Japanese

Japanese - Basic Vocabulary

This is a collection of basic vocabulary for the Japanese language, including around 200 words.

1. Numbers

Learn to count and express quantities with basic numerals, cardinal and ordinal numbers, and numerical expressions

0

ゼロ

zero

zero

1

ichi

one

2

ni

two

3

san

three

4

shi/yon

four

5

go

five

6

roku

six

7

nana/shichi

seven

8

hachi

eight

9

kyū/ku

nine

10

ten

11

十一

jūichi

eleven

12

十二

jūni

twelve

13

十三

jūsan

thirteen

14

十四

jūyon

fourteen

15

十五

jūgo

fifteen

16

十六

jūroku

sixteen

17

十七

jūshichi/jūnana

seventeen

18

十八

jūhachi

eighteen

19

十九

jūkyū/jūku

nineteen

20

二十

nijū

twenty

30

三十

sanjū

thirty

40

四十

shijū

forty

50

五十

gojū

fifty

60

六十

rokujū

sixty

70

七十

nanajū

seventy

80

八十

hachijū

eighty

90

九十

kyūjū

ninety

100

hyaku

hundred

1K

sen

thousand

1M

百万

hyakuman

million

2. Colors

Explore basic and advanced colors, shades, and descriptive terms for talking about the visual world around you

shiro

white

kuro

black

🔴

aka

red

🔵

ao

blue

🟡

黄色

kiiro

yellow

🟢

midori

green

🟣

murasaki

purple

🟤

茶色

chairo

brown

🟠

オレンジ

orenji

orange

🌸

ピンク

pinku

pink

kin

gold

🌑

シルバー

shirubā

silver

☁️

グレー

gurē

grey

3. Animals

Discover vocabulary for domestic pets, farm animals, wild creatures, and exotic species from around the world

🐶

inu

dog

🐱

neko

cat

🐴

uma

horse

🐮

ushi

cow

🐷

buta

pig

🐦

tori

bird

🐟

sakana

fish

🐭

マウス

mausu

mouse

🦊

キツネ

kitsune

fox

🐇

ウサギ

usagi

rabbit

🐻

クマ

kuma

bear

🐼

パンダ

panda

panda

🐨

コアラ

koara

koala

🐘

elephant

🐢

カメ

kame

turtle

🦒

キリン

kirin

giraffe

🦆

アヒル

ahiru

duck

🕷️

クモ

kumo

spider

4. People

Learn words for immediate and extended family members, relationships, and terms for describing different types of people

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦

家族

kazoku

family

🧔

otoko

man

👩

onna

woman

👦

男の子

otokonoko

boy

👧

女の子

onnanoko

girl

👶

子供

kodomo

child

👨‍🦳

chichi

father

👩‍🦳

haha

mother

👴

祖父

sofu

grandfather

👵

祖母

sobo

grandmother

🧑‍🦰

兄弟

kyōdai

brother

👩‍🦱

姉妹

shimai

sister

🧑

友達

tomodachi

friend

👥

人々

hitobito

people

🙋

hito

person

5. Objects

Build vocabulary for everyday items, household objects, tools, and common things you encounter in daily life

🏠

ie

house

🏢

建物

tatemono

building

🏫

学校

gakkō

school

🏪

mise

store

🛣️

michi

road

🌆

都市

toshi

city

🌳

ki

tree

💧

mizu

water

☀️

太陽

taiyō

sun

☁️

kumo

cloud

📚

hon

book

🖊️

ペン

pen

pen

📱

電話

denwa

phone

🔑

kagi

key

🚗

kuruma

car

6. Food

Master vocabulary for meals, snacks, beverages, cooking ingredients, and different types of cuisine from various cultures

