If you’re looking at this page, it means that you’ve achieved the intermediate level and are interested in moving ahead to advanced-level Japanese. That’s great—you’re in the right place!

Levels N1 and N2 of the JLPT (Japanese-Language Proficiency Test) are equivalent to the advanced level, and aiming to pass these levels would be a good source of motivation at this point in your studies. It surely takes tremendous effort and dedication to reach this stage, especially when it comes to learning the more difficult Kanji that are mostly used for special occasions or in official settings. 

Apart from conventional studying, however, there are more enjoyable ways to learn advanced Japanese words. For example, you could start reading books in Japanese and watching Japanese movies or TV shows in more serious genres; history shows, biographies, thrillers, and action films are great examples. Once you learn enough advanced Japanese words, you can utilize such tools to reinforce your knowledge and memory.

In this article, we will introduce a list of frequently used advanced Japanese words, including nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs, as well as other sophisticated words you can use to substitute basic everyday words. Let’s start climbing to the summit here at JapanesePod101.com!

You will be able to more easily read Japanese newspapers with advanced Japanese words.

Table of Contents

1. Nouns – 名詞 (Meishi)
2. Verbs – 動詞 (Dōshi)
3. Adjectives – 形容詞 (Keiyōshi)
4. Adverbs – 副詞 (Fukushi)
5. Alternative Words for Greater Sophistication
6. Conclusion

1. Nouns – 名詞 (Meishi)

The Kanji for advanced Japanese nouns is often complicated and difficult. However, the good news is that you’ll never have to worry about which article to use or how to change a word from singular to plural. 

Advanced Japanese nouns are usually just as simple as beginner nouns in terms of reading and pronunciation, but learning the high-level Kanji will take a lot of time and effort. 

1 – Advanced Academic Words 

English	Kanji	Hiragana	Reading
concept	概念	がいねん	gainen
precision	精密	せいみつ	seimitsu
expansion / extension	拡張	かくちょう	kakuchō
pressure	圧力	あつりょく	atsuryoku
efficiency	効率	こうりつ	kōritsu
specimen / sample	標本	ひょうほん	hyōhon
evidence	証拠	しょうこ	shōko
verification / inspection	検証	けんしょう	kenshō
atom	原子	げんし	genshi
molecule	分子	ぶんし	bunshi
radioactivity	放射能	ほうしゃのう	hōshanō
concentration / density​	濃度	のうど	nōdo
coagulation / solidification​	凝固	ぎょうこ	gyōko
fusion / melting / liquefaction	融解	ゆうかい	yūkai

Examples:

• この実験は新しい説の分析と検証です。
  Kono jikken wa atarashii setsu no bunseki to kenshō desu.
  “This experiment is an analysis and verification of a new theory.”

• この地域は放射能の濃度が高く危険です。
  Kono chiiki wa hōshanō no nōdo ga takaku kiken desu.
  “This area is dangerous because of its high concentration of radioactivity.”

• その物質は温度の変化により凝固と融解を繰り返した。
  Sono busshitsu wa ondo no henka ni yori gyōko to yūkai o kurikaeshita.
  “The substance repeatedly solidified and melted by changes in temperature.”

物質の濃度を測る (busshitsu no nōdo o hakaru)
“measure the concentration of the substance”

2 – Advanced Business Words

English	Kanji	Hiragana	Reading
negotiation	交渉	こうしょう	kōshō
strategy	戦略	せんりゃく	senryaku
capital / fund	資本	しほん	shihon
stockholder /  shareholder	株主	かぶぬし	kabunushi
revenue	歳入	さいにゅう	sainyū
investment	投資	とうし	tōshi
securities  / stock	証券	しょうけん	shōken
loan / financing	融資	ゆうし	yūshi
repayment /  payment / settlement	返済	へんさい	hensai
debt	債務	さいむ	saimu
mortgage /  guarantee	担保	たんぽ	tanpo
credit	債権	さいけん	saiken
assets	資産	しさん	shisan
bankruptcy	倒産	とうさん	tōsan
trademark	商標	しょうひょう	shōhyō
patent	特許	とっきょ	tokkyo
employment	雇用	こよう	koyō
dismissal /  termination of employment​	解雇	かいこ	kaiko
company director  / board member	取締役	とりしまりやく	torishimariyaku
board of  directors	理事会	りじかい	rijikai
permanent  employee	正社員	せいしゃいん	seishain
contract-based  employee	契約社員	けいやくしゃいん	keiyaku shain
outsourced  temporary employee	派遣社員	はけんしゃいん	haken shain

Examples:

• その証券会社は巨額の債務を抱え倒産しました。
  Sono shōkengaisha wa kyogaku no saimu o kakae tōsan shimashita.
  “The securities company went bankrupt with huge debt.”

• 新しい事業のため銀行から融資を受けたいです。
  Atarashii jigyō no tame ginkō kara yūshi o uketai desu.
  “I’d like to get a loan from a bank for a new business.”

• 革新的な技術の特許を取得した後、その企業の株価が上がりました。
  Kakushinteki na gijutsu no tokkyo o shutoku shita ato, sono kigyō no kabuka ga agarimashita.
  “After acquiring the patent of an innovative technology, the company’s stock price went up.”

交渉を有利に行う戦略 (kōshō o yūri ni okonau senryaku)
“a strategy to negotiate favorably”

3 – Advanced Medical Words 

English	Kanji	Hiragana	Reading
medical care	医療	いりょう	iryō
gene	遺伝子	いでんし	idenshi
immunity	免疫	めんえき	men’eki
artery	動脈	どうみゃく	dōmyaku
vein	静脈	じょうみゃく	jōmyaku
blood  transfusion	輸血	ゆけつ	yuketsu
spinal cord	脊髄	せきずい	sekizui
radioactive ray	放射線	ほうしゃせん	hōshasen
medical treatment / therapy	治療	ちりょう	chiryō
department of surgery	外科	げか	geka
internal medicine	内科	ないか	naika
symptom	症状	しょうじょう	shōjō
infection	感染	かんせん	kansen
inflammation	炎症	えんしょう	enshō
fit / spasm / seizure	発作	ほっさ	hossa
paralysis / palsy	麻痺	まひ	mahi
coma	昏睡	こんすい	konsui
tumor	腫瘍	しゅよう	shuyō
bruise	ー	あざ	aza
vomiting	嘔吐	おうと	ōto
diarrhea	下痢	げり	geri
pneumonia	肺炎	はいえん	haien
cancer	癌	がん	gan

Examples:

• 日本の医療システムは国民健康保険で成り立っています。
  Nihon no iryō shisutemu wa kokumin kenkō hoken de naritatte imasu.
  “The Japanese medical system works with National Health Insurance.”

• 昨日から嘔吐と下痢の症状があります。
  Kinō kara ōto to geri no shōjō ga arimasu.
  “I have had the symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea since yesterday.”

• その男性は発作を起こして昏睡状態になりました。
  Sono dansei wa hossa o okoshite konsui jōtai ni narimashita.
  “The man had a seizure and went into a coma.”

放射線治療で癌を治す (hōshasen chiryō de gan o naosu)
“cure cancer with radiation therapy”

4 – Advanced Legal Words 

English	Kanji	Hiragana	Reading
arrest	逮捕	たいほ	taiho
detention / custody	拘留	こうりゅう	kōryū
prosecution / indictment	起訴	きそ	kiso
probation / suspension of sentence	執行猶予	しっこうゆうよ	shikkō yūyo
arbitration / mediation	調停	ちょうてい	chōtei
trial	裁判	さいばん	saiban
court	裁判所	さいばんしょ	saibansho
judge	裁判官	さいばんかん	saibankan
plaintiff / accuser	原告	げんこく	genkoku
defendant / accused	被告	ひこく	hikoku
public prosecutor	検察官	けんさつかん	kensatsukan
imprisonment / penal servitude	懲役	ちょうえき	chōeki
appeal	控訴	こうそ	kōso
detention center / jail	拘置所	こうちしょ	kōchisho
prison	刑務所	けいむしょ	keimusho
death penalty / capital punishment	死刑	しけい	shikei
fraud	詐欺	さぎ	sagi
bribery	賄賂	わいろ	wairo
tax evasion	脱税	だつぜい	datsuzei
forgery / falsification / counterfeiting	偽造	ぎぞう	gizō
threatening / intimidation	脅迫	きょうはく	kyōhaku
theft / stealing	窃盗	せっとう	settō
assault / act of violence	暴行	ぼうこう	bōkō
murder / homicide	殺人	さつじん	satsujin

Examples:

• 彼は懲役５年執行猶予３年の判決を受けました。
  Kare wa chōeki go-nen shikkō yūyo san-nen no hanketsu o ukemashita.
  “He was sentenced to five years in prison suspended for three years.”

• あの会社の元社長は脱税罪で刑務所にいます。
  Ano kaisha no moto shachō wa datsuzeizai de keimusho ni imasu.
  “The former president of that company is in prison for tax evasion.”

•  日本には死刑制度があります。
  Nihon ni wa shikei seido ga arimasu.
  “Japan has the death penalty system.”

