Japanese Words: 100 Basics with Meanings for Beginners
100 Japanese words worth learning first, with kana readings: core nouns and verbs, both adjective types, colors, and the days of the week.
What to learn first, and how
The common mistake is following a textbook's thematic order, which puts fruit and animal names ahead of する, ある, and いい: words you hear in nearly every sentence. Frequency order gets you speaking much sooner.
One rule specific to Japanese: learn the kana reading together with the kanji, but prioritize the reading early on. Kanji can be layered in later: a word you cannot pronounce is also a word you will not catch when someone says it.
25 essential Japanese nouns
| Japanese | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 人 | hito | person |
| 水 | mizu | water |
| 家 | ie | house, home |
| 時間 | jikan | time |
| お金 | okane | money |
| 友達 | tomodachi | friend |
| 家族 | kazoku | family |
| 仕事 | shigoto | work, job |
| 今日 | kyou | today |
| 明日 | ashita | tomorrow |
| 昨日 | kinou | yesterday |
| 今 | ima | now |
| ここ | koko | here |
| 学校 | gakkou | school |
| 会社 | kaisha | company |
| 食べ物 | tabemono | food |
| 本 | hon | book |
| 電話 | denwa | phone |
| 名前 | namae | name |
| 国 | kuni | country |
| 天気 | tenki | weather |
| 駅 | eki | train station |
| 店 | mise | shop |
| 車 | kuruma | car |
| 言葉 | kotoba | word, language |
20 core Japanese verbs
Japanese verbs end in an -u sound in dictionary form and take ~ます in the polite form, so the table lists both. Note the ある / いる split. Japanese uses different verbs for "there is" depending on whether the thing is animate.
| Dictionary form | Polite form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| する (suru) | します (shimasu) | to do |
| 行く (iku) | 行きます (ikimasu) | to go |
| 来る (kuru) | 来ます (kimasu) | to come |
| 食べる (taberu) | 食べます (tabemasu) | to eat |
| 飲む (nomu) | 飲みます (nomimasu) | to drink |
| 見る (miru) | 見ます (mimasu) | to see, to watch |
| 聞く (kiku) | 聞きます (kikimasu) | to listen; to ask |
| 話す (hanasu) | 話します (hanashimasu) | to speak |
| 読む (yomu) | 読みます (yomimasu) | to read |
| 書く (kaku) | 書きます (kakimasu) | to write |
| 分かる (wakaru) | 分かります (wakarimasu) | to understand |
| ある (aru) | あります (arimasu) | there is (inanimate) |
| いる (iru) | います (imasu) | there is (animate) |
| 買う (kau) | 買います (kaimasu) | to buy |
| 会う (au) | 会います (aimasu) | to meet |
| 働く (hataraku) | 働きます (hatarakimasu) | to work |
| 勉強する (benkyou suru) | 勉強します (benkyou shimasu) | to study |
| 寝る (neru) | 寝ます (nemasu) | to sleep |
| 待つ (matsu) | 待ちます (machimasu) | to wait |
| 作る (tsukuru) | 作ります (tsukurimasu) | to make |
Two kinds of adjectives: i- and na-
Japanese adjectives come in two classes that conjugate differently: i-adjectives, which end in い and inflect themselves (高い → 高くない), and na-adjectives, which take な when modifying a noun (元気な人). Tag each word with its type as you learn it and later grammar becomes far easier.
| Japanese | Reading | Meaning and type |
|---|---|---|
| いい | ii | good — i-adj (irregular) |
| 大きい | ookii | big — i-adj |
| 小さい | chiisai | small — i-adj |
| 高い | takai | tall, expensive — i-adj |
| 安い | yasui | cheap — i-adj |
| おいしい | oishii | delicious — i-adj |
| 楽しい | tanoshii | fun, enjoyable — i-adj |
| 難しい | muzukashii | difficult — i-adj |
| 好き | suki | liked, favorite — na-adj |
| 元気 | genki | healthy, energetic — na-adj |
| 便利 | benri | convenient — na-adj |
| 静か | shizuka | quiet — na-adj |
Colors and days of the week
Colors and weekdays are two small sets with an outsized payoff. The days follow a fixed pattern — moon, fire, water, wood, metal, earth, sun — each followed by 曜日 (youbi), so learning the seven kanji gives you the whole week at once.
| Color | Day | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| 赤 aka — red | 月曜日 — Monday | getsuyoubi |
| 青 ao — blue | 火曜日 — Tuesday | kayoubi |
| 白 shiro — white | 水曜日 — Wednesday | suiyoubi |
| 黒 kuro — black | 木曜日 — Thursday | mokuyoubi |
| 黄色 kiiro — yellow | 金曜日 — Friday | kinyoubi |
| 緑 midori — green | 土曜日 — Saturday | doyoubi |
| 茶色 chairo — brown | 日曜日 — Sunday | nichiyoubi |
One catch: 赤い, 青い, 白い, and 黒い work as i-adjectives, but 緑 and 茶色 are nouns and need の to modify something: 緑の車 (a green car), not 緑い車. This is a frequent beginner slip.
Check yourself
What kind of adjective is 元気 (genki)?
Making the words stick
- Ten a day, each inside a sentence — not 水 but 水をください ("water, please").
- Space the reviews — 1, 3, 7, and 14 days out, right as the word begins to fade.
- Learn verbs as dictionary + ます pairs, and always record whether an adjective is i- or na-.
- Use the day's words in a real conversation once. Retrieval, not review, is what makes them permanent.
Skipping the i- / na- tag while you memorize means re-checking every adjective later, once grammar starts to depend on it. One extra character now is much cheaper than that.
Frequently asked questions
How many Japanese words do I need?
Roughly a thousand high-frequency words carry everyday conversation. The 100 here are a balanced starting core — nouns, verbs, both adjective types, colors, and the days of the week.
Why does the i- / na- adjective split matter?
Because they conjugate differently: i-adjectives inflect on their own (高い → 高くない) while na-adjectives take な before a noun (元気な人). Recording the type with the word saves a lot of confusion later.
Do I need kanji to learn Japanese words?
No — prioritize the kana reading first and layer kanji on later. But never skip the reading itself: a word you cannot pronounce is also a word you will not recognize when you hear it.
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