You are here: Home/ List/ 40 Japanese Words Meaning “Many/Much” (Ooi, Ippai, Takusan, …)
Do you know how to say “many” in Japanese? In fact, there are more than 40 words and phrases to say “many” in Japanese, just like in English. This article presents a comprehensive list of those (from basic to advanced) expressions with brief explanations and example sentences provided for each entry! Note that “many” and “much” are basically the same word in Japanese since Japanese nouns do not have either countable or uncountable forms.
(If you’re fond of exploring Japanese synonyms, check my tool: Japanese Synonym Finder)
Adjectives (na-adj and i-adj)
多い (おおい, ooi)
多い is one of the most common words to say “many/much” in Japanese. When it modifies a noun, it’s usually used as “多くの” (although it looks like a standard い-adjective).
Examples
東京に住んでいる人は多い。/多くの人が東京に住んでいる。
There are many people who live in Tokyo./ A lot of people live in Tokyo.
数多くの (かずおおくの, kazuooku no)
数多くの is a synonym of 多くの and means “a great number of ~”. It sounds slightly larger than 多くの, and is usually used in writing.
Examples
数多くの人が東京に住んでいる
A great number of people live in Tokyo.
数々の (かずかずの, kazukazu no)
数々の is a synonym of 数多くの, and means “numerous” and “various”.
Examples
彼は数々の賞を獲得した
He has achieved numerous (and various) awards
沢山 (たくさん, takusan)
沢山 is also a very common word meaning “a great number/amount of” and sounds more than “多い” (since it contains the kanji 山 meaning “mountain”, you may interpret it as “mountains of ~ “). When it modifies a noun, it’s usually used as “沢山の” or just “沢山” rather than “沢山な”. It can also be used as an adverb and modify a verb. It is often written in hiragana too as in example sentences below.
Examples
たくさんの人がいる/たくさん人がいる/人が沢山いる
There are many people.
沢山勉強した
I studied a lot.
ぎょうさん (gyousan)
It is a very casual way of saying “沢山”, particularly used in the Kansai region. It is usually used without any particle.
Examples
ぎょうさん人がおる/人がぎょうさんおる
There are many people. (*おる = the Kansai dialect term for いる )
ぎょうさん勉強した
I studied a lot.
盛り沢山 (もりだくさん, mori dakusan)
盛り沢山 is a common hyperbole meaning “various and copious”, and usually used as “something が盛り沢山” to hype new events, products, etc.
この新しいスマホには新しい機能が盛り沢山！
This new smartphone has a variety of new functions!
いっぱい (ippai)
いっぱい is also a very common word to describe the large amount/number of something, and is usually used as “いっぱい + いる/ある”. It can sound casual and a little childish compared to 沢山 but not always. When used as “いっぱい（だ）” or “いっぱい + になる”, it usually means “be/become full”. In kanji, it can also be written as “一杯”, but since 一杯 can also mean “one cup/glass of ~”, some people avoid using it for clarity.
Examples
お宝がいっぱいある
There are a great number of treasures.
お腹がいっぱいだ
My stomach is full
大量 (たいりょう, tairyou)
大量 means “an enormous amount/number of ~”. It is usually used to describe the large amount/number of things or animals, but not humans. The common usage is “大量の + noun” or “something が大量にある”
Examples
この研究を行うには、大量のデータが必要だ
It requires an enormous amount of data to conduct this research.
買ったけど読んでいない本が家に大量にある
There are piles of books at home that I bought but haven’t read.
大勢の (おおぜいの, oozei no)
大勢の usually describes a great number of people and is usually used in writing.
Examples
大勢の人がここに集まった
A great number of people gathered here.
豊富な (ほうふな, houfu na)
豊富な means “abundant”, “copious” or “plentiful”. It usually connotes that something is abundant in quantity and variety.
Examples
オーストラリアには豊富な資源がある
There are abundant and various resources in Australia.
あの人は知識が豊富だ
He has copious knowledge.
色々な/色んな
(いろいろな, iroiro na)
色々な means “various” in English and is often used in writing. In casual speech, 色々な is often abbreviated as 色(いろ)んな (iron na).
Examples
東京には色々な/色んな人がいる
There are various people in Tokyo.
人が日本語を勉強する理由は色々だ
The reason why people study Japanese varies/is various.
様々な (さまざまな, samazama na)
様々な is a synonym of “色々な”, and often used in writing.
Examples
東京には様々な人がいる
There are various people in Tokyo.
人が日本語を勉強する理由は様々だ
The reason why people study Japanese varies/is various.
莫大な (ばくだいな, bakudai na)
莫大な means “a vast amount of ~”, and is often used to describe a very large amount of time, money or effort. When used to describe the number of something, 莫大な数の is often used. It’s rather used in writing but not too formal.
Examples
留学するには莫大な費用がかかる
It costs an enormous amount of money to study abroad.
莫大な数の学生がキャンパスにいる
There are an enormous number of students on campus.
膨大な (ぼうだいな, boudai na)
膨大な is a synonym of 莫大な. 莫大な sounds slightly larger and more boundless than 膨大な. It’s often used in writing.