裁判官の判決 (saibankan no hanketsu)
“judgment by a judge”

To review the basic Japanese nouns, please check out our blog post titled Guide to the Top 100+ Japanese Nouns.

2. Verbs – 動詞 (Dōshi)

Below, we have divided the most important advanced Japanese verbs into two groups: general verbs and those that are formed using the word する(suru) – “do.”

1 – General Verbs

English	Kanji	Hiragana	Reading
force / compel	強いる	しいる	shiiru
range / lie in a line / stretch out	連なる	つらなる	tsuranaru
go through / pierce	貫く	つらぬく	tsuranuku
rub / chafe	擦れる	すれる	sureru
judge	裁く	さばく	sabaku
dedicate / commit / give	捧げる	ささげる	sasageru
prosper	栄える	さかえる	sakaeru
prohibit / ban	禁じる	きんじる	kinjiru
endure / bear / tolerate / withstand	耐える	たえる	taeru
deal / treat / handle	取り扱う	とりあつかう	toriatsukau
accompany / entail	伴う	ともなう	tomonau
nod	頷く	うなずく	unazuku
influence / affect / exert / cause	及ぼす	およぼす	oyobosu
become weak / become old	衰える	おとろえる	otoroeru
control / regulate /  manage	取り締まる	とりしまる	torishimaru
investigate / examine	取り調べる	とりしらべる	torishiraberu
remove	取り除く	とりのぞく	torinozoku
be made up of / consist of / be composed of	成り立つ	なりたつ	naritatsu
install / attach	備え付ける	そなえつける	sonaetsukeru

Examples:

• その地位は重大な責任を伴う。
  Sono chii wa jūdai na sekinin o tomonau.
  “The position entails grave responsibility.”

• この古い建物は大きな地震に耐えてきた。
  Kono furui tatemono wa ōkina jishin ni taete kita.
  “This old building has withstood big earthquakes.”

• 警察は彼を賄賂の疑いで取り調べた。
  Keisatsu wa kare o wairo no utagai de torishirabeta.
  “Police investigated him on suspicion of bribery.”

アンテナを備え付ける (antena o sonaetsukeru)
“install an antenna”

2 – Verbs Formed Using [ Noun + する (suru) ] 

This type of Japanese verb is formed with the following pattern: 

• [ Noun ] + [ する (suru) – “do” ]

For example:

•  運動する(undō suru) – “to exercise” 
  • 運動 (undō) – “exercise” + する (suru) – “do”

English	Kanji	Hiragana	Reading
fermentate	発酵する	はっこうする	hakkō suru
make use of / have a command	駆使する	くしする	kushi suru
vibrate	振動する	しんどうする	shindō suru
bear (a cost, a responsibility, etc.)	負担する	ふたんする	futan suru
deploy / lay out	配置する	はいちする	haichi suru
shut down / lock out	閉鎖する	へいさする	heisa suru
evacuate	避難する	ひなんする	hinan suru
criticize / blame / condemn	非難する	ひなんする	hinan suru
intervene / interfere	干渉する	かんしょうする	kanshō suru
collapse / break down	崩壊する	ほうかいする	hōkai suru

Examples:

• ブドウを発酵させてワインを作ります。
  Budō o hakkō sasete wain o tsukurimasu.
  “Ferment the grapes to make wine.”

• その建物は人々が避難した後に崩壊した。
  Sono tatemono wa hitobito ga hinan shita ato ni hōkai shita.
  “The building collapsed after people evacuated.”

• 私が車の修理費を負担します。
  Watashi ga kuruma no shūrihi o futan shimasu.
  “I will bear the car repair cost.”

To review the basics regarding Japanese verbs, please check out our articles The 100+ Most Common Japanese Verbs and Japanese Verb Conjugations.

エンジンが振動する (enjin ga shindō suru)
“engine vibrates”

3. Adjectives – 形容詞 (Keiyōshi)

As you approach an advanced level in Japanese, you should start strengthening your vocabulary with more nuanced descriptive words. Below is a list of Japanese adjectives to get you started. 

1 – I Adjectives

English	Kanji	Hiragana	Reading
suitable / appropriate / compatible	相応しい	ふさわしい	fusawashii
delusive / misleading / confusing	紛らわしい	まぎらわしい	magirawashii
grateful	有難い	ありがたい	arigatai
brave/ courageous	勇ましい	いさましい	isamashii
shameful / pitiful	情けない	なさけない	nasakenai
equal	等しい	ひとしい	hitoshii
regrettable	惜しい	おしい	oshii
great	偉い	えらい	erai
dangerous / critical	危うい	あやうい	ayaui
hurried / busy / frantic	慌しい	あわただしい	awatadashii
impudent / shameless	図々しい	ずうずうしい	zūzūshii
quick	素早い	すばやい	subayai
incredible / enormous / dreadful	物凄い	ものすごい	monosugoi
odious / hateful	憎らしい	にくらしい	nikurashii
chilly	肌寒い	はだざむい	hadazamui
careful / cautious / vigilant	用心深い	ようじんぶかい	yōjinbukai
extreme / terrible	甚だしい	はなはだしい	hanahadashii

Examples:

• これはあなたに相応しい車です。
  Kore wa anata ni fusawashii kuruma desu.
  “This is a suitable car for you.”

• 今日は慌ただしい一日でした。
  Kyō wa awatadashii ichinichi deshita.
  “Today was a very frantic day.”

• 彼はとても用心深い男で、人を簡単に信用しない。
  Kare wa totemo yōjinbukai otoko de, hito o kantan ni shin’yō shinai.
  “He is a very cautious man, and he does not trust people easily.”

2 – NA Adjectives

English	Kanji	Hiragana	Reading
immature	未熟	みじゅく	mijuku
thoughtless / careless	軽率	けいそつ	keisotsu
generous	寛容	かんよう	kan’yō
essential / main point	肝心	かんじん	kanjin
depressed / melancholic / gloomy	憂鬱	ゆううつ	yūtsu
sensitive	敏感	びんかん	binkan
quick / rapid / prompt	迅速	じんそく	jinsoku
loyal	忠実	ちゅうじつ	chūjitsu
cruel	残酷	ざんこく	zankoku
detailed	詳細	しょうさい	shōsai

Examples:

• 私はいつも肝心なところで失敗する。
  Watashi wa itsumo kanjin na tokoro de shippai suru.
  “I always fail where it matters.”

• この化粧品は敏感な肌に適しています。
  Kono keshōhin wa binkan na hada ni tekishite imasu.
  “This cosmetic is suitable for sensitive skin.”

• 自然破壊が進む残酷な現実に目を向けなければならない。
  Shizen hakai ga susumu zankoku na genjitsu ni me o mukenakereba naranai.
  “We must face the cruel reality of the destruction of nature.”

仕事で失敗した憂鬱な日 (shigoto de shippai shita yūtsu na hi)
“a gloomy day that failed at work”

To review the basics of Japanese adjectives, please check out Learn the Top 100 Essential Japanese Adjectives and -I vs. -NA Adjectives in Japanese on our blog.

4. Adverbs – 副詞 (Fukushi)

Another set of words you’ll need to add to your advanced Japanese vocabulary is adverbs. You likely know a few of these already, but below is a list of more refined adverbs you can start practicing right away. 

English	Kanji	Hiragana	Reading
at once / right away / promptly / suddenly	咄嗟に	とっさに	tossa ni
just as one thought / as usual	案の定	あんのじょう	annojō
by far / far off	遥かに	はるかに	haruka ni
indeed / truly / certainly	如何にも	いかにも	ikanimo
taking the trouble to do / intentionally	ー	わざわざ	wazawaza
dare to do / not necessarily to do	敢えて	あえて	aete
above all	何より	なにより	naniyori
quite / reasonably / fairly	結構	けっこう	kekkō
once / before / never before	ー	かつて	katsute
in spite of / regardless of​	ー	かかわらず	kakawarazu
as it is / as you are	ー	ありのまま	arinomama
naturally	当たり前に	あたりまえに	atarimae ni
vaguely / ambiguously	ー	あやふやに	ayafuya ni
easily / lightly	ー	あっさり	assari
properly / neatly	ー	きちんと	kichinto
thoughtlessly / recklessly	ー	むやみに	muyami ni
quite / very (emphasizing a size, frequency, etc.)	ー	ごく	goku

Examples:

• 問い詰められて私は咄嗟に嘘をついた。
  Toitsumerarete watashi wa tossa ni uso o tsuita.
  “Being pressed for an answer, I lied promptly.”

• 敢えてそうする訳を教えてください。
  Aete sō suru wake o oshiete kudasai.
  “Please tell me why you dare to do so.”

• ごくわずかな違いで結果が大きく変わります。
  Goku wazuka na chigai de kekka ga ōkiku kawarimasu.
  “A very subtle difference greatly changes the result.”

きちんとお辞儀する (kichinto ojigi suru)
“bow properly”

5. Alternative Words for Greater Sophistication

Whether you aim to get higher scores on writing exams or you want to write proper sentences for official documents, using high-level vocabulary and the appropriate expressions will refine your writing. 

