku)
- さくら、桜 — cherry blossom (sakura)
- まつ、松 — pine tree (matsu)
- うめ、梅 — japanese plum or apricot (ume)
Crops
- こめ、米 – uncooked rice (kome)
- いね、稲 – rice growing in a field (ine)
- むぎ、麦 – wheat, barley, oats (mugi)
- やさい、野菜 – vegetable (yasai)
- くだもの、果物 – fruit for eating (kudamono)
- いも、芋 – yam, potato, taro (imo)
- まめ、豆 – beans, peas (mame)
- だいこん、大根 – Japanese white radish (daikon)
- にんじん、人参 – carrot (ninjin)
- リンゴ、林檎 – apple (ringo)
- ミカン、蜜柑 – mandarin orange (mikan)
- バナナ、かんしょう、甘蕉 – banana (banana, kanshō)
- ナシ、梨 – pear (nashi)
- クリ、栗 – chestnut tree (kuri)
- モモ、桃 – peach (momo)
- トマト、ばんか、蕃茄 – tomato (tomato, banka)
- スイカ、西瓜 – watermelon (suika)
Food
- たべもの、食べ物 — food (tabemono)
- ちょうしょく、朝食 — breakfast (chōshoku, asagohan)
- ひるごはん、昼御飯 — lunch (hirugohan)
- ばんごはん、晩御飯 — dinner (bangohan)
- ごはん、御飯 — cooked rice or meal (gohan)
- みそ、味噌 — miso (miso)
- りょうり、料理 — cooking (ryōri)
- サラダ — salad (sarada)
- デザート — dessert (dezāto)
- パン — bread (pan)
- サンドイッチ — sandwich (sandoitchi)
- おやつ、間食 — snack (oyatsu, kanshoku)
- アイスクリーム — ice cream (aisukurīmu)
- たこやき、たこ焼き — octopus dumpling (takoyaki)
Drink
- のみもの、飲み物 — drink/beverage (nomimono)
- ちゃ、茶 — tea (cha)
- おちゃ、お茶 — green tea (ocha)
- コーヒー、珈琲 — coffee (kōhī)
- ぎゅうにゅう、牛乳 — milk (gyūnyū)
- みず、水 — water (mizu)
- ビール — beer (bīru)
- ワイン — wine (wain)
Seasoning
- さとう、砂糖 — sugar (satō)
- しお、塩 — salt (shio)
- しょうゆ、醤油 — soy sauce (shōyu)
Time
- じかん、時間 – time (jikan)
- とき、じ、時 – ~hours (toki, ji)
- こよみ、カレンダー、暦 – calendar (koyomi, karendā)
- ふん、分 – minute (fun)
- びょう、秒 – second (byō)
- ひ、にち、日 – day (hi, nichi)
- つき、がつ、月 – month (tsuki, gatsu)
- (# -gatsu / (January,1st Month): Ichi-,Ni-,San-,Shi-,Go-,Roku-,Shichi-,Hachi-,Ku-,Jyu-,JyuIchi-,JyuNi- (December,12th Month)
- とし、ねん、年 – year (toshi, nen)
- (Last year: kyonen, this year: kotoshi, next year: rainen)
- きのう、さくじつ、昨日 – yesterday (kinō, sakujitsu)
- きょう、今日 – today (kyō)
- あした、あす、みょうにち、明日 – tomorrow (ashita, asu, myōnichi)
- あさ、朝 – morning (asa)
- (Yesterday morning: kinou no asa, this morning: kesa, tomorrow morning: ashita no asa)
- ひる、昼 – afternoon (hiru)
- ゆうがた、夕方 – evening (yūgata)
- ばん、晩 – evening (ban)
- よる、夜 – evening, night (yoru)
- ようび、曜日 – ~day (yōbi)
- しゅう、週 – week (shū)
- (Last week: senshū, this week: konshū, next week: raishū)
- いっしゅうかん、一週間 – one week (isshūkan)
Week Days
- にちようび、日曜日 – Sunday (nichi-yōbi)
- げつようび、月曜日 – Monday (getsu-yōbi)
- かようび、火曜日 – Tuesday (ka-yōbi)
- すいようび、水曜日 – Wednesday (sui-yōbi)
- もくようび、木曜日 – Thursday (moku-yōbi)
- きんようび、金曜日 – Friday (kin-yōbi)
- どようび、土曜日 – Saturday (do-yōbi)
Weather
- たいよう、太陽 – sun (taiyō)
- つき、月 – moon (tsuki)
- ほし、星 – star (hoshi)
- てんき、天気 – weather (tenki)
- はれ、晴れ – clear weather (hare)
- あめ、雨 – rain (ame)
- くもり、曇り – cloudy (kumori)
- ゆき、雪 – snow (yuki)
- かぜ、風 – wind (kaze)
- かみなり、雷 – thunder, lightning (kaminari)
- たいふう、台風 – typhoon (taifū)
- あらし、嵐 – storm (arashi)
- そら、空 – sky (sora)
Directions and positions
- きた、北 – north (kita)
- ひがし、東 – east (higashi)
- みなみ、南 – south (minami)
- にし、西 – west (nishi)
- ここ – here (koko)
- そこ – there (soko)
- あそこ – over there (asoko)
- みぎ、右 – right (migi)
- ひだり、左 – left (hidari)
- うえ、上 – above, up (ue)
- した、下 – below, down (shita)
- まえ、前 – front (mae)
- うしろ、後 – behind (ushiro)
- むこう、向こう – the other side, opposite side (mukō)
- ななめ、斜め – diagonal (naname)
- てまえ、手前 – nearer, more in front (temae)
- とおい、遠い – far (tooi)
- ちかい、近い – near, close (chikai)
Materials
- みず、水 – water (mizu)
- ゆ、湯 – hot water (yu)
- こおり、氷 – ice (kōri)
- ゆげ、湯気 – steam (yuge)
- ひ、火 – fire (hi)
- ガス – gas (gasu)
- くうき、空気 – air, atmosphere (kūki)
- つち、土 – earth, ground (tsuchi)
- きんぞく、金属 – metal, metallic (kinzoku)
- どろ、泥 – mud, mire, clay, plaster (doro)
- けむり、煙 – smoke, tobacco, opium (kemuri)
- てつ、鉄 – iron [Fe] (tetsu)
- どう、銅 – copper [Cu] (dō)
- きん、金 – gold [Au]; money (kin)
- ぎん、銀 – silver [Ag]; wealth (gin)
- なまり、鉛 – lead [Pb] (namari)
- しお、塩 – salt [NaCl] (shio)
Weights and measures
- メートル – meter (mētoru)
- リットル – litre (rittoru)
- グラム – gram (guramu)
- キロ – kilo- (kiro)
- ミリ – milli- (miri)
- センチメートル、センチ – centimeter (senchi)
- インチ – inch (inchi)
Society
- しゃかい、社会 – society (shakai)
- けいざい、経済 – economy, economics (keizai)
- かいしゃ、会社 – company (kaisha)
- かいぎ、会議 – meeting (kaigi)
- がっこう、学校 – school (gakkō)
- やくしょ、役所 – local government office (yakusho)
- みせ、店 – store (mise)
- ホテル – hotel (hoteru)
- こうじょう、工場 – factory (kōjō)
- かね、金 – money (kane, most commonly o-kane)
- さつ、札 – bill [of money, e.g., a thousand-yen bill] (satsu)
- こぜに、小銭 – small change (kozeni)
- つりせん、釣り銭、おつり、お釣り – change (tsurisen), change (o-tsuri)
- じどうはんばいき、自動販売機 – vending machine, slot machine (jidōhanbaiki)
- きっぷ、切符 – ticket (public transport, fine) (kippu)
- きって、切手 – stamp (kitte)
Human made objects
Home
- つくえ、机 – desk (tsukue)
- いす、椅子 – chair, position (isu)
- たたみ、畳 – a tatami mat (tatami)
- と、戸 – door, family (to)
- とびら、扉 – door panel (tobira)
- ドア – door (doa)
- まど、窓 – window (mado)
- ふとん、布団 – futon (futon)
- げんかん、玄関 – entrance (genkan)
- いえ、家 – house, home (ie)
- エレベーター – elevator (erebētā)
- エスカレーター – escalator (esukarētā)
- でんき、電気 – electricity (denki)
Tools
- くぎ、釘 – nail, spike (kugi)
- ひも、紐 – string, cord (himo)
- なわ、縄 – rope, string (nawa)
- ふくろ、袋 – pocket, bag (fukuro)
- かばん、鞄 – leather bag (kaban)
- かさ、傘 – umbrella, parasol (kasa)
- かぎ、鍵 – door bolt, key (kagi)
- ちょうこく、彫刻 – sculpture, engraving (chōkoku)
Stationery
- ぶんぼうぐ、文房具 – stationery (bunbōgu)
- インク – ink (inku)
- ペン – pen (pen)
- ボールペン – ball-point pen (bōrupen)
- まんねんひつ、万年筆 – fountain pen (mannenhitsu)