Examples
留学するには膨大な費用がかかる。
It costs an enormous amount of money to study abroad.
膨大な数の学生がキャンパスにいる。
There are an enormous number of students on campus.
たっぷり (tappuri)
たっぷり means “a sufficient/abundant amount of~”, and is often used to describe a sufficient amount of time/money/food. It is usually used as “たっぷりの” when modifying a noun, otherwise “たっぷり + ある” (e.g. 時間はたっぷりある).
Examples
あの大学にはお金がたっぷりある/あの大学にはたっぷりのお金がある
There is a sufficient amount of money in that university.
まだ時間はたっぷり残っている
Still, there is an abundant amount of time left.
ふさふさ (fusafusa)
ふさふさ means “bushy” or “fluffy” and is usually used to describe a large amount of hair or something hairy. It is often used in comparison to ハゲ (hage), a derogatory word for “a bald person”.
Examples
彼は７０歳なのにまだ（髪が）ふさふさだ
Although he’s 70 years old, he still has a lot of hair.
無数の (むすうの, musuu no)
無数の means “countless” and describes something uncountable. It is often used in writing.
空を見上げると、無数の星が見えた
Looking up at the sky, I saw countless stars.
幾(いく)つもの (ikutsumo no)
幾つもの is a synonym of 多くの and sounds larger than 多くの.
Examples
幾つもの苦難を克服した
I have overcome a great number of hardships.
十分/充分 (じゅうぶん, jyuubun)
十分/充分 means “enough”. The kanji 充分 is used when one perceives something is enough, whereas 十分 denotes that there is a large enough number/amount of something. To describe the number/amount of something, it is used as “十分な数/量の” meaning “large enough number/amount of ~”.
Examples
十分/充分な睡眠を取った
I got enough sleep
そこには十分な数の人がいた
A large enough number of people are there.
まだ充分な休みが取れていない
(I feel) I haven’t taken enough rest yet.
十二分 (じゅうにぶん, jyuunibun)
十二分 means “more than 十分”, as 十二 (“twelve”) is larger than 十 (“ten”) —so it is similar to say “120%”. It is used as either ”十二分な” or “十二分の”.
Examples
我々はリスクを減らすために、十二分の/十二分な対策を取った
We took more-than-enough measures to mitigate risk.
大多数の (だいたすうの, daitasuu no)
大多数の means “the majority of ~”, and is used for people. It is often used in writing.
Examples
大多数の人はその意見に賛成した。
The majority of people agreed with the opinion.
大部分の (だいぶぶんの, daibubun no)
大部分の also means “the most (part) of ~”, and is used for things and people.
Examples
大部分のお金が使われた
Most of the money was used.
大抵の (たいていの, taitei no)
大抵の means ‘most ~” and is used for things and people.
Examples
大抵の人はそれを知らない
Most people do not know it.
大抵の場合、それはあまり問題にならない
In most cases, it does not become an issue.
大体の (だいたいの, daitai no)
大体の is a synonym of 大抵の. Although they are mostly interchangeable, 大体の sounds more “rough” in terms of the number, as it also means “about”/”approximately”.
Examples
大体１万円
About 10000 yen
大体の人がその式に出席する
Most people attend the ceremony.
大概の (たいがいの, taigai no)
大概の is a synonym of 大抵の, and it is particularly used to describe the most part of the ordinary things/people.
Examples
大概の事は家で出来る
I can do most of the ordinary things at home.
大概の人はそれに騙された
Most ordinary people were tricked by it.
過多 (かた, kata)
過多の means “too many/much”, and is often put after a noun.
Examples
現代では、多くの人が情報過多によりストレスを感じている
Nowadays, many people feel stressed because there is too much information.
山積み (やまずみ, yamazumi)
It literally means “mountain pile” and figuratively describes piles of soemthing negative (e.g. unsolved problems/assignments). It is often as “something + が山積みだ”.
Examples
解決する課題が山積みだ
There are piles of problems to solve.
Figurative Expressions
山のように (やまのように)
山のように literally means “like a mountain”, and means “mountains/piles of”.
Examples
課題が山のようにある
I have mountains of assignments.
数えきれないほど (かぞえきれないほど)
数えきれないほど literally means “as many/much as one cannot count”, and means “countless”.
Examples
彼は数えきれないほどの記録を持っている
He holds a countless number of records.
星の数ほど （ほしのかずほど）
星の数ほど literally means “as many as stars (in the sky)” and describes something countless.
Examples
東京にはラーメン屋さんが星の数ほど ある
In Tokyo, there are a countless number of ramen restaurants (like the stars in the sky).
目移りするほど （めうつりするほど）
目移りするほど literally means “to the extent that one’s eyes are attracted/distracted to many things (and cannot concentrate on looking at one thing)”.
Examples
目移りするほどの商品が棚に並んでいる
A great number of products are lining the shelves (to the extent that you cannot pick one thing).
掃いて捨てるほど （はいてすてるほど）
掃いて捨てるほど literally means “as much as you sweep and throw away” and figuratively “there is an unduly large number of something/someone” with a negative/ironic tone. It is rather a casual expression often used in a casual conversation.