In Japanese, many basic words have more nuanced or formal synonyms. A great example of these advanced counterparts are 熟語 Jukugo (Kanji compounds), which are combinations of different Kanji that create words at different levels of difficulty and specify a meaning.

In addition, having a good command of 敬語 Keigo (“honorific language”) in Japanese is a sign of being at an advanced level, which is essential for official occasions and business settings.  

In this section, you’ll learn the more sophisticated counterparts of simple Japanese words, including frequently used Keigo.  

1 – Alternative Verbs

	English	Kanji	Hiragana	Reading
生むうむ (umu)to give birth / to generate / to produce	to be born	出生する	しゅっしょうする	shusshō suru
	to be born	誕生する	たんじょうする	tanjō suru
	to derive / to generate from something	派生する	はせいする	hasei suru
	to produce / to yield	産出する	さんしゅつする	sanshutsu suru
	to generate	生成する	せいせいする	seisei suru

始めるはじめる (hajimeru)to start / to begin	to begin / to commence	開始する	かいしする	kaishi suru
	to start / to initiate	始動する	しどうする	shidō suru
	to start / to undertake	着手する	ちゃくしゅする	chakushu suru
	to start / to get down to / to set about	取りかかる	とりかかる	torikakaru
	to start / to set up / to be established	発足する	ほっそくする	hossoku suru

言ういう (iu)to say	to say / to state	述べる	のべる	noberu
	to speak	発言する	はつげんする	hatsugen suru
	to mention / to refer to	言及する	げんきゅうする	genkyū suru

見るみる (miru)to see / to look / to watch	to view / to browse	閲覧する	えつらんする	etsuran suru
	to stare / to gaze	凝視する	ぎょうしする	gyōshi suru
	to watch / to look carefully	注視する	ちゅうしする	chūshi suru
	to see / to visit (a temple, a shrine, etc.)	拝観する	はいかんする	haikan suru

食べるたべる (taberu)to eat	to eat	食す	しょくす	shokusu
	to eat / to take in	摂取する	せっしゅする	sesshu suru

書くかく (kaku)to write	to write (a thesis, a book, etc.)	執筆する	しっぴつする	shippitsu suru
	to write / to transcribe / to take notes	筆記する	ひっきする	hikki suru

読むよむ (yomu)to read	to read (books)	読書する	どくしょする	dokusho suru
	to read well or thoroughly	熟読する	じゅくどくする	jukudoku suru
	to read carefully	精読する	せいどくする	seidoku suru

描くえがく (egaku)to draw / to paint / to depict	to depict / to portray	描写する	びょうしゃする	byōsha suru
	to imitate and draw	模写する	もしゃする	mosha suru

比べるくらべる (kuraberu)to compare	to compare	比較する	ひかくする	hikaku suru
	to compare and check each other	照らし合わせる	てらしあわせる	terashiawaseru

調べるしらべる (shiraberu)to search / to look up / to examine	to examine / to investigate	調査する	ちょうさする	chōsa suru
	to examine / to inspect	検査する	けんさする	kensa suru
	to check / to inspect	点検する	てんけんする	tenken suru

Examples:

• 彼は新しい本を書き始めた。          →   彼は新しい本の執筆に着手した。
  Kare wa atarashii hon o kakihajimeta.    Kare wa atarashii hon no shippitsu ni chakushu shita.
  “He started writing a new book.”

• 実験結果の違いを比べます。　　　　　→      実験結果の違いを比較します。
  Jikken kekka no chigai o kurabemasu.　　　   Jikken kekka no chigai o hikaku shimasu.
  “Compare the differences in the experimental results.”

• 車の調子が悪いので、エンジンを調べてください。        →  車の調子が悪いので、エンジンを点検してください。
  Kuruma no chōshi ga warui node, enjin o shirabete kudasai.     Kuruma no chōshi ga warui node, enjin o tenken shite kudasai.
  “The car has a problem, so please check the engine.”

2 – Alternative Adjectives & Adverbs

	English	Kanji	Hiragana	Reading
今いま (ima)now	now / present	現在	げんざい	genzai
今日きょう (kyō)today	today	本日	ほんじつ	honjitsu
前にまえに (mae ni)before	before / earlier / back in the past	以前	いぜん	izen
後であとで (ato de)later	later on /  afterwards	後ほど	のちほど	nochihodo
この先このさき (kono saki)from this time on	from now on / in the future / hereafter	今後	こんご	kongo
簡単にかんたんに (kantan ni)easily	easily	容易に	よういに	yōi ni
もっと(motto)more	what is more / furthermore / moreover	更に	さらに	sara ni
	even more / all the more	より一層	よりいっそう	yori issō
本当にほんとうに (hontō ni)really	really / truly	正に	まさに	masani
それぞれ(sorezore)each	each	各々	おのおの	ono’ono
まだ(mada)yet / still	as yet / still	依然として	いぜんとして	izen toshite
少しすこし (sukoshi)a little / a few	a little / a small quantity	少々	しょうしょう	shōshō

Examples:

• 後で資料を送ります。          　　→   後ほど資料を送信します。
  Ato de shiryō o okurimasu.                Nochihodo shiryō o sōshin shimasu.
  “I will send the document later.”

• 原因はまだはっきりしない。　　　　→      原因は依然としてはっきりしない。
  Gen’in wa mada hakkiri shinai.        　　       Gen’in wa izen toshite hakkiri shinai.   
  “The cause is still unclear.”

• 少し待ってください。          →   少々お待ちください。
  Sukoshi matte kudasai.     　　　Shōshō o-machi kudasai.
  “Please wait for a moment.”

3 – 敬語 (Keigo) [Japanese Honorific Language]

Meaning	Keigo	Kanji	Hiragana	Reading
見るみる (miru)look / watch / see	Respectful	ご覧になる	ごらんになる	goran ni naru
	Humble	拝見する	はいけんする	haiken suru
食べるたべる (taberu)eat	Respectful	召し上がる	めしあがる	meshiagaru
	Humble	頂く	いただく	itadaku
言ういう (iu)say	Respectful	ー	おっしゃる	ossharu
	Humble	申す申し上げる	もうすもうしあげる	mōsumōshiageru
いる(iru)be there / exist	Respectful	ー	いらっしゃる	irassharu
	Humble	ー	おる	oru
する(suru)do	Respectful	ー	なさる	nasaru
	Humble	ー	いたす	itasu
行くいく (iku)go	Respectful	ー	いらっしゃる	irassharu
	Humble	参る	まいる	mairu
くれる (kureru)give me/us	Respectful	ー	くださる	kudasaru
	Humble	ー	ー	ー
あげる (ageru)give someone something	Respectful	ー	ー	ー
	Humble	差し上げる	さしあげる	sashiageru
知るしる (shiru)know	Respectful	ご存じ	ごぞんじ	gozonji
	Humble	存じ上げる	ぞんじあげる	zonjiageru
聞くきく (kiku)ask / listen	Respectful	お聞きになる	おききになる	o-kiki ni naru
	Humble	伺う	うかがう	ukagau

Examples:

• [Normal Polite] 彼は流れ星を見ました。  Kare wa nagareboshi o mimashita.    
  　　　　　　　(“He saw a shooting star.”)
  
  [Respectful]  こちらのデータをご覧ください。Kochira no dēta o goran kudasai.
  　　　　　　 (“Please look at this data.”)
  
  [Humble]  求人広告を拝見し、応募いたしました。Kyūjin kōkoku o haiken shi, ōbo itashimashita.
  　　　　　(“I saw the job advertisement and applied.”)

• [Normal Polite] 彼女は会議で意見を言いました。  Kanojo wa kaigi de iken o iimashita.    
  　　　　　　　(“She gave her opinion in the meeting.”)
  
  [Respectful]  社長は会議でご意見をおっしゃいました。Shachō wa kaigi de go-iken o osshaimashita.
  　　　　　　 (“The president gave her/his opinion in the meeting.”)
  
  [Humble]  私は会議で意見を申し上げました。   Watashi wa kaigi de iken o mōshiagemashita.
  　　　　　(“I gave my opinion in the meeting.”)

• [Normal Polite]  この新しい技術を知っていますか。  Kono atarashii gijutsu o shitte imasu ka.
  　　　　　 　　(“Do you know this new technology?”)
  
  [Respectful]  この新しい技術をご存じですか。  Kono atarashii gijutsu o gozonji desu ka.
  　　　　　 　(“Do you know this new technology?”)
  
  [Humble]  この新しい技術を存じ上げております。  Kono atarashii gijutsu o zonjiagete orimasu.
  　　　　　(“I know this new technology.”)

6. Conclusion

In this article, we introduced the most frequently used advanced Japanese words, including nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and sophisticated alternative words. Although the Kanji is difficult at this level, once you conquer it, you’ll be able to successfully work in Japan and watch any Japanese movie without stress!

If you would like to learn more about the Japanese language and pick up other useful Japanese phrases for different situations, you’ll find more helpful content on JapanesePod101.com. We provide a variety of free lessons to help you improve your Japanese-language skills. 