- えんぴつ、鉛筆 – pencil (enpitsu)
- ふで、筆 – brush for writing or painting (fude)
- チョーク – chalk (chōku)
- けしゴム、消しゴム – eraser (keshigomu)
- えんぴつけずり、鉛筆削り – pencil sharpener (enpitsu-kezuri)
- じょうぎ、定規 – ruler (jōgi)
- ノート – notebook (nōto)
- にっき、日記 – diary (nikki)
- カバー – book cover (kabā)
- ふうとう、封筒 – envelope (fūtō)
- はさみ、鋏 – scissors (hasami)
- ホッチキス – stapler (hotchikisu)
Clothes
- ふく、服 – clothes (fuku)
- ようふく、洋服 – western clothing (yōfuku)
- きもの、着物 – kimono (kimono)
- わふく、和服 – Japanese clothing (wafuku)
- そで、袖 – sleeve (sode)
- えり、襟 – lapel, collar (eri)
- ボタン – button (botan)
- チャック、ファスナー、ジッパー – zipper, zipper fastener (chakku, fasunā, jippā)
- ベルト – belt (beruto)
- くつ、靴 – shoe (kutsu)
- くつした、靴下 – sock (kutsushita)
- めがね、眼鏡 – glasses (megane)
Transport
- てつどう、鉄道 – railway (tetsudō)
- えき、駅 – station (eki)
- ひこうき、飛行機 – airplane (hikōki)
- くうこう、空港 （ひこうじょう、飛行場） – airport (kūkō, hikōjō)
- みち、道 – street, way, road (michi)
- どうろ、道路 – road (dōro)
- バスてい、バス停 – bus-stop (basutei)
- とおり、通り – avenue (tōri)
- でんしゃ、電車 – train (densha)
- くるま、車 (じどうしゃ、自動車) – car (kuruma, jidōsha)
- じてんしゃ、自転車 – bicycle (Jitensha)
Language
- もじ、文字 – letter, character, script (moji)
- じ、字 – a letter, character (ji)
- かんじ、漢字 – Chinese character (kanji)
- ひらがな、平仮名 – hiragana syllabary characters (hiragana)
- カタカナ、片仮名 – katakana syllabary characters (katakana)
- すうじ、数字 – numbers (sūji)
- アルファベット – alphabet (arufabetto)
- ローマ字 – Roman characters, Latin script (rōmaji)
- がいこくご、外国語 – foreign language (gaikokugo)
- にほんご、日本語 （こくご、国語） – Japanese [language] (nihongo)
- えいご、英語 – English [language] (eigo)
- ちゅうごくご、中国語 – Chinese [language] (chūgokugo)
- どいつご、ドイツ語 – German [language] (doitsugo)
- すぺいんご、スペイン語 – Spanish [language] (supeingo)
- ふらんすご、フランス語 – French [language] (furansugo)
- ちょうせんご、朝鮮語、かんこくご、韓国語 – Korean [language], South Korean [language] (chōsengo, kankokugo)
Media
- ほん、本 – book (hon)
- かみ、紙 – paper (kami)
- てがみ、手紙 – letter (tegami)
- しんぶん、新聞 – newspaper (shinbun)
- じしょ、辞書 – dictionary (jisho)
- パソコン – personal computer (pasokon)
Colors
- いろ、色 – color (iro, shikisai)
- あか、赤 – red (aka)
- きいろ、黄色 – yellow (kiiro)
- みどり、緑 – green (midori)
- あお、青 – blue (ao)
- むらさき、紫 – purple (murasaki, murasakiiro)
- しろ、白 – white (shiro)
- くろ、黒 – black (kuro)
- ピンク – pink (pinku)
- ちゃいろ、茶色 – brown (chairo)
- はいいろ、灰色、ねずみいろ、鼠色 – grey (haiiro, nezumiiro)
- オレンジ – orange (orenji)
Others
- え、絵 – picture (e)
- おんがく、音楽 – music (ongaku)
- りか、理科 – science (rika)
- さんすう、算数 – arithmetic (sansū)
- れきし、歴史 – history (rekishi)
- ちり、地理 – geography (chiri)
- たいいく、体育 – physical education (taiiku)
- スポーツ – sport (supōtsu)
- システム – system (shisutemu)
- じょうほう、情報 – information, news (jōhō)
- ひつよう、必要 – necessity (hitsuyō)
- べんきょう、勉強 – study (benkyō)
- いらい、依頼 – request (irai)
Numbers
- れい、ゼロ、零 – zero (rei, zero)
- いち、一 – one (ichi)
- に、二 – two (ni)
- さん、三 – three (san)
- よん、し、四 – four (yon, shi)
- ご、五 – five (go)
- ろく、六 – six (roku)
- なな、しち、七 – seven (nana, shichi)
- はち、八 – eight (hachi)
- きゅう、く、九 – nine (kyū, ku)
- じゅう、十 – ten (jū)
- ひゃく、百 – hundred (hyaku)
- せん、千 – thousand (sen)
- まん、万 – ten thousand (man)
- おく、億 – one hundred million (oku)
- ひとつ、一つ – one, one thing (hitotsu)
- ふたつ、二つ – two, two things (futatsu)
- みっつ、三つ – three, three things (mittsu)
- よっつ、四つ – four, four things (yottsu)
- いつつ、五つ – five, five things (itsutsu)
- むっつ、六つ – six, six things (muttsu)
- ななつ、七つ – seven, seven things (nanatsu)
- やっつ、八つ – eight, eight things (yattsu)
- ここのつ、九つ – nine, nine things (kokonotsu)
- とお、十 – ten, ten things (tō)
Abstract nouns
- これ – this, it (kore)
- それ – that (sore)
- あれ – that over there (are)
- どれ – which (dore)
- こちら、こっち – this direction, thing, person, or place (kochira, kocchi)
- そちら、そっち – that direction, thing, person, or place (sochira, socchi)
- あちら、あっち – that direction, thing, person, or place over there (achira, acchi)
- どちら、どっち – which direction, thing, person, or place (dochira, docchi)
- ひみつ、秘密 – secret (himitsu)
- じどう、自動 – automatic (jidō)
- ないよう、内容 – content (naiyō)
- はば、幅 – width, breadth, free room, difference (between two substances) (haba)
- せいしき、正式 – formality (seishiki)
- けっこん、結婚 – marriage (kekkon)
- げんざい、現在 – now (genzai)
- いま、今 – now (ima)
- かこ、過去 – past (kako)
- みらい、未来 – future (mirai)
Adjectives
Forms
- いい、よい、良い – good (ii, yoi)
- すごい、凄い – amazing (sugoi)
- すばらしい、素晴らしい – wonderful (subarashii)
- わるい、悪い – bad, inferior (warui)
- たかい、高い – expensive, high (takai)
- ひくい、低い – low (hikui)
- やすい、安い – cheap (yasui)
- おおきい、大きい – big (ōkii)
- ちいさい、小さい – small (chiisai)
- ほそい、細い – thin (hosoi)
- ふとい、太い – thick (futoi)
- ふるい、古い – old (furui)
- あたらしい、新しい – new (atarashii)
- わかい、若い – young (wakai)
- かるい、軽い – light, easy (karui)
- おもい、重い – heavy (omoi)
- やさしい、易しい – easy, simple (yasashii)
- むずかしい、難しい – difficult (muzukashii)
- やわらかい、柔らかい – soft (yawarakai)
- かたい、硬い、堅い – hard (katai)
- あつい、熱い、暑い – hot (atsui)
- つめたい、冷たい – cold (tsumetai)
- さむい、寒い – cold (samui) as in cold weather
- おいしい、美味しい – delicious (oishii)
- うまい、美味い、旨い – delicious, appetizing (umai)
- まずい、不味い – tastes awful (mazui)
- あまい、甘い – sweet (amai)
- からい、辛い – hot [spicy] (karai)
- しょっぱい、塩っぱい – salty (shoppai)
- にがい、苦い – bitter (nigai)
- うつくしい、美しい – beautiful (utsukushii)
Feelings
- うれしい、嬉しい – happy (ureshii)
- たのしい、楽しい – fun (tanoshii)
- かなしい、悲しい – sad (kanashii)
- さびしい、寂しい、淋しい – lonely (sabishii)
- さみしい、寂しい、淋しい — sad, lonely (samishii)
- こわい、怖い、恐い – scary (kowai)
- いたい、痛い – painful (itai)
- かゆい、痒い – itchy (kayui)
- くさい、臭い – stinky (kusai)
- つらい、辛い – painful, heart-breaking (tsurai)
Verbs
- する – to do (suru)