Examples
家にいらない服が掃いて捨てるほどある
There are tons of unnecessary clothes in my house
今日では、大学を卒業した人は履いて捨ているほどいる。
Nowadays, there are a more-than-enough number of people who graduate from university.
腐るほど (くさるほど)
腐るほど literally means “as if something gets rotten”. This is a casual expression and usually contains a negative/ironical connotation like “sh*tloads of”.
Examples
あの会社の社長はお金を腐るほど持ってるだろう
That company’s president would have sh*tloads of money I suppose.
嫌と言うほど （いやというほど）
嫌と言うほど means “to the extent that one feels fed up with it”.
Examples
これまでに失敗を嫌と言うほど経験してきた
I have experienced failures countless times so far.
あり余るほど （ありあまるほど）
あり余るほど literally means “as if there will be lots of remnants” and figuratively indicates that something is more than enough.
Examples
我々はあり余るほどの証拠が見つかった
We’ve found more-than-enough evidence.
湯水のように (ゆみずのように)
湯水のように literally means “like hot water”. It is often used when one uses something extravagantly (esp. money), like hot water in the shower.
Examples
彼はカジノで湯水のようにお金を使った。
He spent an excessive amount of his money extravagantly (like hot water) in the casino.
雨後の筍のよう (うごのたけのこのよう)
雨後の筍のよう literally means “like bamboo shoots after rain”. Figuratively it means “a plethora of similar things happen one after another”, usually with a negative connotation that there are way too many. See also List of Japanese Words Related to Rain (雨, ame)
Examples
東京ででタピオカの店(みせ)が雨後の筍のように増(ふ)えた
In Tokyo, the number of bubble tea stores has increased like bamboo shoots after rain
枚挙にいとまがない (まいきょにいとまがない)
枚挙にいとまがない literally means “it takes forever to finish counting”. It is similar to “just to name a few” in English, as it is often used after you list a few examples.
Examples
授業、飲み会、就職面接など、コロナの影響でオンライン化したものは枚挙にいとまがない。
Like classes, drinking parties, job interviews, etc., a countless number of things have been moved online because of the coronavirus.
芋を洗うよう (いもをあらうよう)
芋を洗うよう literally means “as if you wash/stir potatoes (in a saucepan)”. It is particularly used to describe a very crowded place, like a night market in a touristy spot or a public swimming pool in summer.
Examples
プールに人が芋を洗うように人が沢山いた
In the swimming pool, there are numerous people (like stirred potatoes in a saucepan).
桁外れ (けたはずれ)
桁外れ means “different numbers of digits” (e.g. 10 vs. 100). It figuratively indicates that something is much larger than the ordinary number/amount, i.e., “extraordinary”.
Examples
彼のパワーは桁外れだ
His power is much larger than ordinary/extraordinary.
Phrases
十中八九 (じゅっちゅうはっく, jyuttyuu hakku)
十中八九 literally means “8/9 out of 10”, and figuratively means “mostly” or “most likely”.
Examples
彼が言う事は十中八九嘘だ
What he says is most likely a lie.
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Home>Words that start with M>many>English to Japanese translation
How to Say Many in JapaneseAdvertisement
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If you want to know how to say many in Japanese, you will find the translation here. We hope this will help you to understand Japanese better.
Here is the translation and the Japanese word for many:
たくさんの
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Many in all languages
Dictionary Entries near many
- manufacturing sector
- manure
- manuscript
- many
- map
- maple
- maple syrup
Cite this Entry
«Many in Japanese.» In Different Languages, https://www.indifferentlanguages.com/words/many/japanese. Accessed 14 Apr 2023.
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- complex
- continuous
- cutback
- front row
- get off
- light up
- make a decision
- own
- tear off
- teenage
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The ways we express plurality and quantity are different in Japanese and English. In Japanese, we use quantifiers, plural suffixes, and repetition words.
Table of Contents
- The Basics
- Plurality and Quantity
- Quantifiers
- Counters
- Words for Unspecified Quantity
- Plural Suffixes
- Beyond The Basics
- Repetition Words 畳語
The Basics
The Japanese concept of plurality and quantity is different from English. On this page, we’ll introduce some of the significant differences, and look at various ways of expressing plurality and quantity in Japanese.
Plurality and Quantity
In English, we’re constantly making language choices based on plurality and singularity. Do you have an apple or apples? Are you meeting a person or people later? In Japanese, though, whether a noun is plural or singular matters less.
- リンゴがある。
- There’s an apple.
There are apples.
This example shows that リンゴ (apple) can be translated into two different ways in English: «an apple» and «apples.» Without further context, whether there is one apple or more than one apple is unknown.
Similarly, to talk about something general, it’s common in Japanese to use the noun as it is, with no specification as to whether the noun is plural or singular. In English, the plural is typically used in these situations.
- リンゴが好きです。
- I like apples.
- 日本人はよく風呂に入る。
- Japanese people take baths often.
However, this does not mean we don’t express plurality at all in Japanese. We do so in different ways — using quantifiers, plural suffixes, or repetition words. Let’s explore the various ways to express plurality and quantity in Japanese.
Quantifiers
Quantifiers are words that express quantity. These include numerical phrases like ３枚 (three sheets), which is made up of a number and a counter. We also consider words like たくさん (many) to be quantifiers. These words express unspecified amounts, which involve subjective judgment.