If you want to review and check your knowledge of the intermediate level, the following articles will be very useful: Intermediate Japanese Words, Essential Business Japanese, and Japanese Phone Phrases. On the other hand, if you’re ready to press onward, then we recommend visiting our advanced Japanese course. 

And there’s so much more! Learn Japanese faster and enjoy studying at JapanesePod101.com!

Before you go, let us know in the comments if there are Japanese words related to any specific topic you want to know! We’d be glad to help, and we look forward to hearing from you! 

So, you’ve already mastered the beginner level in Japanese? Congratulations! That means you know how to write Hiragana, Katakana, and the basic Kanji, as well as the basic grammar rules. Now you’re ready to level up to intermediate Japanese! 

At some point during your studies, you probably heard about the JLPT (Japanese-Language Proficiency Test). This is a standardized test that evaluates the Japanese-language proficiency of non-native speakers, including their language knowledge (vocabulary/grammar), reading ability, and listening ability. Level N3 is equivalent to the intermediate level, and setting a goal for yourself to pass this level would be a good source of motivation to help you keep up your studies.

You faced the first challenge when you started learning Japanese, a language with a totally new set of characters and grammar rules from English. However, the beginner level is rewarding in that you can easily see your progress the more you study. On the other hand, the intermediate level is when things start getting hard—you need continuous effort and patience to make meaningful advances at this stage. Although the progress may seem very slow, you’ll steadily move forward as long as you don’t give up!

In this article, we’ll introduce a list of frequently used intermediate Japanese words, including larger numbers, nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and even conjunctions and Japanese particles. Let’s start the journey toward conquering the next level here at JapanesePod101.com!

The Japanese intermediate level gets harder, but you can still have fun learning with JapanesePod101.com.

Table of Contents

1. Larger Numbers
2. Nouns – 名詞 (Meishi)
3. Verbs – 動詞 (Dōshi)
4. Adjectives – 形容詞 (Keiyōshi)
5. Adverbs – 副詞 (Fukushi)
6. Conjunctions – 接続詞 (Setsuzokushi)
7. Auxiliary Words and Particles – 助詞 (Joshi)
8. Conclusion

1. Larger Numbers　

Once you know the basic Japanese numbers, counting to larger numbers is fairly simple. We can easily express these numbers with Kanji using relatively few digits. 

Keep in mind, however, that we group larger numbers by every 10,000 (rather than every 1,000 like in Western counting). That said, when we do write the Arabic numbers in Japan, it’s common to use commas for every thousand just like it’s done in the West. 

Arabic Number	Kanji	Hiragana	Reading
100	百	ひゃく	hyaku
1,000	千	せん	sen
10,000	万	まん	man
100,000	十万	じゅうまん	jū-man
1,000,000	百万	ひゃくまん	hyaku-man
10,000,000	千万	せんまん	sen-man
100,000,000	億	おく	oku
1,000,000,000	十億	じゅうおく	jū-oku
10,000,000,000	百億	ひゃくおく	hyaku-oku
100,000,000,000	千億	せんおく	sen-oku
1,000,000,000,000	兆	ちょう	chō

Number-related Vocabulary

English	Kanji	Hiragana	Reading
number	数字	すうじ	sūji
calculation	計算	けいさん	keisan
arithmetic	算数	さんすう	sansū
mathematics	数学	すうがく	sūgaku
addition	足し算	たしざん	tashizan
subtraction	引き算	ひきざん	hikizan
multiplication	掛け算	かけざん	kakezan
division	割り算	わりざん	warizan

Examples:

• 私のいとこは宝くじで2億円を当てました。
  Watashi no itoko wa takarakuji de ni-oku-en o atemashita.
  “My cousin won 200 million Yen in the lottery.”

• 2020年の日本の国家予算は約103兆円です。
  Ni-sen ni-jū-nen no Nihon no kokka yosan wa yaku hyaku san-chō-en desu.
  “Japan’s national budget in 2020 was around 103 trillion Yen.”

• 私は毎日その日の利益を計算します。 
  Watashi wa mainichi sono hi no rieki o keisan shimasu.
  “I calculate the profit for the day every day.”

We can easily express larger numbers with Kanji.

2. Nouns – 名詞 (Meishi)

Our next set of intermediate Japanese vocabulary words will cover the most practical nouns in a range of categories. At this stage in your learning journey, picking up as many new nouns as possible will help you better express yourself and allow you to hold conversations on a greater number of topics. 

Time

English	Kanji	Hiragana	Reading
sunrise	日の出	ひので	hinode
sunset	日没	にちぼつ	nichibotsu
instant (a very short moment)	一瞬	いっしゅん	isshun
a whole life / lifetime /  for life	一生	いっしょう	isshō
a time / while / one time	一時	いちじ	ichiji
a short period or term	短期	たんき	tanki
a medium-length period or term	中期	ちゅうき	chūki
a long period or term	長期	ちょうき	chōki
a school term / semester	学期	がっき	gakki
this time	今回	こんかい	konkai
hereafter / from now on / onward	今後	こんご	kongo

Examples:

• 夏は日の出が早く、日没が遅い。
  Natsu wa hinode ga hayaku, nichibotsu ga osoi.
  “In summer, the sunrise (time) is early and the sunset (time) is late.”

• 彼は短期目標を設定しました。
  Kare wa tanki mokuhyō o settei shimashita.
  “He has set a short-term goal.”

• 私は今後一切タバコを吸いません。 
  Watashi wa kongo issai tabako o suimasen.
  “I will never smoke cigarettes from now on.”

2. People

English	Kanji	Hiragana	Reading
individual	個人	こじん	kojin
group	集団	しゅうだん	shūdan
citizen	市民	しみん	shimin
people (of a country) or  nation	国民	こくみん	kokumin
man / boy / male	男子	だんし	danshi
woman / girl / female	女子	じょし	joshi
infant	幼児	ようじ	yōji
young man / young people / youth	青年	せいねん	seinen
elderly	年配	ねんぱい	nenpai
old person / the aged	老人	ろうじん	rōjin
stranger / others	他人	たにん	tanin
colleague / coworker	同僚	どうりょう	dōryō
boss / superior	上司	じょうし	jōshi
subordinate	部下	ぶか	buka
employee / staff	社員	しゃいん	shain
president / head (of a company)	社長	しゃちょう	shachō

Examples:

• 国民の三大義務は、教育、労働、納税です。
  Kokumin no sandai gimu wa, kyōiku, rōdō, nōzei desu.
  “The three major duties of the people in Japan are education, labor, and paying taxes.”

• あの青年は老人介護施設で働いています。
  Ano seinen wa rōjin kaigo shisetsu de hataraite imasu.
  “That young man works at a nursing home for the elderly.”

• 私の目標は起業して社長になることです。 
  Watashi no mokuhyō wa kigyō shite shachō ni naru koto desu.
  “My goal is to start a business and become president.”

To learn more work-related vocabulary words with audio, we recommend you check out our wordlists Jobs / Work and Workplace.

昼休みに同僚と雑談する (hiruyasumi ni dōryō to zatsudan suru)
“chat with colleagues during lunch break”

3. Other Nouns

English	Kanji	Hiragana	Reading
start / beginning	開始	かいし	kaishi
end / close / termination	終了	しゅうりょう	shūryō
stop / suspension	停止	ていし	teishi
base / fundament / standard	基本	きほん	kihon
basis / foundation	基礎	きそ	kiso
(practical) application	応用	おうよう	ōyō
input / entry / filling in / filling out	記入	きにゅう	kinyū
article	記事	きじ	kiji
right	権利	けんり	kenri
rules / regulations	規則	きそく	kisoku
law	法律	ほうりつ	hōritsu
accounting	会計	かいけい	kaikei
business / commerce	商売	しょうばい	shōbai
profit	利益	りえき	rieki
product	製品	せいひん	seihin
lack / shortage / deficiency	不足	ふそく	fusoku
income	収入	しゅうにゅう	shūnyū
documents	書類	しょるい	shorui
cooperation / collaboration	協力	きょうりょく	kyōryoku
satisfaction / contentment	満足	まんぞく	manzoku
dissatisfaction	不満	ふまん	fuman

Examples:

• 開始と終了の時間に、ベルが鳴ります。
  Kaishi to shūryō no jikan ni, beru ga narimasu.
  “The bell rings at the start and end times.”

• 法律に基づき、18歳以上の国民は投票する権利があります。
  Hōritsu ni motozuki, jū hassai ijō no kokumin wa tōhyō suru kenri ga arimasu.
  “By law, citizens over 18 years old have the right to vote.”

• パンデミックの影響で、衛生製品が不足しています。 
  Pandemikku no eikyō de, eisei seihin ga fusoku shite imasu.
  “Due to the influence of the pandemic, there is a shortage of hygiene products.”

書類に記入する (shorui ni kinyū suru)
“fill out the document”

To learn more Japanese nouns, please check out Guide to the Top 100+ Japanese Nouns on our website. 

3. Verbs – 動詞 (Dōshi)

Verbs, like nouns, make up a huge chunk of any language’s vocabulary. At the beginner level, you picked up a number of useful action words and auxiliaries to get your point across—but as you approach the intermediate level, you may find yourself needing more advanced verbs to clearly express your thoughts. Below is a list to get you started.