- やる – to do (yaru)
Existence
- いる – to exist [for animate objects] (iru)
- ある – to exist [for inanimate objects] (aru)
- なる – to become (naru)
- おこる、起こる、興る – to occur (okoru)
- あらわれる、現れる – to appear (arawareru)
- いきる、生きる – to live (ikiru)
- うむ、生む、産む – to give birth (umu)
- しぬ、死ぬ – to die (shinu)
- こわれる、壊れる – to breakin (kowareru)
- in intransitive sense
Movement
- いく、行く – to go (iku)
- くる、来る – to come (kuru)
- かえる、帰る、返る – to return (kaeru)
- あるく、歩く – to walk (aruku)
- とぶ、飛ぶ – to jump, to fly (tobu)
- およぐ、泳ぐ – to swim (oyogu)
Actions
- うごく、動く – to movein (ugoku)
- おどる、踊る – to dance (odoru)
- ねる、寝る – to sleep (neru)
- うたう、歌う – to sing (utau)
- かむ、噛む – to bite (kamu)
- たべる、食べる – to eat (taberu)
- のむ、飲む – to drink (nomu)
- さわる、触る – to touch (sawaru)
- なげる、投げる – to throw (nageru)
- もつ、持つ – to hold (motsu)
- うつ、打つ – to hit, to strike (utsu)
- なぐる、殴る – to hit, to strike (naguru)
- さす、指す – to point (sasu)
- さす、刺す – to stab (sasu)
- さす、差す – to raise or extend one’s hands (sasu)
- ける、蹴る – to kick (keru)
- すわる、座る – to sit (suwaru)
- たつ、立つ – to stand (tatsu)
- はしる、走る – to run (hashiru)
Changes of state
- あく、空く – to become unoccupied (aku)
- こむ、込む – to be crowded (komu)
- いる、要る – to need (iru)
- かわく、乾く – to become dry (kawaku)
- みだす、乱す — to disturb, to disarrange (midasu)
- みだれる、乱れる — to be disturbed, to become confused (midareru)
- つかえる、仕える — to serve, to work for (tsukaeru)
- そなわる、備わる — to be furnished with (sonawaru)
- すぐれる、優れる — to excel, to surpass (sugureru)
- ひえる、冷える — to grow cold, to get chilly, to cool down (hieru)
- さめる、覚める — to wake, to become sober, to be disillusioned (sameru)
- さめる、冷める — to cool down (sameru)
- むく、向く — to face, to turn toward (muku)
- たおれる、倒れる — to fall, to collapse (taoreru)
- かたまる、固まる — to harden, to solidify, to become firm (katamaru)
- うまる、埋まる — to be filled, to be surrounded, to overflow (umaru)
- うもれる、埋もれる — to be buried, to be covered (umoreru)
- ます、増す — to increase, to grow (masu)
- ふえる、増える — to increase, to multiply (fueru)
- へる、減る — to decrease (heru)
- はずれる、外れる — to deviate (hazureru)
- ふとる、太る — to grow fat (futoru)
- はじまる、始まる — to begin (hajimaru)
- おわる、終わる — to finish, to close (owaru)
- きめる、決める — to decide (kimeru)
Senses
- みる、見る – to see (miru)
- きく、聞く、聴く – to hear, to listen (kiku)
- さわる、触る – to touch, to feel (sawaru)
- かぐ、嗅ぐ – to smell (kagu)
Speech
- いう、言う – to say (iu)
- はなす、話す – to speak (hanasu)
- かたる、語る – to tell (kataru)
- かく、書く – to write (kaku)
- よむ、読む – to read (yomu)
Work
- つかう、使う – to use (tsukau)
- つくる、作る、造る、創る – to make (tsukuru)
- なおす、直す、治す – to fix, repair (naosu)
- すてる、捨てる – to discard, throw away (suteru)
- とる、取る、撮る、採る – to take (toru)
- おく、置く – to put (oku)
Emotions
- かなしむ、悲しむ、哀しむ – to be sad (kanashimu)
- なく、泣く – to cry (naku)
- わらう、笑う – to laugh (warau)
- おこる、怒る – to be angry (okoru)
- ほめる、褒める – to encourage (homeru)
- しかる、叱る – to scold (shikaru)
- よろこぶ、喜ぶ – to celebrate, to be jubilant, to have joy, to have delight, to have rapture (yorokobu)
- よろこび、喜び – joy, delight, rapture (yorokobi)
- なぐさめる、慰める – to console, to consolate, to provide empathy (nagusameru)
- あきる、飽きる – to be disinterested, to be bored, to be tired of, to be weary (akiru)
- おどろく、驚く – to be astonished, to be surprised, to be scared (odoroku)
Activities
- あう、会う – to meet, to interview (au)
- あける、開ける – to opentr, to unwraptr (akeru)
- あそぶ、遊ぶ – to play (asobu)
- あつまる、集まる – to gatherin (atsumaru)
- うる、売る – to sell (uru)
- える、得る – to obtain [some benefit or knowledge] (eru)
- おる、折る – to breaktr, to foldtr (oru)
- かう、買う – to buy (kau)
- きる、切る – to cut (kiru)†
- きる、着る – to wear [on the upper body] (kiru)
- はく、履く – to wear [on the lower body] (haku)
- かえる、変える – to changetr (kaeru)
- かえる、代える – to exchange, to substitute, to replace (kaeru)
- しめる、閉める – to closetr (shimeru)
- しめる、締める – to tie, to fasten (shimeru)
- しめる、占める – to comprise, to account for (shimeru)
- しる、知る – to know (shiru)†
- つかれる、疲れる – to get tired (tsukareru)
- でかける、出掛ける – to go out, to depart (dekakeru)
- はたらく、働く – to work [e.g., at a job] (hataraku)
- はなす、放す、離す – to let go of (hanasu)
- やすむ、休む – to rest, to take a break, to go to bed (yasumu)
- わかれる、分かれる – to split intoin, to be divided (wakareru)
- わかれる、別れる – to partin, to separatein, to break upin (wakareru)
- tr transitive sense
- in intransitive sense
- † conjugates as a u-verb
Adverbs
- もう – already (mō)
- まだ – still, yet (mada)
- ずっと – always (zutto)
- とても – very (totemo)
- こう – like this (kō)
- そう – like that (sō)
- ああ – in that other way (ā)
- どう – how (dō)
- しばしば – often (shibashiba)
Pre-noun adjectival
- この – this (kono)
- その – that (sono)
- あの – that (ano)
- どの – which (dono)
Interjections
- はい – yes (hai)
- いいえ – no (iie)
Conjunctions
- でも — but (demo)
- しかし – but, however (shikashi)
- そして – and then, Then… (soshite)
- それに – besides (soreni)
- なぜなら – that is because, being because (nazenara)
Terminations of verbs
- う、よう – volitional ending [う for u-verbs, よう for ru-verbs]: «Let’s…» or «I will» (u, yō)
- せる、させる – causative ending [せる for u-verbs, させる for ru-verbs]: to make [someone do something], to allow (seru, saseru)
- れる、られる – passive verb ending [れる for u-verbs, られる for ru-verbs]: to be <verbed> [e.g., 食べられる, «to be eaten»] (reru, rareru)
- そうだ – indicates that it seems the verb occurs [e.g., «It seems he ate»] (sōda)
- た – informal past-tense (ta)
- たい – indicates desire to perform verb (tai)
- だろう – indicates that it seems the verb occurs; also used to ask whether the verb occurs (darō)
- ない、ん – informal negative (nai, n) [ん is a slurred version and sounds a little masculine]