To modify a noun with a quantifier, you can use particle の:
- ３枚の紙
- three sheets of paper
- たくさんのリンゴ
- many apples
You can also use quantifiers near the end of a sentence, just before the verb. In this case, the quantifier acts like an adverb in Japanese:
- 紙が３枚ある。
- There are three sheets of paper.
- リンゴをたくさん食べた。
- I ate many apples.
In the same way that you can using adjectives to describe something, you can use quantifiers to add detail to a sentence. Expressing whether a noun is singular or plural may not be required in Japanese the way it is in English, but that doesn’t mean that you’ll never want to! Now, let’s take a closer look at each kind of quantifier.
Counters
Counters are a rather unique word type found in several East Asian languages, including Japanese. They come right after a number and indicate specific quantities of things. We don’t have counters in English, but we do have something kind of similar — that is, words that are used to describe units, groups, or measurements of an uncountable noun or substance, such as a sheet of paper or a bottle of water.
For example, if we are counting paper in Japanese, we’ll use the counter for flat things, 〜枚:
- 紙が１枚ある。
- There is one sheet of paper.
- 紙が５枚ある。
- There are five sheets of paper.
Just like that, you can explicitly state whether we’re talking about paper in the plural or singular. For more information about counters, please check out our dedicated article.
We don’t want to scare you off, but as a disclaimer — Japanese has a huge variety of counters. You use different counters depending on what you want to count, sometimes its shape, sometimes whether it’s alive or not, etc. If you’re interested, check out these 350 counters we sorted by usefulness as well!
Words for Unspecified Quantity
Words for unspecified quantity include «many,» «a few,» and «all» in English. Compared to counters, they usually indicate a less specific quantity. They also tend to be more subjective, since it depends on your judgment whether an amount counts as «many,» «a few,» and so on.
For example, using the word たくさん, meaning «many,» you can loosely describe the quantity of apples you see.
- リンゴがたくさんある。
- There are many apples.
Other common words for unspecified quantity are 少し/ 少ない (little, few), たくさん/ 多い (many, much), 一部 (partially), 全部 (all) and いくつか (a few).
Plural Suffixes
Plural suffixes are used mainly for living things like humans and animals. Attached to a noun, these words indicate a group of people or animals, or a person plus the people they’re associated with.
For example, you can pluralize 少年 (boy) with a plural suffix 〜 達:
- 少年達
- boys
少年 could be used as plural or singular, but when you want to make sure it’s taken as plural, you should use a plural suffix. For example, to say «boys around the world,» 世界の少年達 would be more accurate than 世界の少年, which could mean «a boy of the world.»
It’s worth noting, though, that it’s more natural to omit plural suffixes when the noun is modified with quantifiers.
- ３人の少年(達)
- three boys
Plural suffixes are also used for the plural forms of personal pronouns. To say «we» in Japanese, for example, youd want to combine your choice of first-person pronoun with a plural suffix. So if you use the first-person pronoun 私, you could add the plural suffix 〜達 to give you:
- 私達
- we
When you say «we,» you mean you and the people with you, right? Similarly, plural suffixes can be attached to someone’s name to refer to that person and the people around them. Let’s take a look at an example.
- ジェニー達
- Jenny and her companions
This could mean multiple «Jenny»s if it’s used for a group of people who are named Jenny, but it’s more likely to be Jenny and the people she associates with her, whose names could be Cameron, Rachel, Michael… you name it! It’s a bit like «Jenny and the gang»! We also like to think of it as the Japanese equivalent of et al., which is Latin for «and others.»
Plural suffixes can also be used for non-living things, primarily when treating them as if they’re people.
- 私の部屋にいるぬいぐるみ達が大好きです。
- I love the plushies that are in my room.
〜達, which we used in all these examples, is the most flexible common suffix, but there are three others: 〜 方, 〜 等 and 〜 供. Your choice will depend on what comes before the suffix and the formality you want to express with it. For more information, please check our page about plural suffixes.
Beyond The Basics
Repetition Words 畳語
畳語 refers to plural nouns that are formed by repeating a singular noun. If you’re familair with the first kanji 畳 (folding), you’ll see that it actually means «folded words.» These are words like 人々 (people) and 日々 (days), which often used the repetition marker 々. It might help you to think of 畳語 as words that are «folded» or «layered.»»
畳語 have a few functions, and one of them is to indicate plurals — specifically, many of something. 畳語 conjure up an abstract image of many, and due to this abstract nature, you can’t use a counter to specify the actual quantity of 畳語.
❌ 三人の人々
⭕️ たくさんの人々
Compared to other methods of expressing plurality, 畳語 also has a somewhat poetic and literary feel to it. For example, to say «villagers» (people of the village), you could either say 村の人達, which uses a plural suffix, or 村の人々, which uses 畳語. While 村の人達 sounds more neutral, 村の人々 sounds like an expression you’d see in novels or poems!