General Verbs

English	Kanji	Hiragana	Reading
to encounter / to meet / to come across	出会う	であう	deau
to remove / to undo	外す	はずす	hazusu
to like / to be pleased with	気に入る	きにいる	ki ni iru
to fall down / to fall over	転ぶ	ころぶ	korobu
to receive	受け取る	うけとる	uketoru
to take (something) out	取り出す	とりだす	toridasu
to divide / to split / to separate	分ける	わける	wakeru
to give up	諦める	あきらめる	akirameru
to lose interest in / to get tired of	飽きる	あきる	akiru
to be enough / to be sufficient	足りる	たりる	tariru
to remain / to be in excess	余る	あまる	amaru
to appear / to show up / to turn up	現れる	あらわれる	arawareru
to express / to show	表す	あらわす	arawasu
to treat / to handle / to deal with	扱う	あつかう	atsukau
to put together / to combine / to add to / to match	合わせる	あわせる	awaseru
to deposit / to consign / to entrust	預ける	あずける	azukeru
to touch	触れる	ふれる	fureru
to shake / to tremble / to vibrate / to shudder / to shiver	震える	ふるえる	furueru
to prevent / to guard against	防ぐ	ふせぐ	fusegu
to wear (trousers, skirt, shoes) / to put on	履く	はく	haku
to discuss	話し合う	はなしあう	hanashiau
to separate / to keep apart / to isolate	離す	はなす	hanasu
to release / to free / to let go	放す	はなす	hanasu
to decrease	減る	へる	heru
to pull	引く	ひく	hiku
to celebrate	祝う	いわう	iwau
to dislike	嫌がる	いやがる	iyagaru
to be concerned with / to engage in / to be related to	関わる	かかわる	kakawaru
to hide	隠す	かくす	kakusu
to earn / to make money	稼ぐ	かせぐ	kasegu
to pile up / to put on top of one another	重ねる	かさねる	kasaneru
to shine / to sparkle	輝く	かがやく	kagayaku
to repeat	繰り返す	くりかえす	kurikaesu
to stretch / to get longer / to grow	伸びる	のびる	nobiru
to remove / to get rid of / to exclude	除く	のぞく	nozoku

Examples:

• 諦めたらそこで試合は終了です。
  Akirametara soko de shiai wa shūryō desu.
  “If you give up, the game ends there.”

• あなたに預けた書類を受け取りに来ました。
  Anata ni azuketa shorui o uketori ni kimashita.
  “I came to pick up the documents I entrusted to you.”

• 彼は彼女に関わることを嫌がった。 
  Kare wa kanojo ni kakawaru koto o iyagatta.
  “He disliked getting involved with her.”

[ Noun + する (suru) ] Verbs 

This type of Japanese verb is formed by using this pattern: noun + する (suru). You may remember that する (suru) means “do,” and in this case, we use it to create verbs. For example: 

• 期待する (kitai suru) or “to expect” = 期待 (kitai) “expectation” + する (suru) “do” 

English	Kanji	Hiragana	Reading
to go out	外出する	がいしゅつする	gaishutsu suru
to make (an) effort	努力する	どりょくする	doryoku suru
to memorize / to store data	記憶する	きおくする	kioku suru
to expect / to hope to	期待する	きたいする	kitai suru
to grow (up)	成長する	せいちょうする	seichō suru
to lack	不足する	ふそくする	fusoku suru
to match / to coincide	一致する	いっちする	itchi suru
to agree with / to support (a measure)	賛成する	さんせいする	sansei suru
to oppose / to object	反対する	はんたいする	hantai suru
to concentrate	集中する	しゅうちゅうする	shūchū suru
to import	輸入する	ゆにゅうする	yunyū suru
to export	輸出する	ゆしゅつする	yushutsu suru
to sell	販売する	はんばいする	hanbai suru
to zoom / to enlarge / to expand	拡大する	かくだいする	kakudai suru
to shrink / to reduce / to diminish	縮小する	しゅくしょうする	syukushō suru

Examples:

• 彼は彼女に会えることを期待して外出しました。 
  Kare wa kanojo ni aeru koto o kitai shite gaishutsu shimashita.
  “He went out hoping to see her.”

• この会社は日本茶を海外へ輸出して、世界中で販売しています。
  Kono kaisha wa nihoncha o kaigai e yushutsu shite, sekaijū de hanbai shite imasu.
  “This company exports Japanese tea overseas and sells it all over the world.”

• 勉強する時はテレビを消して集中しなさい。 
  Benkyō suru toki wa terebi o keshite shūchū shinasai.
  “When you study, turn off the TV and concentrate.”

To learn more about Japanese verbs, please check out our articles The 100+ Most Common Japanese Verbs and Ultimate Japanese Verb Conjugation Guide.

努力して試験に合格 (doryoku shite shiken ni gōkaku)
“passing the exam by making an effort”

4. Adjectives – 形容詞 (Keiyōshi)

As a beginner, you probably spent most of your time memorizing nouns, verbs, and practical sentence patterns. But once you have the basics down, picking up a few common adjectives can help you enrich your conversations and add flavor to your writing. Below, we’ve listed the most useful adjectives for intermediate Japanese learners. 

i-Adjectives

English	Kanji	Hiragana	Reading
intense / hard / violent / fierce / furious	激しい	はげしい	hageshii
nostalgic / dear	懐かしい	なつかしい	natsukashii
shameful / pitiful / miserable	情けない	なさけない	nasakenai
frightening / terrifying / fearful	恐ろしい	おそろしい	osoroshii
persistent / insistent	ー	しつこい	shitsukoi
powerful	力強い	ちからづよい	chikarazuyoi
smart / wise / clever	賢い	かしこい	kashikoi
childlike / childish / infant	幼い	おさない	osanai
hard / tough / painful / bitter	辛い	つらい	tsurai
jealous / envious	羨ましい	うらやましい	urayamashii
loose / lax	緩い	ゆるい	yurui
equal / equivalent	等しい	ひとしい	hitoshii
itchy	痒い	かゆい	kayui
noisy	騒がしい	さわがしい	sawagashii
funny	可笑しい	おかしい	okashii
empty / void / fruitless	空しい	むなしい	munashii
refreshing / refreshed	清々しい	すがすがしい	sugasugashii
menial / vulgar / greedy	卑しい	いやしい	iyashii
lovely / adorable	可愛らしい	かわいらしい	kawairashii
missed / longed for	恋しい	こいしい	koishii
smelly / stinky	臭い	くさい	kusai
tight / hard / tough	ー	きつい	kitsui
detailed	詳しい	くわしい	kuwashii
regretful / mortifying	悔しい	くやしい	kuyashii
dazzling / bright	眩しい	まぶしい	mabushii
poor	貧しい	まずしい	mazushii
gentle / mild / quiet	大人しい	おとなしい	otonashii
fortunately / luckily	幸い	さいわい	saiwai
sharp	鋭い	するどい	surudoi
dull / slow	鈍い	にぶい	nibui
rough / harsh / wild	荒い	あらい	arai

Examples:

• 台風の影響で激しい雨が降っています。 
  Taifū no eikyō de hageshii ame ga futte imasu.
  “It is raining hard due to the typhoon.”

• 公園で可愛らしい女の子が一人で遊んでいました。
  Kōen de kawairashii onnanoko ga hitori de asonde imashita.
  “The adorable girl was playing alone in the park.”

• 彼は大人しいが、鋭い洞察力を持っています。 
  Kare wa otonashii ga, surudoi dōsatsuryoku o motte imasu.
  “He is quiet but has keen insight.”

太陽が眩しい。 (Taiyō ga mabushii.)
“The sun is bright.”

na-Adjectives

English	Kanji	Hiragana	Reading
serious / earnest	真面目	まじめ	majime
eager / zealous / ardent	熱心	ねっしん	nesshin
advantageous	有利	ゆうり	yūri
flat / even	平ら	たいら	taira
troublesome / cumbersome	厄介	やっかい	yakkai
rich / abundant / fertile	豊か	ゆたか	yutaka
luxurious	贅沢	ぜいたく	zeitaku
slight / subtle	僅か	わずか	wazuka
obstructive	邪魔	じゃま	jama
obvious	明らか	あきらか	akiraka
troublesome / annoying / unwelcome	迷惑	めいわく	meiwaku
troublesome / onerous / perplexing	面倒	めんどう	mendō

Examples:

• この箱は平らな所に置いてください。 
  Kono hako wa taira na tokoro ni oite kudasai.
  “Please place this box on a flat surface.”

• 私は僅かな可能性があれば、希望を捨てない。
  Watashi wa wazuka na kanōsei ga areba, kibō o sutenai.
  “I will not lose hope if there is a slight possibility.”

• 彼は明らかな間違いを犯しました。 
  Kare wa akiraka na machigai o okashimashita.
  “He made an obvious mistake.”

To learn more about Japanese adjectives, please check out our articles Learn the Top 100 Essential Japanese Adjectives and -I vs. -NA Adjectives in Japanese.