- ぬ – archaic informal negative [«he hath», «thou didst», etc.] (nu)
- ます – formal non-past ending (masu)
Particles
Case
- が – subject marker, but (ga)
- で – at, by (de)
- と – and, with (to)
- に – indirect object marker (ni)
- の – possession marker, of (no)
- へ – to (e) [Note: へ is normally read he, but when used as this particle its reading changes to e]
- まで – to (made)
- から – from (kara)
- より – than (yori)
- を – direct object marker (o)
Conjunctive
- および、及び – and; as well as (oyobi)
- か – whether (ka)
- かも – might be, possible that (kamo)
- そして – and then (sosh
ite) - それとも – or (soretomo)
- だの – things like <list of things>, including, such things as (dano)
- つつ – ongoing occurrence (tsutsu) [similar to ながら but has different tone, and both actions have equal weight]
- て – te form of verb or adjective [see explanation]
- と – when, if, that (to)
- ながら – while, though, both (nagara)
- ならびに – as well as (narabini)
- なり – whether or not (nari)
- に – to <somewhere>, by <someone> (ni)
- の – possession (no)
- ので – so (node)
- また、又 – also, again (mata)
- または、又は – or alternatively (matawa)
- も – also, too (mo)
- や – and (ya)
Final
- ね – emphasis and question marker, equivalent to «right?» (ne)
- か – question marker (ka)
- な – the copula particle used after quasi-adjectives (na)
- かしら – I wonder (kashira)
- さ – -ness (sa)
- っけ – particle indicating that the speaker is trying to recall some information [«What class is next -kke?»] (-kke)
Adverbial
- こそ – emphasis (koso)
- さえ – even (sae)
- しか – only (shika)
- すら – even (sura)
- くらい、ぐらい – approximately, about (kurai)
- だけ – only, as much as (dake)
- だって – however (datte)
- ったら – casual topic marker (ttara) [colloquial form of to ittara (if you refer to ~; as for ~)
- って – said that (tte)
- でも – also, or (demo)
- どころ – (particle used to indicate that what precedes it is an extreme example and strongly negates it) (dokoro)
- など – for example (nado)
- なら – if [for verbs]; subject marker [for nouns] (nara)
- なんか – casual undervalue, dislike, lack (nanka)
- なんて – casual undervalue, dislike, lack (nante)
- は – topic marker (wa) [although ha is the hiragana used, wa is the pronunciation)
- ばかり、ばっかり – just, full of, only (bakari)
- まで – until (made)
- も – too, also (mo)
There are many reasons why you may have decided to study Japanese. Although many believe that this is one of the most challenging languages to study, you can finally achieve your goal easily and learn Japanese quickly.
If you are committed to learning Japanese, you should follow a well-structured strategy. First of all, you need a list of all the Japanese words that you wish to memorise.
Research highlight that studying the first 1000 most used words of the foreign language of your choice will help you familiarize with about 80% of vocabulary in oral speech. The first step to achieve this result is to start from basic Japanese vocabulary or from Speechling Foundations that also collect the popular words (nouns, verbs, adjectives, numbers, and calendar) for each language on the platform, inclouding Japanese. You can start from our list of the top 100 Japanese words for beginners.
Basic Words for Learning Japanese
- 本 (hon) — Book
- ベッド (beddo) – Bed
- 誕生日 (tanjōby) – Birthday
- 時計 (tokei) – Watch, clock
- 名前 (namae) – Name
- きれい (kirei) – Beautiful
- 黒い (kuroi) – Black
- 白い (shiroi) — White
- 英語 (eigo) – English (language)
- 大学 (daigaku) – University
- 電話 (denwa) – Telephone
- バス (basu) – Bus
- 猫 (neko) – Cat
- 犬 (inu) – Dog
- コンピュータ (konpiūta) – Computer
- 服 (fuku) – Clothes
Basic Japanese Food Vocabulary
- コーヒー (kohi) – Coffee
- パン (pan) – Bread
- ビール (biru) – Beer
- 昼ご飯 (hirogohan) — Lunch
- 夕食 (yūshoku) – Dinner
- 食べ物 (tabemono) – Food
- 飲み物 (nomi mono) – Beverage
- 果物 (kudamono) — Fruit
Basic Japanese Words for People
- 男の子 (otoko no ko) – Boy
- 女の子 (onna no ko) – Girl
- 子供 (kodomo) – Child
- 母 (haha) – Mother
- 父 (chichi) – Father
- 友達 (tomodachi) – Friend
- 学生 (kagusei) – Student
- 先生 (sensei) – Teacher
Basic Japanese Nature Words
- 川 (kawa) – River
- 花 (hana) – Flower
- 魚 (sakana) – Fish
- 空 (sora) — Sky
- 山 (yama) – Mountain
- 雨 (ame) — Rain
Basic Japanese Words for Saying Time
- 今 (ima) – Now
- 今日 (kyou) – Today
- 昨日 (kinou) – Yesterday
- 明日 (asita) – Tomorrow
- 毎日 (mai nichi) – Every day
- 毎週 (maishū) – Every week
- 午前 (gozen)* — Morning
- 午後 (gogo) – Afternoon
- 月曜日 (getsuyoubi) – Monday
- 火曜日 (kayoubi) – Tuesday
- 水曜日 (suiyoubi) – Wednesday
- 木曜日 ( mokuyoubi) – Thursday
- 金曜日 (kinyoubi) – Friday
- 土曜日 (douyoubi) — Saturday
- 日曜日 (nichiyoubi) – Sunday
- 今年 (kotoshi) – This year
Japanese Body Parts Vocabulary for Beginners
- 耳 (mimi) — Ear
- 手 (te) — Hand
- 足 (ashi) — Foot
- 目 (me) — Eye
- 口 (kuchi) – Mouth
- 顔 (kao) — Face
Japanese Words for Places and Directions
- 駅 (eki) – Train station
- 北 (kita) – North
- 南 (minami) – South
- 西 (nishi) – West
- 東 (higashi) – East
- 国 (kuni) – Country
- 外国 (gaikoku) – Gaikoku
- 右 (mighi) – Right
- 左 (hidari) – Left
- 入口 (iriguchi) – Entrance
- 出口 (deguchi) — Exit
Japanese Greetings for Beginners
- おはようございます (ohayou gozaimasu) – Good Morning
- おはよう (ohayou) – Good Morning (informal version)
- こんにちは (konnichi wa) – Hello
- こんばんは (konban wa) – Good evening
- ただいま (tadaima) – I’m home (this greeting is used when you get home and want to announce your presence)
- おやすみなさい (oyasuminasai) Good night (used to announce that you are going to bed. However, you cannot use it when you are leaving someone else’s house for the night.)