You might be thinking, so to pluralize something, can you always just repeat the same word twice? That’s a good question, but the answer is no — the words that you can do this with are limited. So here’s a list of common 畳語!
| 人々 | people |
| 日々 | days |
| 我々 | we |
| 方々 | people (formal) |
| 国々 | countries |
| 山々 | mountains |
| 木々 | trees |
| 花々 | flowers |
| 神々 | gods |
There are some patterns that all 畳語 follow. They can only be made up of wago (words of Japanese origin), which is why they rendaku in many cases, and they can never be made from proper nouns.
They also tend to be things that we commonly see in daily life, like 木々 (trees) or 花々 (flowers). They aren’t used for broader categories like 植物 (plants), or more specific types of something, like 杉 (Japanese cedar).
Depending on the context, 畳語 could also mean each or every of many things, especially with time-related words like 日々 (days) or 月々 (months).
- 日々の暮らし
- everyday life
- 月々の支払い
- monthly payments
I am writing a short descriptive text and I would like to write «There are many wheat fields». Is it better to say 「たくさんの麦畑があります。」or 「麦畑がいっぱいあります。」?
Flaw♦
19.7k8 gold badges63 silver badges169 bronze badges
asked Oct 27, 2017 at 11:56
1
Your sentences both sound fine.
Using たくさん or いっぱい, you can say…
- 麦畑がたくさんあります。
- 麦畑がいっぱいあります。(いっぱい in this sense sounds more casual/colloquial than たくさん)
- たくさんの麦畑があります。(often used in writing or formal speech — though 多くの, 多数の etc. would be more formal)
answered Oct 28, 2017 at 6:11
Chocolate♦Chocolate
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in answer to ur question 麦畑が多い
answered Oct 27, 2017 at 13:21
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Asking the right questions in Japanese: How Many or Much 「いくつ(Ikutsu)」「いくら(Ikura)」 : Have you always wanted to walk the markets of Japan and haggle for the best deal? Perhaps you want to ask how much that dress is in the window over there. Or maybe even you want to know how many presents your girlfriend wants for christmas? If that’s the case, then this is the lesson for you.
Contents
- 1 Asking the right questions in Japanese: How Many or Much 「いくつ(Ikutsu)」「いくら(Ikura)」
- 2 All about いくつ (Ikutsu) when and how to use it
- 3 All about いくら (Ikura) when and how to use it
- 4 Conclusion, your new found power
- 5 Learn Japanese with BondLingo
- 6 Recommend
- 6.1 Related
Asking the right questions in Japanese: How Many or Much 「いくつ(Ikutsu)」「いくら(Ikura)」
Hey guys, how’s it going today? Are you ready for another amazing online Japanese lesson? Fantastic! Today we will be looking at いくつ(Ikutsu) andいくら(ikura), how many and how much. These are two of the most essential and most used phrases in everyday Japanese conversation. The aim of today’s online lesson is to master いくつ(Ikutsu) and いくら(ikura) to give you the skills to ask about quantities in Japanese.
We will first stat by taking a look いくつ (How Many) and learning about which situations it can be used in. We will also be building some example sentences too to see how this can be used in situ. This is such an integral phrase guys so get out your pens and paper guys, you are going to need to take some notes on this.
All about いくつ (Ikutsu) when and how to use it
いくつ “Ikutsu” means how much in Japanese and it can also mean “How old” too in certain situations. Let’s firstly take a look at a really simple example sentence:
いくつほしいですか？
Ikutsu hoshii desu ka
How many do you want?
This is an extremely useful sentence to use in a vast array of situations. Imagine yourself at the local market and you see some delicious apples. You turn to your friend and simple ask, “いくつほしいですか” How many do you want?
You can also use いくつ(Ikutsu) to ask how many of a specific item there are. The following sentence demonstrates this and asks about how many prefectures there are in Japan.
にほんには、けんがいくつありますか。
Nihon ni wa, ken ga ikutsu arimasu ka
How many prefectures are there in Japan?
This is such a great pattern to get good at and familiar with so make sure to practice with it and write a few of your own example sentences. This way you can ensure that the pattern will be at your disposal quickly and fluently next time you want to use it.
Remember how we said that Ikutsu can also be used for age? Well it’s true! Here is an example of how to ask someone’s age:
かれのとしはいくつですか
Kare no toshi wa ikutsu desu ka
How old is he?
The direct translation of this sentence is actually “how many years is he?” The sentence is asking about how many years in this case. To make this more polite you should add お Infront of いくつ(Ikutsu) to make おいくつですか. This is a really polite way to ask someone’s age. There is no need to state とし “years” here as it is implied within the context of the phrase.
All about いくら (Ikura) when and how to use it
Ikura いくら means “how much” in Japanese and is mainly associated with asking about the cost of something. It can also, in some cases, mean how many, but today we are going to focus just on the “how much” meaning of the word. Let’s have a look at a simple example sentence.
いくらですか
Ikura desu ka
How much is it?
Can you think of a more essential phrase for when you are shopping? I don’t think so! This is the ultimate phrase to remember today, if nothing else. Lets not expand this a little and looks at a few more examples.
このソファーはいくらですか。
Kono sofua wa ikura desu ka
How much is this sofa?
そのかばんはいくらですか
Sono kaban wa ikura desu ka
How much is that bag?