5. Adverbs – 副詞 (Fukushi)

While adjectives describe nouns, adverbs provide additional information about verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. At this stage in your learning journey, having a few Japanese adverbs up your sleeve will allow you to give more detailed descriptions of events and help your writing flow more smoothly. 

English	Kanji	Hiragana	Reading
at once / immediately / promptly / right away	早速	さっそく	sassoku
as … as possible	ー	なるべく	narubeku
carelessly / thoughtlessly	ー	うっかり	ukkari
probably / presumably	恐らく	おそらく	osoraku
quite / pretty	ー	かなり	kanari
approximately / about / roughly	ー	およそ	oyoso
just like / as if	ー	まるで	marude
abruptly / suddenly	急に	きゅうに	kyū ni
rather	ー	むしろ	mushiro
kind of / sort of / fairly / reasonably	ー	なかなか	nakanaka
what is more / furthermore / moreover	更に	さらに	sara ni
already	既に	すでに	sude ni
for some time / for a while	暫く	しばらく	shibaraku
surely / definitely / indeed	確かに	たしかに	tashika ni
rather / quite a	随分	ずいぶん	zuibun
at one time / at once / all at once	一度に	いちどに	ichi-do ni
all / whole	全て	すべて	subete
desperately / frantically	必死に	ひっしに	hisshi ni
deliberately / on purpose	ー	わざと	wazato
increasingly / more and more	益々	ますます	masumasu
one after another	次々と	つぎつぎと	tsugitsugi to
anytime / at all times	ー	いつでも	itsu demo
before one is aware / before one knows	いつの間にか	いつのまにか	itsunomanika
indeed / really	実に	じつに	jitsu ni
as it is	ー	そのまま	sonomama
each / respectively	ー	それぞれ	sorezore
sometimes	時々	ときどき	tokidoki
always / at all times / constantly	常に	つねに	tsune ni
suddenly	突然	とつぜん	totsuzen
in/at the beginning	始めに	はじめに	hajime ni
early / earlier / ahead of time	早めに	はやめに	hayame ni
before long / shortly	間もなく	まもなく	mamonaku
at least	少なくとも	すくなくとも	sukunakutomo
by chance / accidentally / unintentionally	ー	たまたま	tamatama
in particular / particularly	別に	べつに	betsu ni
anyways / in any case	ー	とにかく	tonikaku
by all means	ー	どうしても	dōshitemo
again / once again	再び	ふたたび	futatabi
together	共に	ともに	tomo ni
a short while ago / a moment ago	先程	さきほど	sakihodo

Examples:

• なるべく早く返信してください。 
  Narubeku hayaku henshin shite kudasai.
  “Please reply as soon as possible.”q145

• 間もなく電車が到着します。
  Mamonaku densha ga tōchaku shimasu.
  “The train will arrive shortly.”

• 私は別にこれを欲しくない。 
  Watashi wa betsu ni kore o hoshikunai.
  “I don’t want this in particular.”

次々と良い案が浮かぶ (tsugitsugi to ii an ga ukabu)
“come up with good ideas one after another”

6. Conjunctions – 接続詞 (Setsuzokushi)

English	Kanji	Hiragana	Reading
finally / at last	遂に	ついに	tsuini
to sum up / in short / in a word	ー	つまり	tsumari
therefore / accordingly / consequently	従って	したがって	shitagatte
so / therefore / hence	ー	ゆえに	yueni
therefore / wherefore	ー	それゆえに	soreyueni
and then	ー	すると	suruto
however	ー	しかしながら	shikashinagara
and yet / but even so	ー	それなのに	sorenanoni
nevertheless / in spite of	それにも関わらず	それにもかかわらず	sorenimo kakawarazu
having said that	とは言うものの	とはいうものの	towa iumonono
and / as well as	及び	および	oyobi
besides / moreover / also	ー	かつ	katsu
and also / both…and	並びに	ならびに	narabini
first / first of all	最初に	さいしょに	saisho ni
next / secondly	次に	つぎに	tsugi ni
at last / finally	最後に	さいごに	saigo ni
moreover / besides / on top of	ー	しかも	shikamo
in addition	加えて	くわえて	kuwaete
moreover / in addition	その上で	そのうえで	sonouede
on the one hand	一方	いっぽう	ippō
conversely / contrarily	逆に	ぎゃくに	gyaku ni
while / on the other hand	反面	はんめん	hanmen
the reason why is / because	なぜかと言うと	なぜかというと	naze ka to iu to
still / yet / even	ー	なお	nao
on the condition that…	ー	ただし	tadashi
by the way	ー	ちなみに	chinamini
in truth / in fact	実は	じつは	jitsu wa
namely / that is to say	ー	すなわち	sunawachi
in short / in a word /to sum up	要するに	ようするに	yōsuruni
especially / in particular	特に	とくに	tokuni
above all / in particular	ー	とりわけ	toriwake
anyhow / in any case / either way / anyway	ー	いずれにしても	izurenishitemo
anyways / above all things	ー	ともあれ	tomoare
then / if that is the case	ー	それでは	soredewa

Examples:

• 従って、規則によりこれは無効となります。 
  Shitagatte, kisoku ni yori kore wa mukō to narimasu.
  “Therefore, this is invalid according to regulation.”

• レストランは12時に閉まります。なお、ラストオーダーは11時です。
  Resutoran wa jū ni-ji ni shimarimasu. Nao, rasuto ōdā wa jū ichi-ji desu.
  “The restaurant closes at twelve. Yet, the last order is at eleven.”

• いずれにしても、納期は守ってください。 
  Izurenishitemo, nōki wa mamotte kudasai.
  “In any case, please keep the delivery date.”

いずれにしても、来月は赤字になりそうです。
Izurenishitemo, raigetsu wa akaji ni narisō desu.
“In any case, it looks like it will be in the red next month.”

7. Auxiliary Words and Particles – 助詞 (Joshi)

Japanese particles, or 助詞 (joshi), are suffixes or short words that follow a modified noun, verb, adjective, or sentence. Particles play a very important role in Japanese grammar because even a slight difference in this regard could change the meaning/nuance of a sentence. Memorizing and becoming familiar with how to use these particles is a great way to start improving your Japanese as an intermediate learner. 

English	Hiragana	Reading
the more…the more	ば…ほど	ba…hodo
would have / should have	ば…のに	ba…noni
degree / extent	ほど	hodo
is not as…as	ほど…ない	hodo…nai
no matter how	いくら…ても	ikura…te mo
through / from [A] to [B]	[A]から[B]にかけて	[A] kara [B] ni kakete
only / just / since / after	…きり	…kiri
for sure (emphasizes the preceding word)	…こそ	…koso
if / suppose	もしも…たら	moshimo…tara
although / despite	…ながらも	…nagaramo
even if / even though / regardless of	…ても	…te mo
to / for / as far as…is concerned / regarding	…にとって	… ni totte
even / so much as / not even	さえ	sae
if only / as long as	さえ…ば	sae…ba

Examples:

• 勉強すればするほど賢くなります。 
  Benkyō sureba suru hodo kashikoku narimasu.
  “The more you study, the smarter you become.”

• もしも大金があったら、豪華客船で世界一周したい。
  Moshimo taikin ga attara, gōka kyakusen de sekai isshū shitai.
  “If I had a lot of money, I would want to go around the world on a luxury cruise ship.”

• あなたさえ良ければ、一緒に行きませんか。
  Anata sae yokereba, issho ni ikimasen ka.
  “If only you’re okay, would you like to go with us?”

いくら寝ても眠い。 (Ikura nete mo nemui.)
“(I’m) sleepy no matter how much I sleep.”

Conclusion

In this article, we introduced the most frequently used intermediate Japanese words, including large numbers, nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, conjunctions, and particles—we even threw in some example sentences for you. Some Kanji are a bit harder than those you learned at the beginner level, but you’ll now be able to deal with a wider range of topics and converse in more detail.

If you would like to learn more about the Japanese language and culture, you’ll find a lot more helpful content on JapanesePod101.com. We provide a variety of free lessons designed to help you improve your Japanese language skills. 

If you’re at the intermediate level in your Japanese studies, you’ll find the following articles very useful: 

• Learn Japanese with Netflix
• Essential Business Japanese
• Japanese Phone Phrases

And there’s so much more! Learn Japanese faster and enjoy studying with JapanesePod101.com!

Before you go, let us know in the comments if you would like to learn Japanese words related to any specific topic. We’d be glad to help, and look forward to hearing from you! 

Like many other countries, Japan is blessed with beautiful nature and all kinds of animals. 

When you start learning the Japanese language, picking up the most common Japanese animal names will be an inevitable part of the process! Animals play a central role in our lives, so learning what to call them is important. Doing so will not only allow you to talk about your pets or favorite animals with native speakers, but also help you understand Japanese idioms and stories related to them. 

The good news is that learning Japanese animal names is actually very easy! Do you know why? It’s because animal names in Japanese are often short and simple, and we also use plenty of loanwords from other languages (usually English) to label foreign animals.