- もしもし (moshi moshi) – Hello? (used when answering the phone)
- いらっしゃいませ (irasshiaimase) – Welcome! (this greeting is mainly used by business owners or employees to welcome their costumers to their store).
- おげんきですか (ogenki desu ka?) – How Are you?
- おしゃしぶりです (oshashiburi desu) – Long time no see.
- さようなら (sayounara) – Goodbye
- またね (matane) – See you
Common Japanese Phrases for Beginners
- はい (hai) – Yes
- いいえ (iie) — No
- わかりません (wakarimasen) – I don’t understand
- わすれました (wasuremashita) – I forgot
- しりません (shirimasen) – I don’t know
- たぶん (tabun) – Maybe
- だいじょうぶ (daijoubu) – Alright
- よろしくお願いします (yoroshiku onegai shimasu) – Nice to meet you
- どうも (doumo) – Thanks
- おねがいします (onegai shimasu) – Please
- どうもありがとうございます (doumo arigatou gozaimasu) – Thank you so much
- すみません (sumimasen) – Excuse me / I’m sorry
- ごめんなさい (gomennasai) – I’m sorry
- どういたしまして (douita shimashite) – You’re welcome
- どうぞ* (douzo) – After you
- ごめんなさい(gomen nasai) – I’m sorry
- 助けてください (tasukete kudasai) – Help!
How Can I Learn Japanese Vocabulary Easily?
Learning Japanese can be easy if you have access to the right tools.
With the Speechling method, you can first get acquainted with the essential Japanese words and phrases. This includes common nouns, as well as adjectives, verbs and easy phrases for every situation.
Step by step, you will learn how to use the top Japanese basic words in your everyday life, and you will soon be able to put sentences together.
The Speechling method offers thousands of professional recorded audio from native speakers that you can combine with the study of flashcards to improve your fluency. Learning Japanese’s never been easier!
The best way to memorise Japanese vocabulary is to use those words until your brain can naturally link them to their meaning. This is when you can move to Speechling’s Conversations module. Here you will use your new Japanese vocabulary to answer questions, describe pictures and improve, day after day, your fluency.
Tips for Learning Japanese Vocabulary
Several pupils use a method known as rote memorization. It implies stuffing your brain full of your targeted Japanese vocabulary, repeating each word loud until they stick, and you finally feel confident.
However, there is another methodology that has proven to be successful for learning Japanese. This is known as mnemonics. This technique consists of remembering basic Japanese phrases by associating them with something else that you already know.
If you want to learn how to write in Japanese, as well as speak it, you must learn kanji. The easiest way to do so is usually to use the radical name of each kanji to make up a story that reminds you of that word meaning and pronunciation. Otherwise, you can find a keyword in your native language that sounds similar to the Japanese word that you wish to memorise.
These methodologies can also be used to learn Chinese characters, as well as any other targeted languages.
Are Flashcards Useful to Learn Japanese for Beginners?
One of the most useful ways to learn Japanese is using flashcards. You can either make your own cards or download a pre-made package based on your fluency level.
Flashcards can be used whenever you have a free minute. Besides, with electronic cards, you can improve your Japanese wherever you are. You can also record your own voice and add audio content to your flashcards, to constantly work on your Japanese pronunciation.
With Speechling, you can also record yourself and ask a professional Japanese native speaker to review your pronunciation. With these feedbacks of your coach, you will be able to improve your fluency and build all the confidence you need to speak Japanese with eloquence.
Most Common Japanese Words (TOP 100)
Welcome to the official list of the 100 most common Japanese words.
By searching for common Japanese words on Google you’ll find many lists of Japanese vocabulary, all divided in categories such as particles, adverbs, nouns etc.
However we wanted to do things a bit differently and research what are the most common Japanese words STATISTICALLY.
This list comes from Wiktionary, where they sourced ALL words from the Japanese Wikipedia and had them investigated by an analyser software made specifically for the Japanese language.
This system then ranked 20,000 of these words starting from the most frequently used.
You can check more details about this analysis process and full list of 20,000 words here.
We decided to provide you here with the TOP 100 words of this list, with some more details such as pronunciation and translation, which are not available on the official list.
Let’s get started:
Most Common Japanese Words | 1-10
Most Common Japanese Words | 11-20
Most Common Japanese Words | 21-30
Most Common Japanese Words | 31-40
Most Common Japanese Words | 41-50
Most Common Japanese Words | 51-60
Most Common Japanese Words | 61-70
Most Common Japanese Words | 71-80
Most Common Japanese Words | 81-90
Most Common Japanese Words | 91-100
BONUS | Japanese Words Quiz
Play
Japanese Words List | 1-10
Right before we start, here are a few resources about the three Japanese scripts in case you need to freshen up on your reading skills:
- How to learn Katakana
- How to learn Hiragana
- How to learn Kanji
If you’ve already started learning Japanese, you will find it not the least bit surprising that 7 out of the TOP 10 most common Japanese words are made of grammar particles and markers.
| Rank | Japanese | Romaji | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | の | no | Possessive Particle |
| 2 | に | ni | In |
| 3 | する | suru | To do |
| 4 | は | wa | Topic marker |
| 5 | を | o | Direct object of action marker |
| 6 | が | ga | Sentence subject marker |
| 7 | と | to | And |
| 8 | 年 | touji | Year |
| 9 | で | de | At |
| 10 | だ | da | To be |
Japanese Words List | 11-20
| Rank | Japanese | Romaji | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | 月 | tsuki | Month |
| 12 | も | mo | Also |
| 13 | から | kara | From / Because |
| 14 | 日 | hi | Day |
| 15 | 成る | naru | To become |
| 16 | こと | koto | Matter |
| 17 | 有る | aru | To exist |
| 18 | よる | yoru | To be due to |
| 19 | や | ya | And/or |
| 20 | など | nado | Etc |
Most Common Kanji // The 10 You NEED To Know (with Pronunciation & Examples)
There are so many different Kanji in Japanese, but which ones should you focus on learning first? Today we teach you the 10 most common Kanji in Japanese!
Japanese Words List | 21-30
| Rank | Japanese | Romaji | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | 言う | iu | To say |
| 22 | 日本 | nihon | Japan |
| 23 | 為 | tame | For |
| 24 | この | kono | This |
| 25 | 人 | hito | Person |
| 26 | その | sono | That |
| 27 | まで | made | Up to |
| 28 | もの | mono | Object |
| 29 | へ | e | Direction/Goal marker |
| 30 | 又 | mata | Again |
Japanese Words List | 31-40
| Rank | Japanese | Romaji | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 31 | これ | kore | This |
| 32 | 行う | okonau | To carry out |
| 33 | よう | you | For the use of |
| 34 | 出来る | dekiru | To be able to |
| 35 | 駅 | eki | Train station |
| 36 | 国 | kuni | Country |
| 37 | より | yori | Than |
| 38 | 大学 | daigaku | University |
| 39 | 現在 | genzai | Current (Time) |
| 40 | 後 | ato | Behind |
Swear Words in Japanese // 15 You Must Know
Japanese Swear Words // We teach you 15 swear words in Japanese. Swearing in Japanese is odd because there isn’t a direct translation for words like f*ck.