As you can see here it is a super important word to know as it opens up a lot of possibilities for your ability to ask questions about price.
Conclusion, your new found power
So now you have learnt the tools to ask all about quantity and value of objects, how fantastic. You can peruse around the stores and markets with confidence now. In all seriousness, these are a great couple of foundation phrase patterns for you to have in your arsenal and will serve you well in your communication with Japanese. They are also easily applied to everyday situations.
Thanks again guys for taking the time to read our online Japanese lesson today. We really appreciate all of our fans and followers and want to continue to create amazing content for you to help expand your Japanese knowledge. If you have any ideas around other subject you would like us to teach to you guys, please let us know in the comments section, we want to know what you want! Until next time everybody, またね。
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Last updated:
February 3, 2022
“Do you like reading manga?”
First of all, yes! I do.
But why do we ask people if they like reading “manga” and not “mangas”?
I’ll give you a hint: It’s the same reason we call them emoji and not emojis.
Maybe you’ve guessed that it has something to do with the pluralization of Japanese words.
And you’d be completely correct!
Using the plural in Japanese isn’t as simple as attaching -s or -es to the end of nouns. That form of pluralization doesn’t actually exist. That’s why Japanese loan words can sound odd when we try to pluralize them in English.
Instead, the Japanese language uses other ways to express plurality. These grammar rules aren’t too complicated, but they do diverge quite a bit from English grammar.
But don’t worry! By the end of the article, you’ll have an understanding of a variety of techniques used to express plural in Japanese.
Download:
This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you
can take anywhere.
Click here to get a copy. (Download)
Tackling the Japanese Plural: Tips for Getting Started
We’ve just dropped a pretty big bombshell: Japanese doesn’t pluralize nouns like English does.
But that’s no reason to get overwhelmed! Instead, let’s go over some basic tips for starting to understand the Japanese plural form(s).
The most important thing to keep in mind is context. Sentence context provides your clue for when you’re seeing a plural noun in Japanese. That means that improving your overall Japanese comprehension is crucial for mastering the Japanese plural.
For more targeted practice, consider using flashcards to practice your counters and adverbs. As we’ll see later in the post, counters and adverbs provide context, so it’s especially important to know them like the back of your hand.
Create flashcards to make sure you’re familiar with the various counters in Japanese. It may even be helpful to take common counters and test your knowledge of how to use them every once in a while.
The More the Merrier! Master the Plural in Japanese with Simple Grammar Techniques
So, if the Japanese language doesn’t have anything like -s or -es to form plurals, how do they do it?
Well, it turns out there are a variety of techniques you can use to make a noun plural in Japanese.
Using Suffixes to Pluralize Nouns
語尾 (ごび) — Suffixes may be placed at the end of nouns to indicate quantity.
Suffixes are frequently used to talk about people in the plural form—in other words, groups of more than one person.
Let’s look at some of the most common ones:
~達 (たち)
This suffix is one of the most neutral ways to refer to something or someone in plural form. To use it, simply put it on the end of a noun.
Even if you’re a Japanese beginner, you’ve probably seen this suffix before in common words like:
友達 (ともだち) — Friend(s)
私達 (わたしたち) — We/Us
One thing to note is avoiding the use of “you” in Japanese.
An example is the word 貴方達 (あなたたち). While theoretically, this expresses the second-person plural (“you all”), it’s very informal and can even be considered rude.
Which brings us to…
~ら
This is another suffix that’s used to make nouns plural, but which can also be considered impolite.
You may have heard it in anime or seen it in manga with terms like 奴ら (やつら) — those guys.
Of course, because Japanese is never that simple, ら can also express humility in certain situations, such as referring to one’s own group: 僕ら (ぼくら) uses the suffix to mean we/us and isn’t impolite.
In general, it’s best to learn in which individual cases ら is considered polite. This is much safer than trying it out and getting awkward results!
Remember, learner forums like the WordReference Japanese forum can be a great place to ask tricky questions about proper usage.
~方 (かた/がた) and ども
These suffixes indicate respect for the persons mentioned.
Usually they denote politeness or formality, such as when mentioning a group of one’s superiors or people that the speaker may not be familiar with. They can also refer to oneself and associates in a formal setting.
Using Counters to Express Plurals
Let’s talk about using plurals for both people and inanimate objects.
Some of the best indicators of the quantity of a noun are Japanese counters. But how do we know if a counter is appropriate for the noun we want to use?
Distinguishing between nouns that have counters and nouns that don’t can take a little practice.
There are many different counters in Japanese. Here, we’ll cover a few basic ones for the sake of showing how counters can express plurals in Japanese.
For a more extensive list, you can refer to this list of counter words.
人 (り/にん) (Counter for number of people)
一人 (ひとり) — One person
二人 (ふたり) — Two persons
三人 (さんにん) — Three persons
子供が三人います。(こどもがさんにんいます。)
I have three children.
枚 (まい) (Counter for flat objects like paper, sheets, etc.)
一枚 (いちまい) — One flat object
二枚 (にまい) — Two flat objects
三枚 (さんまい) — Three flat objects
クレジットカードが二枚財布に入っています。(くれじっとかあどがにまいさいふにはいっています。)
I have two credit cards in my wallet.