While the Kanji for many Japanese animal names is difficult, don’t let this worry you. Even ordinary Japanese people don’t know how to write or read them, so the much simpler Hiragana and Katakana are more commonly used. 

In this article from JapanesePod101.com, you’ll learn popular animal names in Japanese, from pets and farm animals to sea animals and insects. We’ll also introduce animal sounds in Japanese and animal-related Japanese proverbs.

Ready to boost your vocabulary and cultural knowledge? Let’s go!

Table of Contents

1. Pets
2. Farm Animals
3. Wild Animals
4. Sea Animals
5. Bugs and Insects
6. Birds
7. Reptiles
8. Animal Body Parts
9. Animal Sounds
10. Animal-Related Proverbs
11. Conclusion

1. Pets

The Japanese word for “animal” is 動物 (dōbutsu). Literally, this breaks down to 動 (“moving”) + 物 (“thing”). 

Japanese does not distinguish between singular and plural nouns, so the word 動物 (dōbutsu) and all of the animals listed in this article can refer to one animal or many.

To talk about baby animals in Japanese, we add the word for “child” to the beginning of the animal name in question: 子 こ (ko).

• うさぎ (usagi) – “rabbit” → 子うさぎ (kousagi) – “baby bunny”

The most common Japanese counter word for animals is 匹 ひき (hiki), which we place after the number. Or, if we’re counting larger animals, we can use the word 頭 とう (tō), meaning “head.” 

For example:

• 私は犬を２匹飼っています。
  Watashi wa inu o ni-hiki katte imasu.
  “I have two dogs.”

To learn more about numbers in Japanese, please check out our article Japanese Numbers: Let’s Master the Basic Japanese Numbers!

Following is a list of popular pet animals in Japan.

English	Kanji	Hiragana / Katakana	Reading
“dog”	犬	いぬ	inu
“puppy”	子犬	こいぬ	koinu
“cat”	猫	ねこ	neko
“kitten”	子猫	こねこ	koneko
“rabbit”	兎	うさぎ	usagi
“hamster”	ー	ハムスター	hamusutā
“mouse” / “rat”	鼠	ねずみ	nezumi
“budgerigar”	ー	インコ	inko
“parrot”	ー	オウム	ōmu
“goldfish”	金魚	きんぎょ	kingyo
“hedgehog”	ー	ハリネズミ	harinezumi * literally “needle mouse” in Japanese.

* The Kanji for “rabbit” (兎) and “mouse” (鼠) are difficult and uncommon. We normally use Hiragana or Katakana for these words.

Like many other countries, dogs and cats are popular pets in Japan.

2. Farm Animals

Popular farm animals in Japan include cows, pigs, sheep, chickens, and horses. Ducks and swans are commonly seen in the countryside. 

In addition to the counter words 匹 ひき (hiki) and 頭 とう(tō), meaning “head,” there’s also a counter used for birds: 羽 わ (wa), meaning “feather.”

For example:

• この農場には馬が４頭います。
  Kono nōjō ni wa uma ga yon-tō imasu.
  “There are four horses on this farm.”

• この湖には白鳥が10羽います。
  Kono mizūmi ni wa hakuchō ga jū-wa imasu.
  “There are ten swans in this lake.”

Here’s a list of animals in Japanese you’re likely to find on a farm or in the countryside: 

English	Kanji	Hiragana / Katakana	Reading
“cow”	牛	うし	ushi
“calf”	子牛	こうし	koushi
“pig”	豚	ぶた	buta
“piglet”	子豚	こぶた	kobuta
“horse”	馬	うま	uma
“foal”	子馬	こうま	kouma
“sheep”	羊	ひつじ	hitsuji
“baby sheep”	子羊	こひつじ	kohitsuji
“goat”	山羊	やぎ	yagi
“donkey”	ー	ロバ	roba
“chicken”	鶏	にわとり	niwatori*literally “garden bird” in Japanese.
“chick”	ー	ひよこ	hiyoko
“duck”	鴨	かも	kamo
“goose”	ー	ガチョウ	gachō
“swan”	白鳥	はくちょう	hakuchō* literally: “white bird” in Japanese

You can also hear the pronunciation of these words on our Animal Names vocabulary list.

Sheep farms are famous in Hokkaido.

3. Wild Animals

Now that we’ve looked at a few domesticated creatures, it’s time to learn the names of different wild animals in Japanese. Below, you’ll also find some interesting facts about indigenous animals in Japan and how mythology influenced our naming of the giraffe! 

A- In the Forest

Did you know that Japan is actually a country of forests, despite the image foreigners often have of a sushi-eating island country surrounded by the sea? Around 73% of the land in Japan is mountainous, 66% of which is forested.

This means there are a lot of forest animals! Some of you might have seen pictures of Japanese monkeys enjoying natural hot springs (温泉 Onsen) in the snowy weather, for example. 

Forest animals often appear in Japanese folktales, idioms, and proverbs. Monkeys are considered clever and are thought to be the closest animal to humans. Raccoon dogs and foxes are often seen as animals that have mysterious powers and the ability to play tricks on humans.

Since many of the following forest animals are indigenous to Japan, they have original names in Japanese (including their own Kanji). 

English	Kanji	Hiragana / Katakana	Reading
“deer”	鹿	しか	shika
“bear”	熊	くま	kuma
“monkey”	猿	さる	saru
“wild boar”	猪	いのしし	inoshishi
“raccoon dog”	狸	たぬき	tanuki
“fox”	狐	きつね	kitsune
“squirrel”	栗鼠 *	りす	risu
“wolf”	狼	おおかみ	ōkami

* The Kanji for “squirrel” (栗鼠) is difficult and uncommon. We normally use Hiragana or Katakana instead.

Japanese monkeys love Onsen hot springs.

B- Safari Animals (and Others)

There is no Kanji for animals that originate from places that are very far away from Japan, such as safari animals or those from Oceania. They’re typically expressed in Katakana as loanwords or named in Japanese after their characteristics.

Some animals—such as elephants, tigers, and leopards—have Kanji because they’re indigenous to Asian countries (China, India, etc.), and they became known to Japan through trading. Such Kanji were directly imported from the Chinese language, but the names (phonetic readings) are original to Japanese.

English	Kanji	Hiragana / Katakana	Reading
“elephant”	象	ゾウ	zō
“giraffe”	ー	キリン	kirin
“lion”	ー	ライオン	raion
“tiger”	虎	トラ	tora
“panda bear”	ー	パンダ	panda
“zebra”	ー	シマウマ	shimauma*literally “striped horse” in Japanese.
“hippopotamus”	ー	カバ	kaba
“rhinoceros”	ー	サイ	sai
“ostrich”	ー	ダチョウ	dachō*It means “camel bird” in Japanese.
“baboon”	ー	ヒヒ	hihi
“hyena”	ー	ハイエナ	haiena
“cheetah”	ー	チーター	chītā
“leopard”	豹	ヒョウ	hyō
“koala bear”	ー	コアラ	koara
“kangaroo”	ー	カンガルー	kangarū
“camel”	ー	ラクダ	rakuda

The キリン (kirin), or “giraffe,” was named after the Chinese dragon-like mythical animal called 麒麟 (qílín).　

4. Sea Animals

A recent study revealed that there are about 34,000 species of sea animals living in the oceans near Japan, including everything from plankton to mammals. This means that about 13.5% of all confirmed marine life abound in less than 1% of the world’s ocean. 

As a country blessed with lots of ocean, Japan has an abundance of words related to fish, called 魚 さかな (sakan), and sea animals. However, most of their Kanji are difficult, so Hiragana and Katakana are more commonly used to express their names.

Again, loanwords are used for sea animals that are not indigenous to Japan, such as ペンギン (pengin), or “penguin.”

English	Kanji	Hiragana / Katakana	Reading
“whale”	鯨	くじら	kujira
“dolphin”	海豚	イルカ	iruka
“shark”	鮫	サメ	same
“seal”	海豹	アザラシ	azarashi
“sealion”	海馬	トド	todo
“penguin”	ー	ペンギン	pengin
“sea turtle”	海亀	うみがめ	umigame *literally “sea turtle” in Japanese
“jellyfish”	海月	くらげ	kurage
“pufferfish”	河豚	ふぐ	fugu
“octopus”	蛸	たこ	tako
“squid”	烏賊	いか	ika
“crab”	蟹	かに	kani
“shrimp” / “prawn”	海老	えび	ebi
“shell”	貝	かい	kai
“starfish”	人手	ヒトデ	hitode * literally “human hand” in Japanese

You can also hear the pronunciation of these words (and more) in our vocabulary list Marine Animals & Fish.

鮫 サメ (same) – “shark”

5. Bugs and Insects

As with sea animals, there is a lot of vocabulary related to bugs and insects in Japan. Most of their Kanji are very difficult, so Hiragana and Katakana are more commonly used to express their names. 

Considering the abundance of mountains and forests in Japan, it’s said that there could be as many as 100,000 insect species in the country. It’s possible that only about 10,000 of these species have been published in books.

Below are the names of some well-known bugs and insects that are commonly seen in Japan.