Most Common Japanese Words | 41-50
| Rank | Japanese | Romaji | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 41 | か | ka | Question marker |
| 42 | 線 | sen | Line |
| 43 | ぬ | nu | Not |
| 44 | 放送 | housou | Broadcast |
| 45 | 号 | gou | Number |
| 46 | 軍 | gun | Army |
| 47 | 無い | nai | None |
| 48 | 部 | bu | Department |
| 49 | 持つ | motsu | To have |
| 50 | 所 | tokoro | Place |
Most Common Japanese Words | 51-60
We’re half way there. How many did you know so far?
Anyway, if you’ve made it here you must love studying Japanese?
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| Rank | Japanese | Romaji | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 51 | 名 | na | Name |
| 52 | 回 | kai | An instance |
| 53 | 世界 | sekai | World |
| 54 | 時 | toki | Time |
| 55 | 戦 | sen | Battle |
| 56 | 時代 | jidai | Era |
| 57 | 東京 | Tōkyō | Tokyo |
| 58 | おく | oku | To place |
| 59 | でも | demo | ..Or something |
| 60 | 呼ぶ | yobu | To call |
Most Common Japanese Words | 61-70
| Rank | Japanese | Romaji | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61 | その後 | sonoato | After that |
| 62 | 会 | kai | Meeting |
| 63 | それ | sore | That |
| 64 | 機 | ki | Machine |
| 65 | 会う | au | To meet |
| 66 | 受ける | ukeru | To receive |
| 67 | 多い | ooi | Many |
| 68 | 選手 | senshu | Player |
| 69 | 場合 | baai | Case |
| 70 | 対する | taisuru | To compare with |
Most Common Japanese Words | 71-80
| Rank | Japanese | Romaji | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 71 | しかし | shikashi | However |
| 72 | つく | tsuku | To arrive / To be attached |
| 73 | 昭和 | shōwa | Showa (name) |
| 74 | 作品 | sakuhin | Work (of art) |
| 75 | 地 | chi | Place |
| 76 | 中 | naka | Middle |
| 77 | 使用 | shiyō | Use, usage |
| 78 | 共に | tomoni | Together |
| 79 | 学校 | gakkou | School |
| 80 | 語 | go | Language |
Basic Phrases in Japanese // Learn 32 Essential Phrases (With Flashcards & FREE Quiz)
Basic Phrases in Japanese // Learn these phrases to make your first steps when learning Japanese. We teach you how to get by when speaking basic Japanese.
Most Common Japanese Words | 81-90
| Rank | Japanese | Romaji | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 81 | 彼 | kare | He |
| 82 | 行く | iku | To go |
| 83 | アメリカ | amerika | America |
| 84 | 当時 | touji | At the time |
| 85 | 番組 | bangumi | Program (Tv) |
| 86 | 車 | kuruma | Car |
| 87 | 社 | sha | Company |
| 88 | 川 | kawa | River |
| 89 | 映画 | eiga | Movie |
| 90 | 位 | kurai | Amount |
Japanese Words List | 91-100
You have made it all the way to the end of this list, congratulations!
Here are the last 10 words from this Official Most Common Japanese Words List:
| Rank | Japanese | Romaji | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 91 | 見る | miru | To watch |
| 92 | テレビ | terebi | Television |
| 93 | 系 | kei | System |
| 94 | 研究 | kenkyuu | Research |
| 95 | 町 | machi | Town |
| 96 | 東 | higashi | East |
| 97 | 存在 | sonzai | Existence |
| 98 | 活動 | katsudou | Action |
| 99 | 発売 | hatsubai | Sale |
| 100 | 他 | hoka | Other |
There we have, statistically, the 100 Most Common Japanese Words according to the Wiktionary based on the Japanese Wikipedia.
Hopefully you will have learned a few words thanks to this list, now be sure to use them in sentences wherever you can!
Check out our Japanese Grammar Bank to learn how to form sentences, use the negative form, build questions and a lot more.
Prefer to learn with a professional Japanese teacher online?
Check out Flexi Classes, our online teaching platform where you can study 24/7 by choosing when, what and with whom to study.
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WANT MORE?
We regularly publish high-quality content for free, just for you:
- 15 Japanese Tongue Twisters
- 25 Japanese Jokes
- An Introduction to the JLPT
- Best Resources to Learn Kanji
- …and a lot more!
JAPANESE WORDS – BONUS QUIZ
Do you correctly remember the Japanese vocabulary listed on this page?
Have a go at this quiz, get immediate results and let us know your score in the comments!
BONUS CONTENT | Interested in other languages too? Check out our list of the Top 100 most common Chinese characters, most common Vietnamese words and the official 100 most common Korean words.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What is THE most common Japanese Word?
The most common Japanese word is の (no), which is a possessive particle.
Check out our lesson about this particle in our Japanese Grammar Bank.
What are the top 10 most common Japanese words?
The TOP 10 most common Japanese words are:
1 – の no | Possessive Particle
2 – に ni | In
3 – する suru | To do
4 – は wa | Topic marker
5 – を o | Direct object of action marker
6 – が ga | Sentence subject marker
7 – と to | And
8 – 年 touji | Year
9 – で de | At
10 – だ da | To be
Where to download the full list of the most common Japanese words?
The official list of most common Japanese words was created by Wiktionary and include 20,000 words.
It is based on a word-frequency analysis with words sourced from the Japanese Wikipedia.
You can check out the full list here along with more details on the analysis.
What is the JLPT?
The JLPT, or Japanese Language Proficiency Test, is a test administered by the Japan Foundation and Japan Educational Exchanges and Services which aims to measure the abilities of non-native speakers.
The test measures your listening and reading comprehension, as well as your kanji recognition and grammar and vocabulary skills.
Check out our full guide on the JLPT with test dates and registration details.
How many words do I need to know for each JLPT level?
Here are the JLPT test levels and the number of words you need know for each of them:
N5 | 100 Kanji – 800 words
N4 | 300 Kanji – 1,300 words
N3 | 650 Kanji – 3,700 words
N2 | 1,000 Kanji – 6,000 words
N1 | 2,000 Kanji – 10,000 words
We created a Complete Guide to the JLPT to help you with the process.
Do you provide Japanese lessons?
We do!
You can learn Japanese online on our Flexi Classes platform, where we offer lessons 24/7, thus catering for all time zones.
Choose your study topic and study time, all classes take place on Zoom.
You can also learn Japanese with us directly in Tokyo, Japan, where we offer group and individual classes, with the possibility of living with a Homestay family.
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Today I wanted to go over the 100 most common Japanese words and provide some explanations and example sentences for them.
The thing is, you have to learn a lot of words in order to comprehend the Japanese language. That being said, not all words are created equal. Some of them appear a lot more often than others in books, shows, and daily life.
So, one of the ways to learn a language quickly is to focus your attention on learning the highest frequency words first. That way you get the most bang for you buck when it comes to time spent studying and your ability to comprehend what you see and hear.
Where Do These Words Come From?
Frequency lists can be formed in many ways. I’ve seen lists that are based off of novels, lists that come from a wide variety of sources, and lists that had no explanation at all.
Fortunately no matter what the source was, the top hundred words were basically the same in each case. This makes a lot of sense when you think about it, since the differences would be more likely to appear towards the middle and end of the lists.
For today’s purposes I’ll be using the Japanese Wikipedia as my source. What they did was take all the words written on it and ran them through a program that found and organized words based on how often they appeared.