🍎

りんご

ringo

apple

🍌

バナナ

banana

banana

🍞

パン

pan

bread

🧀

チーズ

chīzu

cheese

🥩

niku

meat

🥛

牛乳

gyūnyū

milk

コーヒー

kōhī

coffee

🍵

お茶

ocha

tea

💧

mizu

water

🍺

ビール

bīru

beer

🍷

ワイン

wain

wine

🍽️

食べ物

tabemono

food

🍳

tamago

egg

🍚

ご飯

gohan

rice

🥕

野菜

yasai

vegetables

7. Time

Learn to express time concepts including days of the week, months, seasons, clock times, and temporal expressions

☀️

hi

day

🌙

yoru

night

時間

jikan

hour

🗓️

shū

week

📅

tsuki

month

🗓️

toshi

year

🗓️

月曜日

getsuyōbi

Monday

🗓️

火曜日

kayōbi

Tuesday

🗓️

水曜日

suiyōbi

Wednesday

🗓️

木曜日

mokuyōbi

Thursday

🗓️

金曜日

kinyōbi

Friday

🗓️

土曜日

doyōbi

Saturday

🗓️

日曜日

nichiyōbi

Sunday

🌅

asa

morning

🌆

yoru

evening

🕛

ima

now

🔜

すぐに

sugu

soon

🕒

時間

jikan

time

8. Verbs

Essential action words and verbs for describing activities, states of being, and both physical and mental actions

🗣️

話す

hanasu

to speak

🚶

歩く

aruku

to walk

🏃

走る

hashiru

to run

🍽️

食べる

taberu

to eat

🍷

飲む

nomu

to drink

😴

寝る

neru

to sleep

📖

読む

yomu

to read

✍️

書く

kaku

to write

👀

見る

miru

to see

👂

聞く

kiku

to hear

💭

考える

kangaeru

to think

🤔

知る

shiru

to know

❤️

愛する

aisuru

to love

👍

好き

suki

to like

👋

来る

kuru

to come

🚪

開ける

akeru

to open

🔒

閉じる

tojiru

to close

💡

学ぶ

manabu

to learn

与える

ataeru

to give

💸

買う

kau

to buy

9. Adjectives

Expand your descriptive vocabulary with words for qualities, characteristics, emotions, and properties of things

😊

幸せ

shiawase

happy

😢

悲しい

kanashii

sad

😠

怒っている

okotteiru

angry

👍

良い

yoi

good

👎

悪い

warui

bad

⬆️

大きい

ōkii

big

⬇️

小さい

chiisai

small

🆕

新しい

atarashii

new

🕰️

古い

furui

old

💯

多くの

ōku

many

🤏

少ない

sukunai

few

🥵

熱い

atsui

hot

🥶

寒い

samui

cold

💪

強い

tsuyoi

strong

👶

弱い

yowai

weak

美しい

utsukushii

beautiful

👹

醜い

minikui

ugly

正しい

tadashii

correct

間違っている

machigatteiru

wrong

速い

hayai

fast

10. Connectors

Master conjunctions, transitions, and linking expressions to connect ideas and create more complex, flowing sentences

to

and

➡️

しかし

shikashi

but

👉

または

matawa

or

🤔

なぜなら

nazenara

because

👉

だから

dakara

so

🤨

しかし

shikashi

however

🤔

したがって

shitagatte

therefore

また

mata

also

🕒

いつ

itsu

when

🤔

もし

moshi

if

🕒

mae

before

🕒

ato

after

🕒

以来

irai

since

🕒

中に

naka

while

11. Professions

Learn vocabulary for various careers, occupations, and professional roles across different industries and sectors

👨‍🏫

先生

sensei

teacher

🧑‍⚕️

医者

isha

doctor

👩‍💻

エンジニア

enjinia

engineer

👨‍🍳

シェフ

shefu

chef

🧑‍🌾

農家

nōka

farmer

👮

警察官

keisatsukan

police officer

🧑‍🎨

アーティスト

ātisuto

artist

🧑‍💼

会社員

kaishain

office worker

🔬

科学者

kagakusha

scientist

🛒

販売員

hanbaiin

salesperson

Your Japanese Journey Starts Now!

Congratulations! You've just learned over 200 essential Japanese words. This list is a fantastic starting point, but remember that consistency is key to true fluency.

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