~つ (Generic counter for objects)
一つ (ひとつ) — One thing
二つ (ふたつ) — Two things
三つ (みっつ) — Three things
リンゴを二つ持っています。(リンゴをふたつもっています。)
I have two apples.
Pluralizing with いくつか (Some/Several)
いくつか is a phrase that means “some” or “several” in English.
It can be used by itself as the object of a sentence, or used alongside a noun to express that you’re talking about more than one of that noun.
It can be used in situations where you’re talking about more than one object but don’t need to specify the quantity. It’s also suitable for instances when the exact quantity isn’t known:
何人か (なんにんか) — several people
何年か (なんねんか) — several years
Here, you can see how it works in a full sentence:
何人かの卒業生はもう仕事しています。 (なんにんかのそつぎょうせいはもうしごとしています。)
Some graduates are already working full-time jobs.
いくつかの理由で、会長が退職しました。 (いくつかのりゆうで、かいちょうがたいしょくしました。)
The CEO resigned for several reasons.
Pluralizing Japanese Nouns with Adverbs
In Japanese, there are also adverbs that can show that more than one of something exists.
These adverbs can be used regardless of whether or not a noun is countable.
Here are some of the most common adverbs that can be used to indicate plural nouns in Japanese:
たくさん
This adverb roughly translates to the English phrase “a lot” or “lots.” It can be used with countable or uncountable nouns.
今日は暑いので水をたくさん飲みます。(きょうはあついのでみずをたくさんのみます。)
I drink lots of water because it’s hot today.
多く(おおく)
Similar to the above adverb, 多く (おおく) is equivalent to the English word “many.” It can also be used with countable or uncountable nouns.
学校では学生が多くのことを学びました。(がっこうではがくせいがおおくのことをまなびました。)
The students learned many things in school.
全て (すべて) and 全部 (ぜんぶ)
The adverb 全て(すべて) translates to the English word “all,” and 全部 (ぜんぶ) can be translated as “total.”
全ての星がキラキラ輝いています。(すべてのほしがきらきらかがやいています。)
All the stars are shining brightly.
お皿を全部洗います。(おさらをぜんぶあらいます。)
I wash all of the dishes.
These pronouns are similar, but it’s important to note that 全員 (ぜんいん) can also be used to talk about people.
少ない (すくない)
少し (すくない) is a handy adverb that can refer to a small, unspecified, but plural quantity. Think of it like the English word “few.”
今日は人が少ないですね。(きょうはひとがすくないですね。)
There aren’t that many people today.
Advanced Ways to Show Plural in Japanese
Prefixes
Specific prefixes can be placed before certain nouns to denote plurality. These aren’t as common in conversation as they are in written Japanese, but they’re still good to know. Here are some of the most common ones:
諸～ (しょ～) — Various…
諸国 (しょこく)
Various countries
数 (すう～) — Several…
数時間 (すうじかん)
Several hours
多～ (た～) — Multi-, Poly-
多国語 (たこくご)
Polyglotism (multiple languages)
Word Repetition
Another form of plural in Japanese is 々 (くりかえし) — a symbol representing a repeated character.
Sometimes it’s used in adjectives. For example, 若い (わかい) — young can also appear as 若々しい (わかわかしい) — youthful.
In this situation, however, we’ll use repetition to imply pluralization by showing that more than one of a given noun exists.
Some common examples are:
人々 (ひとびと) — people/persons
このブランドは多くの人々に選ばれています。(このぶらんどはおおくのひとびとにえらばれています。)
This brand is chosen by many people.
家々 (いえいえ) — houses
全ての家々が数か月間で建てられました。(すべてのいえいえがすうかげつかんでたてられました。)
The houses were built in a few months.
木々 (きぎ) — trees
木々に咲く花が綺麗です。(きぎにさくはながきれいです。)
The flowers that bloom on trees are beautiful.
While it’s not wise to use the repetition symbol with just any noun, it’s important to be on the lookout for words used with the repetition symbol.
We’ll combine an earlier concept from the ら section in the example 我々ら (われわれら) — We/Us. It’s a humble way to refer to one’s group in the plural form.
The Load Word ズ (ず) Ending
This form of pluralization in Japanese has become increasingly common over the years. It’s seen on billboards, advertisements and the like. I wouldn’t recommend using it too often, as it’s most likely to be seen in the titles of things:
シティタワーズ豊洲 (してぃたわあずとよす)
Toyosu City Towers
ギャルズ (ぎゃるず)
Gals (a comedy trio in Japan, and also the name of a manga series.)
As you can see, there are many options for pluralizing nouns in Japanese!
We hope you’re feeling confident about the Japanese plural. Once you learn these basic grammar rules, it’s really not as hard as it seems.
So, where can you go from here?
It’s not too hard to make plural practice a part of your daily routine. Brainstorm some questions that involve plural nouns. How many siblings do you have? How many books did you read last week? These are also great conversation points to practice, either on your own or with a language exchange partner.
Beyond that, you can read a Japanese learner newspaper like NHK Easy to get exposure to a wide variety of prefixes or watch some Japanese television for great immersive practice. Find a show that comes with subtitles so you can read along, or challenge yourself and go without them. This is one of the best ways to hear natural Japanese.