You can get the full list of words 1-10,000 on the Wiktionary:Frequency lists/Japanese page if you would like, but the one drawback with it is that they only provide the Japanese words.
There are no explanations or example sentences to help you understand them!
The 100 Most Common Japanese Words
Alright, before we jump into this list there are a couple of things I need to make clear.
The first is that I’m only going to provide one meaning for each word, even though some of them have multiple meanings depending on the context that they’re used in.
Furthermore, to make things easier to navigate, I’m going to be organizing these words into groups based on what part of speech they belong to (nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc.).
Finally, I’m only going to present them in their dictionary form during this part, but in the next section when I give example sentences, I may or may not inflect or conjugation them depending on the situation.
Alright, without further ado, here is the list of the top one hundred Japanese words!
1. Particles
| Particle | Rōmaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| の | no | indicates possessive |
| に | ni | in |
| は | wa | topic marker |
| を | o | indicates direct object of action |
| が | ga | indicates sentence subject |
| と | to | and |
| で | de | at |
| も | mo | also |
| から | kara | from |
| や | ya | such things as … |
| など | nado | et cetera |
| まで | made | up to |
| へ | e | indicates direction or goal |
| より | yori | than |
| か | ka | indicates a question |
| でも | demo | … or something |
2. Adverbs
| Adverb | Rōmaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 又 | mata | again |
| 共に | tomoni | together |
3. Pre-Noun Adjectivals
| Pre-Noun Adjectival | Rōmaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| この | kono | this |
| その | sono | that |
4. Suffixes
| Suffix | Rōmaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ぬ | nu | not |
| 部 | bu | department |
| 機 | ki | machine |
| 語 | go | language |
| よう | you | appearing … |
| 線 | sen | line |
| 号 | gou | number |
| 地 | chi | place |
| 社 | sha | company |
| 系 | kei | system |
| 中 | chuu | during |
| 戦 | sen | battle |
5. Conjunctions
| Conjunction | Rōmaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| しかし | shikashi | however |
6. Verbs
| Verb | Rōmaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| する | suru | to do |
| だ | da | to be (Copula) |
| 成る | naru | to become |
| 有る | aru | to exist |
| よる | yoru | to be due to |
| 言う | iu | to say |
| 行う | okonau | to carry out |
| 出来る | dekiru | to be able to do |
| 持つ | motsu | to have |
| おく | oku | to place |
| 呼ぶ | yobu | to call |
| 会う | au | to meet |
| 受ける | ukeru | to receive |
| 対する | taisuru | to compare with |
| つく | tsuku | to be attached |
| 行く | iku | to go |
| 見る | miru | to watch |
7. Adjectives
| Adjective | Rōmaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 多い | ooi | numerous |
| 無い | nai | nonexistent |
8. Pronouns
| Pronoun | Rōmaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| これ | kore | this |
| それ | sore | that |
| 彼 | kare | he |
9. Adverbial/Temporal Nouns
| Adverbial/Temporal Noun | Rōmaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 現在 | genzai | present time |
| その後 | sonoato | after that |
| 日 | hi | day |
| 月 | tsuki | month |
| 場合 | baai | case |
| 当時 | touji | at that time |
10. Nouns
| Noun | Rōmaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 年 | toshi | year |
| こと | koto | matter |
| 日本 | nihon | Japan |
| 為 | tame | purpose |
| 人 | hito | people |
| もの | mono | object |
| 駅 | eki | train station |
| 国 | kuni | country |
| 大学 | daigaku | university |
| 後 | ato | behind |
| 放送 | housou | broadcast |
| 軍 | gun | army |
| 所 | tokoro | place |
| 名 | na | name |
| 回 | kai | an instance |
| 世界 | sekai | the world |
| 時代 | jidai | era |
| 東京 | toukyou | Tokyo |
| 会 | e | picture |
| 選手 | senshuu | player |
| 昭和 | shouwa | Showa (name) |
| 作品 | sakuhin | work of art |
| 学校 | gakkou | school |
| アメリカ | amerika | America |
| 番組 | bangumi | program (TV) |
| 車 | kuruma | car |
| 川 | kawa | river |
| 映画 | eiga | movie |
| 位 | kurai | amount |
| テレビ | terebi | television |
| 研究 | kenkyuu | research |
| 町 | machi | town |
| 東 | higashi | east |
| 他 | hoka | other |
| 時 | toki | time |
| 使用 | shiyou | use |
| 存在 | sonzai | existence |
| 活動 | katsudou | action |
| 発売 | hatsubai | sale |
Example Sentences That Use These Words
Here are some example sentences that use words from the frequency list provided above. Please note that some of the verbs will be conjugated in order to have a more natural sounding sentence.
I won’t provide an example for every single word, since that would become very repetitive due to the interchangeability of many of these words.
That being said, if you do want an example sentence of every single word, I’ll provide you with a really good resource at the end of this post.
Also, if a non-top-100-word was used in any of the sentences below in order them make it work, I will explain the word afterwards so that you know it’s not in the top 100. You can then decide if you’d like to spend the time to learn it or not.
- 彼はテレビを見ています。
- kare wa terebi o miteimasu.
- He is watching TV.
Here is one example sentence where you could easily swap out words. For example, the word テレビ could be replaced with the word 映画 in order to say “He is watching a movie” instead.
- この町には人より車の方が多い。
- kono machi ni wa hito yori kuruma no hou ga ooi.
- There are more cars than there are people in this town.
[ejje.weblio.jp]
In this last example the new word 方 (hou) is part of a grammatical pattern that states one noun has more of an adjective than another. In this example, the cars have more numbers than the amount of people.
- その番組は今放送中です。
- sono bangumi wa ima housou chuu desu.
- That program is now in the middle of broadcasting
[context.reverso.net]
In the above example, we see a couple of things. One is the new word 今 (ima) for “now” and the other is the final word です (desu) which is a more polite form of the verb だ (da) from our list.
The verbs だ and です are called “copula” which simply means that they are a form of the verb “to be.” In Japanese, they are handled a little differently from how we use that verb in English, but for now there’s no need to worry about it.
- 日本からアメリカへ行きますか？
- nihon kara amerika e ikimasu ka?
- Are you going from Japan to America?
I’m only going to do one more example sentence since this section of the article is becoming a little too long.
- 東京には大学や学校などが有る。
- toukyou ni wa daigaku ya gakkou nado ga aru.
- There are universities and schools in Tokyo.
I find it a little interesting that 有る (aru) appears in its kanji form on the list of top 100 since I generally see it written in hiragana only as ある.
Does Studying Frequency Lists Really Work?
Out of the five example sentences written above, about thirty of the top 100 words were used. So as you can see, only knowing 100 words doesn’t actually get you very far into reading native materials.
In fact, if you’re a fan of Steve Kaufmann like me, and you watch his videos on YouTube, then you’ve probably heard him talk about whether or not using frequency lists to learn a new language makes that big of a difference.
He says that if you read and listen to a lot of native material, you will naturally encounter the highest frequency words without even trying. I think that makes a lot of sense, because by definition these are the words you’re going to run into the most.
Another point that he makes is that even if you learn the top 1,000 most used words, all it takes is one or two unknown words in a new sentence to throw you back to square one where you have to stop and look it up. Again, I’d have to agree with him as this has been my experience as well.
But I think that there are two situations where using a high frequency list actually does make a lot of sense from a language learner’s point of view.
The first one is if you’re in a hurry. Let’s say that you’re moving to Japan in six months and you want to be able to communicate as quickly as possible.
That’s a situation where spending your time on words that get used everyday by people is more valuable than spending it on random words that appear in a native book or show that you might study.
Another situation where it’s a good idea is when you’re using a flash card program (like Anki) to learn new words and review old ones.
If you have a frequency list that provides example sentences for each word, you can turn those sentences into cards which you can then later review.
