Essential Japanese Words: Your Comprehensive Guide to Learning Japanese

Embarking on the journey to learn Japanese can be both exciting and challenging. To help you get started, here is a comprehensive guide with essential words and phrases across various categories that will form the foundation of your Japanese vocabulary.

Basic Greetings

Hello

Japanese: こんにちは (kon’nichiwa)

How are you?

Japanese: お元気ですか (ogenki desu ka)

Thank you

Japanese: ありがとう (arigatou)

Goodbye

Japanese: さようなら (sayounara)

Please

Japanese: お願いします (onegaishimasu)

Yes

Japanese: はい (hai)

No

Japanese: いいえ (iie)

Colors

Red

Japanese: 赤 (aka)

Blue

Japanese: 青 (ao)

Green

Japanese: 緑 (midori)

Yellow

Japanese: 黄色 (kiiro)

Black

Japanese: 黒 (kuro)

White

Japanese: 白 (shiro)

Numbers

One

Japanese: 一 (ichi)

Two

Japanese: 二 (ni)

Three

Japanese: 三 (san)

Four

Japanese: 四 (shi/yon)

Five

Japanese: 五 (go)

Six

Japanese: 六 (roku)

Seven

Japanese: 七 (shichi/nana)

Eight

Japanese: 八 (hachi)

Nine

Japanese: 九 (kyuu)

Ten

Japanese: 十 (juu)

Days of the Week

Monday

Japanese: 月曜日 (getsuyoubi)

Tuesday

Japanese: 火曜日 (kayoubi)

Wednesday

Japanese: 水曜日 (suiyoubi)

Thursday

Japanese: 木曜日 (mokuyoubi)

Friday

Japanese: 金曜日 (kin’youbi)

Saturday

Japanese: 土曜日 (doyoubi)

Sunday

Japanese: 日曜日 (nichiyoubi)

Common Phrases

What is your name?

Japanese: お名前は何ですか (onamae wa nan desu ka)

My name is…

Japanese: 私の名前は…です (watashi no namae wa…desu)

Where is the bathroom?

Japanese: トイレはどこですか (toire wa doko desu ka)

How much does this cost?

Japanese: これはいくらですか (kore wa ikura desu ka)

I don’t understand

Japanese: わかりません (wakarimasen)

Can you help me?

Japanese: 手伝ってくれますか (tetsudatte kuremasu ka)

Excuse me / I’m sorry

Japanese: すみません (sumimasen)

Good morning

Japanese: おはようございます (ohayou gozaimasu)

Good night

Japanese: おやすみなさい (oyasuminasai)

See you later

Japanese: またね (matane)

I am lost

Japanese: 道に迷いました (michi ni mayoimashita)

I need help

Japanese: 助けてください (tasukete kudasai)

Do you speak English?

Japanese: 英語を話せますか (eigo o hanasemasu ka)

I am a tourist

Japanese: 私は観光客です (watashi wa kankoukyaku desu)

Can I take a picture?

Japanese: 写真を撮ってもいいですか (shashin o totte mo ii desu ka)

What time is it?

Japanese: 今何時ですか (ima nanji desu ka)

Start Learning Today

These basic words and phrases are just the beginning of your Japanese learning journey. To further enhance your language skills, consider using language learning apps like Glosa. They offer interactive exercises, progress tracking, and personalized learning paths to make your study sessions effective and enjoyable.

Ready to dive deeper into Japanese? Download the Glosa app and start speaking Japanese with confidence today!

For more tips and resources on learning Japanese, visit our blog.

Happy Learning!