Whatever you choose in terms of practice, have fun!
Download:
This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you
can take anywhere.
Click here to get a copy. (Download)
There are some essential questions that you should learn in order to communicate effectively in Japanese. One of those is knowing how to say “how much” in Japanese.
This question can use a couple of different words in Japanese depending on what you’re asking about. If you’re asking about how much time it will take, that will use one word.
However, if you’re asking about something else, such as “to what degree” a thing will go, then that will a different word.
The best way to know which one to use is to go over all of them and get familiar with the context and use. Then it should be easier to figure out which one you need.
いくら (ikura)
The first word that we’ll cover is いくら (ikura) and it means “how much? how many?” in English.
If you’re out shopping and you want to ask the store keeper how much some cheese costs, you can do so with this word.
- このチーズはいくらですか？
- kono chiizu wa ikura desu ka?
- How much is this cheese?
If you wanted to be a little more polite, then you could add on お (o) to いくら and turn it into おいくら (o-ikura).
- これはおいくらですか？
- kore wa o-ikura desu ka?
- How much is this?
Many times when you are in a shop or a store you can just point at something and ask いくら with a rising intonation at the end to ask the question “how much” when you want to know the price of an object.
Sidebar: Learn how to say why in Japanese.
However, いくら doesn’t have to be limited to just prices. It can also be used to ask about the quantity of something.
For example, let’s say that you’re calculating your net worth and you have to fill out a question as to how much property you own.
- 財産はいくらある？
- zaisan wa ikura aru?
- How much property is there?
- How much real estate do you own?
Perhaps asking about real estate isn’t a common question, but talking about money is.
Perhaps you’re out with a friend and you guys want to go half-and-half on something expensive. You might ask how much money they have just to make sure that you two can foot the bill.
- お金がいくらあるか？
- o-kane ga ikura aru ka?
- How much money do you have?
This first section covered a word that can be used when referring to the cost of an item, or the quantity of an item. Now we are going to go over a word used with time and distance.
どのくらい (dono kurai)
The second one that we’ll cover is どのくらい (dono kurai) and it is an expression that can mean “how long; how far; how much.”
This is used most often when asking about time or distance. For example, if you were in Tokyo and thinking about making a trip over to Kyoto, you could ask the following:
- 京都までどのくらいですか？
- kyouto made dono kurai desuka?
- How far is it to Kyoto?
- How much distance is there (from here) to Kyoto?
Or you could ask how long it will take if you’re more concerned about the time:
- ここからどのくらいかかりますか？
- koko kara dono kurai kakarimasu ka?
- How long does it take from here?
- How much time does it take to get there?
There are two more things that you should be familiar with when it comes to どのくらい.
The first one is that sometimes it’s written in kanji as どの位. This means the same thing as before, but it’s just written a little differently that the all-hiragana version.
The other thing that you should know is that it often times get changed to どのぐらい (dono gurai) during spoken Japanese.
Again, the meaning is exactly the same, but often times when a person is speaking quickly they naturally change the く (ku) to a ぐ (gu) unconsciously.
Sidebar: Learn “how are you” in Japanese.
There is also the phrase どれくらい (dore kurai) which is slightly different from the one we’ve been covering in this section, but still close enough that I thought I’d include it here.
どれくらい means the same as どのくらい when translated into English “how long; how far; how much.”
Despite them being translated identically in English, they do have slightly different uses in Japanese. According to ytv どれぐらい is used more when comparing two things.
[Source]
That being said, I don’t have any concrete examples of it that can clearly show this nuance. I wouldn’t worry about it too much if I were you, and instead just be aware of it.
どんなに (donna ni)
So now you’re familiar with words to ask when dealing with price, quantity, distance, or time.
But there’s another word that will be useful to know when you want to know “to what degree” something is.
The word どんなに (donna ni) is an adverb that means “how; how much” and can be used more when asking about intangible things such as feelings.
- どんなにうらやましかったか？
- donna ni urayama shikatta ka?
- How jealous (envious) were you?
Or here’s an example from an NHK questionnaire where one of the choices is talking about following a law even though it’s unjust. The point of this next phrase is still just to illustrate how どんなに can be used.
- どんなに不当な法にでも従わなければならない。
- donna ni futouna hou ni demo shitagawa nakereba naranai.
- No matter how unjust, you must follow the law.
[Source]
There’s also a pretty good YouTube video that covers some grammar for the N3 level of the JLPT that actually covers どんなに.
One example provided in that video that uses どんなに is the following:
- どんなに電話してもつながらない
- donna ni denwa shitemo tsunagara nai
- No matter how much I call, I can’t get through
It’s actually a pretty good video, so I’ll leave it here for you all to enjoy. The only thing that I should mention is that it’s all in Japanese, so depending on your listening comprehension level you might find it easy or a little difficult.
Over To You Now
Thanks for reading this post. Now I want to hear from you!
Do you have any comments or questions? If so, then leave them below and let me know!
Or are there any other ways to say “how much” in Japanese that you know of? Share them with me and I’ll be sure to update the page to include them.
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)