Further Resources
I provided you with a free frequency list earlier in this post that pulled the words from the Japanese Wikipedia.
But when I used a frequency to learn the most common Japanese words myself, I actually used something different. I got a book off Amazon that contains the top 5,000 words in Japanese.
The one that I learned from got its words from a variety of sources, so it was a better representation of the Japanese language.
It also provided me with an example sentence for each word so that I was better able to understand how it’s used.
I spent the time to turn each sentence into a flash card and it really made a difference in how quickly I learned Japanese.
Here’s my full review of it.
The other thing you might have noticed is that a lot of the words from the particles list got used in the examples I provided above.
That’s not surprising considering how many particles exist and how often they show up in sentences.
In fact, getting a good understanding of how particles work and what their various meanings are helped me stop feeling frustrated and start feeling like I could actually learn this language.
There is one book I own that goes really deep into understanding particles, and it provides the best explanations I’ve ever seen.
Here’s a more detailed post on it.
If you have any questions or comments, please let me know by leaving them down below. Thanks for reading!
What Are the Top 100 Basic Japanese Words? Have you learned hiragana and katakana? Now you can step up your Japanese learning game by taking on some basic Japanese words and vocabulary.
We have selected the top 100 Basic Japanese words you need to know and sorted them into 8 lists. If you think you’ve mastered them, head to our top 101 basic Japanese adverbs to make your conversation more interesting and dynamic.
This blog is meant to help you learn the words so that you can try to form basic Japanese sentences with these basic Japanese words.
Greetings
People
Numbers
Months
Days of Weeks & Times in a Day
Adjectives
Verbs
Food
Greetings
Basic Japanese Words for Greetings
| Japanese | Pronunciation | Meaning |
| おはようございます | Ohayou gozaimasu | Good morning |
| こんにちは | Konnichiwa | Hello/ good afternoon |
| こんばんは | Konbanwa | Good evening |
| おやすみなさい | Oyasuminasai | Goodnight |
| ありがとうございます | Arigatou gozaimasu | Thank you |
| すみません | Sumimasen | Excuse me/ sorry |
| ごめんなさい | Gomennasai | Sorry |
| はい | Hai | Yes |
| いいえ | Iie | No |
People
Basic Japanese Words for People
| Japanese | Pronunciation | Meaning |
| わたし | Watashi | I/me |
| あなた | Anata | You |
| お母さん | おかあさん Okaasan | Mother |
| お父さん | おとうさん Otousan | Father |
| お爺さん | おじいさん Ojiisan | Grandfather |
| お婆さん | おばあさん Obaasan | Grandmother |
| おじさん | Ojisan | Uncle |
| おばさん | Obasan | Aunt |
| お兄さん | おにいさん Oniisan | Older brother |
| お姉さん | おねえさん Oneesan | Older sister |
| 弟 | おとうと Otouto | Younger brother |
| 妹 | いもうと Imouto | Younger sister |
Basic Japanese Numbers
| Japanese | Pronunciation | Meaning |
| 一 | いち Ichi | One |
| 二 | に Ni | Two |
| 三 | さん San | Three |
| 四 | し/よん Shi/yon | Four |
| 五 | ご Go | Five |
| 六 | ろく Roku | Six |
| 七 | しち/なな Shichi/nana | Seven |
| 八 | はち Hachi | Eight |
| 九 | きゅう Kyuu | Nine |
| 十 | じゅう Juu | Ten |
Months
Months
| Japanese | Pronunciation | Meaning |
| 一月 | いちがつ Ichigatsu | January |
| 二月 | にがつ Nigatsu | February |
| 三月 | さんがつ Sangatsu | March |
| 四月 | しがつ Shigatsu | April |
| 五月 | ごがつ Gogatsu | May |
| 六月 | ろくがつ Rokugatsu | June |
| 七月 | しちがつ Shichigatsu | July |
| 八月 | はちがつ Hachigatsu | August |
| 九月 | くがつ Kugatsu | September |
| 十月 | じゅうがつ Juugatsu | October |
| 十一月 | じゅういちがつ Juuichigatsu | November |
| 十二月 | じゅうにがつ Juunigatsu | December |
Days of the Week
Days of the Week & Times of the Day
| Japanese | Pronunciation | Meaning |
| 月曜日 | げつようび Getsuyoubi | Monday |
| 火曜日 | かようび Kayoubi | Tuesday |
| 水曜日 | すいようび Suiyoubi | Wednesday |
| 木曜日 | もくようび Mokuyoubi | Thursday |
| 金曜日 | きんようび Kinyoubi | Friday |
| 土曜日 | どようび Doyoubi | Saturday |
| 日曜日 | にちようび Nichiyoubi | Sunday |
| 昨日 | きのう Kinou | Yesterday |
| 今日 | きょう Kyou | Today |
| 明日 | あした Ashita | Tomorrow |
| 朝 | あさ Asa | Morning |
| 昼 | ひる Hiru | Noon |
| 夕方 | ゆうがた Yuugata | Evening |
| 夜 | よる Yoru | Night |
Adjectives
Adjectives
| Japanese | Pronunciation | Meaning |
| 楽しい | たのしい Tanoshii | Happy |
| 悲しい | かなしい Kanashii | Sad |
| 高い | たかい Takai | High/expensive |
| 低い | ひくい Hikui | Low |
| 安い | やすい Yasui | Cheap |
| 早い | はやい Hayai | Fast/early |
| 遅い | おそい Osoi | Slow |
| 忙しい | いそがしい Isogashii | Busy |
| 美味しい | おいしい Oishii | Delicious |
| 不味い | まずい Mazui | Awful |
| 甘い | あまい Amai | Sweet |
| 塩っぱい | しょっぱい Shoppai | Salty |
| 酸っぱい | すっぱい Suppai | Sour |
| 苦い | にがい Nigai | Bitter |
| 辛い | からい Karai | Hot/ spicy |
| 熱い | あつい Atsui | Hot |
| 暖かい | あたたかい Atatakai | Warm |
| 冷たい | つめたい Tsumetai | Cold |
| 明るい | あかるい Akarui | Bright |
| 暗い | くらい Kurai | Dark |
Verbs
Verbs
| Japanese | Pronunciation | Meaning |
| する | Suru | To do |
| 見る | みる Miru | To see |
| 聞く | きく Kiku | To listen |
| 話す | はなす Hanasu | To talk/speak |
| 言う | いう Iu | To say |
| 書く | かく Kaku | To write |
| 食べる | たべる Taberu | To eat |
| 飲む | のむ Nomu | To drink |
| 歩く | あるく Aruku | To walk |
| 走る | はしる Hashiru | To run |
| 座る | すわる Suwaru | To sit |
| 立つ | たつ Tatsu | To stand |
Food
Food
| Japanese | Pronunciation | Meaning |
| 食べ物 | たべもの Tabemono | Food |
| 飲み物 | のみもの Nomimono | Drinks |
| ご飯 | ごはん Gohan | Rice/meal |
| 水 | みず Mizu | Water/cold water |
| お湯 | おゆ Oyu | Hot water |
| 肉 | にく Niku | Meat |
| 野菜 | やさい Yasai | Vegetable |
| 魚 | さかな Sakana | Fish |
| ラーメン | Ra-men | Ramen |
| 寿司 | すし Sushi | Sushi |
| おにぎり | Onigiri | Onigiri |
For the next step after learning these basic Japanese words, equip yourself with basic Japanese grammar.
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r/LearnJapanese
r/LearnJapanese
Welcome to r/LearnJapanese, *the* hub on Reddit for learners of the Japanese Language.
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Nukemarine
Here’s a spreadsheet of the 6000 most common Japanese vocabulary words, optimized order for quickest learning. Easy to import into Anki
docs.google
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