Basic Japanese Words for Beginners
- ~100 words
- Kana + romaji + meaning
- Free to use
Greetings and polite expressions
Japanese conversation opens and closes with set phrases. Learning these first means you can be polite from day one, even before you know any grammar.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| おはようございます | ohayou gozaimasu | Good morning (polite) |
| こんにちは | konnichiwa | Hello / good afternoon |
| こんばんは | konbanwa | Good evening |
| ありがとうございます | arigatou gozaimasu | Thank you (polite) |
| すみません | sumimasen | Excuse me / sorry |
| はじめまして | hajimemashite | Nice to meet you |
| よろしくお願いします | yoroshiku onegaishimasu | Please treat me well |
| さようなら | sayounara | Goodbye |
| いってきます | ittekimasu | I'm off (leaving home) |
| おつかれさまです | otsukaresama desu | Thanks for your hard work |
Numbers 1 to 10 and beyond
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| いち | ichi | 1 |
| に | ni | 2 |
| さん | san | 3 |
| よん / し | yon / shi | 4 |
| ご | go | 5 |
| ろく | roku | 6 |
| なな / しち | nana / shichi | 7 |
| はち | hachi | 8 |
| きゅう | kyuu | 9 |
| じゅう | juu | 10 |
| ひゃく | hyaku | 100 |
| せん | sen | 1,000 |
Common nouns
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ひと | hito | person |
| ともだち | tomodachi | friend |
| せんせい | sensei | teacher |
| がくせい | gakusei | student |
| みず | mizu | water |
| ごはん | gohan | rice / meal |
| みせ | mise | shop |
| でんしゃ | densha | train |
| かいしゃ | kaisha | company |
| しごと | shigoto | work / job |
| いえ | ie | house |
| まち | machi | town |
| ほん | hon | book |
| くるま | kuruma | car |
| おかね | okane | money |
Common verbs (polite -masu form)
Beginners learn verbs in the polite -masu form first — it is what you use with strangers, colleagues and in the JLPT listening section.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| たべます | tabemasu | to eat |
| のみます | nomimasu | to drink |
| いきます | ikimasu | to go |
| きます | kimasu | to come |
| みます | mimasu | to see / watch |
| ききます | kikimasu | to listen / ask |
| よみます | yomimasu | to read |
| かきます | kakimasu | to write |
| はなします | hanashimasu | to speak |
| べんきょうします | benkyou shimasu | to study |
| わかります | wakarimasu | to understand |
| あります / います | arimasu / imasu | to exist (things / people) |
Useful adjectives
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| おおきい | ookii | big |
| ちいさい | chiisai | small |
| たかい | takai | expensive / tall |
| やすい | yasui | cheap |
| おいしい | oishii | delicious |
| たのしい | tanoshii | fun |
| むずかしい | muzukashii | difficult |
| やさしい | yasashii | easy / kind |
| げんき | genki | healthy / energetic |
| しずか | shizuka | quiet |
Survival phrases for your first conversation
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| わかりません | wakarimasen | I don't understand |
| もういちど おねがいします | mou ichido onegaishimasu | One more time, please |
| ゆっくり おねがいします | yukkuri onegaishimasu | Slowly, please |
| なまえは なんですか | namae wa nan desu ka | What is your name? |
| いくらですか | ikura desu ka | How much is it? |
| だいじょうぶです | daijoubu desu | It's fine / no problem |
| にほんごを べんきょうしています | nihongo o benkyou shite imasu | I am studying Japanese |
| インドから きました | indo kara kimashita | I came from India |
Build your first self-introduction
Put the words together and you already have a jikoshoukai (self-introduction): はじめまして。カルティクです。インドから きました。にほんごを べんきょうしています。 よろしくお願いします。 — "Nice to meet you. I'm Kartik. I'm from India. I'm studying Japanese. Please treat me well."
How to practise so the words stick
- Learn ten words a day, always inside a full sentence.
- Review yesterday's words before adding new ones, then again after a week.
- Say every word aloud — Japanese pitch and rhythm only come from speaking.
- Write in kana from the start; skip romaji once you can read hiragana.
Questions people ask
How many Japanese words do beginners need?
Around 100 words cover everyday greetings, numbers and basic actions, which is enough to hold a simple self-introduction. JLPT N5 expects roughly 800 words, and most learners reach that in three to four months of steady study.
Should I learn Japanese words in romaji or kana?
Learn them in kana. Romaji is useful for the first few days of pronunciation, but the JLPT has no romaji and learners who stay on it read slowly for years. Reading hiragana takes about a week.
What does nihongo mean?
Nihongo (にほんご / 日本語) simply means 'the Japanese language'. Nihon is Japan and go means language, so 'basic nihongo' is the same thing as basic Japanese.
What is the fastest way to remember new Japanese words?
Learn words inside short sentences rather than as isolated lists, review them the next day and again after a week, and say them aloud. Ten words a day retained properly beats fifty words forgotten.
Next step: learn to read these words properly with the hiragana and katakana chart, then check the JLPT N5 syllabus.