100 Most Common Japanese Words for Beginners

The most useful first Japanese words are not only nouns. Beginners need question words, time expressions, core verbs, common adjectives, social phrases, and particles that connect a sentence. This 100-word list prioritizes words you can reuse across many situations. Study them by category, then place each new word into one short Japanese sentence instead of memorizing English translations alone.

Written by YoruLearn Team · Last reviewed: August 2026

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100 Common Japanese Words List

Category	Japanese	Kana	Romaji	Meaning
People	私	わたし	watashi	I; me
People	あなた	あなた	anata	you
People	人	ひと	hito	person
People	友達	ともだち	tomodachi	friend
People	先生	せんせい	sensei	teacher
People	学生	がくせい	gakusei	student
Questions	何	なに / なん	nani / nan	what
Questions	誰	だれ	dare	who
Questions	どこ	どこ	doko	where
Questions	いつ	いつ	itsu	when
Questions	なぜ	なぜ	naze	why
Questions	どう	どう	dou	how
Pointers	これ	これ	kore	this
Pointers	それ	それ	sore	that
Pointers	あれ	あれ	are	that over there
Pointers	ここ	ここ	koko	here
Pointers	そこ	そこ	soko	there
Pointers	あそこ	あそこ	asoko	over there
Time	今日	きょう	kyou	today
Time	明日	あした	ashita	tomorrow
Time	昨日	きのう	kinou	yesterday
Time	今	いま	ima	now
Time	朝	あさ	asa	morning
Time	昼	ひる	hiru	daytime; noon
Time	夜	よる	yoru	night
Time	時	とき	toki	time; occasion
Places	家	いえ	ie	house; home
Places	学校	がっこう	gakkou	school
Places	駅	えき	eki	station
Places	店	みせ	mise	shop
Places	会社	かいしゃ	kaisha	company
Places	国	くに	kuni	country
Nouns	水	みず	mizu	water
Nouns	食べ物	たべもの	tabemono	food
Nouns	本	ほん	hon	book
Nouns	名前	なまえ	namae	name
Nouns	日本語	にほんご	nihongo	Japanese language
Nouns	英語	えいご	eigo	English language
Verbs	する	する	suru	to do
Verbs	ある	ある	aru	to exist; inanimate
Verbs	いる	いる	iru	to exist; animate
Verbs	行く	いく	iku	to go
Verbs	来る	くる	kuru	to come
Verbs	見る	みる	miru	to see
Verbs	聞く	きく	kiku	to ask; listen
Verbs	話す	はなす	hanasu	to speak
Verbs	読む	よむ	yomu	to read
Verbs	書く	かく	kaku	to write
Verbs	食べる	たべる	taberu	to eat
Verbs	飲む	のむ	nomu	to drink
Verbs	買う	かう	kau	to buy
Verbs	使う	つかう	tsukau	to use
Verbs	分かる	わかる	wakaru	to understand
Verbs	知る	しる	shiru	to know
Verbs	思う	おもう	omou	to think
Verbs	言う	いう	iu	to say
Verbs	会う	あう	au	to meet
Verbs	待つ	まつ	matsu	to wait
Verbs	帰る	かえる	kaeru	to return home
Verbs	寝る	ねる	neru	to sleep
Adjectives	大きい	おおきい	ookii	big
Adjectives	小さい	ちいさい	chiisai	small
Adjectives	新しい	あたらしい	atarashii	new
Adjectives	古い	ふるい	furui	old
Adjectives	良い	いい / よい	ii / yoi	good
Adjectives	悪い	わるい	warui	bad
Adjectives	高い	たかい	takai	high; expensive
Adjectives	安い	やすい	yasui	cheap
Adjectives	多い	おおい	ooi	many
Adjectives	少ない	すくない	sukunai	few
Adjectives	好き	すき	suki	liked; fond of
Adjectives	大丈夫	だいじょうぶ	daijoubu	okay; all right
Adverbs	とても	とても	totemo	very
Adverbs	少し	すこし	sukoshi	a little
Adverbs	よく	よく	yoku	often; well
Adverbs	もう	もう	mou	already; more
Adverbs	まだ	まだ	mada	still; not yet
Adverbs	いつも	いつも	itsumo	always
Connectors	そして	そして	soshite	and then
Connectors	でも	でも	demo	but
Connectors	だから	だから	dakara	therefore
Connectors	もし	もし	moshi	if
Social	はい	はい	hai	yes
Social	いいえ	いいえ	iie	no
Social	ありがとう	ありがとう	arigatou	thank you
Social	すみません	すみません	sumimasen	excuse me; sorry
Social	お願いします	おねがいします	onegaishimasu	please
Social	こんにちは	こんにちは	konnichiwa	hello
Particles	は	は	wa	topic marker
Particles	が	が	ga	subject marker
Particles	を	を	o	object marker
Particles	に	に	ni	time; destination marker
Particles	で	で	de	place; means marker
Particles	の	の	no	possession; connection
Particles	と	と	to	and; with; quotation
Particles	も	も	mo	also
Numbers	一	いち	ichi	one
Numbers	二	に	ni	two
Numbers	三	さん	san	three
Numbers	十	じゅう	juu	ten

How to Study the First 100 Words

Learn ten words from one category, not ten unrelated entries.
Read the Japanese and kana before looking at romaji.
Create one reusable sentence frame, such as これは___です or ___へ行きます.
Review recognition first, then produce the word from its meaning.
Mix old and new categories so particles, verbs, and nouns appear together.

After this list, use the N5 vocabulary by category page for broader coverage and the sentence structure guide to combine the words correctly.

Build Useful Mini-Sentences

Pattern	Example	Meaning
これは ___ です	これは本です。	This is a book.
___ へ行きます	学校へ行きます。	I go to school.
___ が好きです	日本語が好きです。	I like Japanese.
___ をください	水をください。	Water, please.
___ はどこですか	駅はどこですか。	Where is the station?

5 Common Mistakes with Beginner Vocabulary

Learning only nouns. Verbs, particles, and question words create usable sentences.
Depending on romaji. Move to kana before spellings become a crutch.
Ignoring multiple meanings. Words such as 聞く change with context.
Studying without recall. Rereading a list is weaker than retrieving the word.
Adding too many words at once. Ten durable words beat fifty forgotten ones.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the most important Japanese words for beginners?

Start with social phrases, question words, time words, core verbs, common adjectives, and particles. They combine into far more sentences than isolated topic nouns.

Are these exactly the 100 most frequent words in every corpus?

No single frequency list fits every context. This page prioritizes high-utility beginner words that recur in daily speech, study materials, and basic texts.

Should I learn kanji with each word?

Learn the common written form and kana together. For very early study, recognition matters more than perfect handwriting.

Should I use romaji?

Use romaji briefly to confirm pronunciation, then hide it and read kana directly.

How many Japanese words should I learn per day?

Five to fifteen new words is a practical range if you also review older items and use them in sentences.

What should I study after these 100 words?

Move to an N5 vocabulary list by category, then practise the words inside beginner grammar and reading passages.

Related Japanese Study Guides

JLPT N5 Vocabulary ListExpand into exam-aligned beginner vocabulary. N5 Vocabulary by CategoryStudy words in meaningful groups. Japanese Question WordsBuild useful questions with who, what, where, and when. Japanese Sentence StructureTurn vocabulary into correct sentences.

Remember Common Words for the Long Term

YoruLearn uses spaced-repetition flashcards, reading practice, and adaptive review to keep useful vocabulary active.

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