English	Kanji	Hiragana / Katakana	Reading
“bugs” / “insects”	虫	むし	mushi
“bee”	蜂	ハチ	hachi
“fly”	蠅	ハエ	hae
“mosquito”	蚊	カ	ka
“butterfly”	蝶	チョウ	chō
“moth”	蛾	ガ	ga
“cicada”	蝉	セミ	semi
“dragonfly”	蜻蛉	トンボ	tonbo
“ant”	蟻	アリ	ari
“spider”	蜘蛛	クモ	kumo
“ladybug”	天道虫	てんとうむし	tentōmushi
“beetle”	甲虫	かぶとむし	kabutomushi
“grasshopper”	飛蝗	バッタ	batta
“mantis”	蟷螂	カマキリ	kamakiri

てんとう虫 (tentōmushi) – “ladybug”

6. Birds 

Thanks to the wealth of nature in Japan, the country is home to a diverse range of birds. There are 658 species of birds here, 22 of which are foreign.

Despite the rich variety of birds in Japan, the ones we see most often are pigeons, crows, sparrows, and swallows. In Japan, swallows are said to be “summer birds.” This is because seeing them is a sign that summer is coming, as swallows spend winter in the warmer southern areas (such as Taiwan, the Philippines, and Malaysia) before flying back to Japan in spring to raise their chicks.

There are also Japanese superstitions related to birds. For example, it’s believed that sparrows bring good luck and that crows bring bad luck. 

English	Kanji	Hiragana / Katakana	Reading
“bird”	鳥	とり	tori
“small (baby) bird”	小鳥	ことり	kotori
“pigeon”	鳩	はと	hato
“crow”	烏	からす	karasu
“sparrow”	雀	すずめ	suzume
“swallow”	燕	つばめ	tsubame
“seagull”	ー	かもめ	kamome
“eagle”	鷲	わし	washi
“crane”	鶴	つる	tsuru
“owl”	梟	ふくろう	fukurō

The フクロウ (fukurō), or “owl,” is considered an animal of good omen.

7. Reptiles

In Japanese, reptiles are called 爬虫類 はちゅうるい (hachūrui). 

There are 142 reptile species in Japan (19 species of newt, 39 species of frog, 10 species of turtle, 32 species of lizard, and 42 species of snake). Some reptiles, such as turtles and snakes, are popular as pets in Japan. 

Reptiles are normally expressed in Katakana, even though most of them have Kanji. 

English	Kanji	Hiragana / Katakana	Reading
“turtle”	亀	カメ	kame
“crocodile” / “alligator”	鰐	ワニ	wani
“snake”	蛇	ヘビ	hebi
“frog”	蛙	カエル	kaeru
“lizard”	蜥蜴	トカゲ	tokage
“chameleon”	ー	カメレオン	kamereon

ワニ (wani) – “crocodile” / “alligator”

8. Animal Body Parts  

Now that you’ve learned the names of several different animals in Japanese, you should take some time to study the words for animal body parts. Keep in mind that many of the basic body parts listed below are the same for humans and animals. You can learn even more useful words, along with their pronunciation, on our vocabulary list Body Parts in Japanese! 

English	Kanji	Hiragana / Katakana	Reading
“horn”	角	つの	tsuno
“beak”	口ばし	くちばし	kuchibashi
“wing” (birds)	翼	つばさ	tsubasa
“wing” (insects) / “feather”	羽	はね	hane
“tusk”	牙	きば	kiba
“mane”	立て髪	たてがみ	tategami
“fur”	毛皮	けがわ	kegawa
“claw”	鉤爪	かぎつめ	kagitsume
“tail”	尾　/ 尻尾	お / しっぽ	o / shippo
“hoof”	蹄	ひづめ	hizume
“fin”	鰭	ひれ	hire
“gill”	鰓	えら	era
“scale”	鱗	うろこ	uroko

角 つの (tsuno) – “horn”

9. Animal Sounds

The Japanese language has a wide range of onomatopoeia, and animal sounds are one of the most common 擬声語 (gisei-go), or “animate phonomimes” we use. 

Here are the sounds animals make in Japanese:

Animal	Katakana	Reading
dog	ワンワン	wanwan
cat	ニャーニャー	nyānyā
mouse	チューチュー	chūchū
pig	ブーブー	būbū
sheep	メーメー	mēmē
cow	モーモー	mōmō
horse	ヒヒーン	hihīn
small bird	チュンチュン	chunchun
crow	カーカー	kākā
chicken	コケコッコー	kokekokkō
pigeon	ポッポー	poppō
owl	ホーホー	hōhō
lion	ガオー	gaō
elephant	パオーン	paōn
cicada	ミーンミーン	mīnmīn

Lions say ガオー (Gaō) in Japanese.

10. Animal-Related Proverbs

There are many Japanese proverbs and sayings that mention animals. Here are some of the most common ones: 

•  猿も木から落ちる。  
  Saru mo ki kara ochiru.
  “Even monkeys fall off trees.”
  
  Meaning: Even Homer sometimes nods. / Even someone who is the best at what they do can make mistakes.
  
  Example:
  
  気にすることないよ。猿も木から落ちると言うし、誰でも失敗することがあるよ。
  Ki ni suru koto nai yo. Saru mo ki kara ochiru to iu shi, dare de mo shippai suru koto ga aru yo.
  “Don’t worry. It says ‘Even monkeys fall off trees,’ and anyone can make mistakes.”

• 飼い犬に手を噛まれる
  Kaiinu ni te o kamareru
  “To have one’s hand bitten by one’s own dog”
  
  Meaning: To be betrayed by one’s trusted follower
  
  Example: 
  
  ずっと面倒をみていた部下に裏切られて、飼い犬に手を噛まれた気分だ！
  Zutto mendō o mite ita buka ni uragirarete, kaiinu ni te o kamareta kibun da!
  “I feel like I got my hand bitten by my dog, as my subordinate, whom I have been taking care of, betrayed me!”

• 猫の手も借りたい  
  Neko no te mo karitai
  “Wanting even the help of a cat”
  
  Meaning: Being extremely busy, so that you need every little bit of help you can get
  
  Example:
  
  昨日は猫の手も借りたいほど、とても忙しかったです。
  Kinō wa neko no te mo karitai hodo, totemo isogashikatta desu.
  “Yesterday was so busy that I even wanted to get help from a cat.”

• 捕らぬ狸の皮算用  
  Toranu tanuki no kawazanyō
  “Counting fur of raccoon dogs which you haven’t caught yet”
  
  Meaning: Don’t count your chickens before they hatch. / Do not count on something that has not yet happened. / Do not expect all your hopes to come true.
  
  Example:
  
  昇給とボーナスを期待して家を買うのは、捕らぬ狸の皮算用だよ。
  Shōkyū to bōnasu o kitai shite ie o kau no wa, toranu tanuki no kawazanyō da yo.
  “Buying a house because you expect a pay-raise and a bonus is like counting the fur of raccoon dogs which you haven’t caught yet.”

To learn more Japanese proverbs, please visit our blog post Japanese Proverbs – Gain Japanese Wisdom and Insight.

捕らぬ狸の皮算用
Toranu tanuki no kawazanyō 
“counting fur of raccoon dogs which you haven’t caught yet” = “Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.”

11. Conclusion

In this article, we introduced Japanese animal words for a number of categories: 

• Pets
• Farm animals
• Wild animals
• Sea animals
• Birds
• Insects
• Reptiles

In addition, we covered the most important animal body parts, Japanese animal sounds, and proverbs related to animals. If you happen to know of any other animal words, sounds, or idioms we didn’t include, please share them in the comments! 

Do you want to continue learning about the Japanese language and culture? Then create your free lifetime account on JapanesePod101.com today! We provide a variety of free lessons designed to help improve your Japanese language skills. Also, with our Premium PLUS service, MyTeacher, you’ll have personal 1-on-1 coaching with your own private teacher.

If you want to increase your Japanese vocabulary even further, you’ll find the following articles quite useful:  

• Guide to the Top 100+ Japanese Nouns
• Learn the Top 100 Essential Japanese Adjectives
• The 100+ Most Common Japanese Verbs

And there’s so much more! Learn Japanese faster (and enjoy every second of it) at JapanesePod101.com!

Before you go, let us know in the comments if there are any topics or situations you’d like to learn Japanese words for! We’d be glad to help, and we look forward to hearing from you.

Speaking on the phone can be stressful enough in your own language, let alone in a foreign language! 

Even after you’re able to have face-to-face conversations with native speakers, you’ll find that communicating over the phone is rather difficult. Phone calls are different from in-person conversations in that you can’t rely on body gestures or facial expressions to help get your point across or to understand what the other person is trying to say. 

Talking on the phone in Japanese may be especially difficult. You’ll need to memorize a specific set of Japanese phone phrases, as we use Honorific language, or 敬語 (Keigo), for most of our phone conversations. The exception is when we’re just having a casual chat with friends or family.

But don’t worry! There are only a few patterns to learn and you’ll see them all in this article from JapanesePod101.com.

Let’s learn some useful Japanese phone call phrases!

Table of Contents

1. Picking up the Phone
2. Introducing Yourself
3. Stating the Reason for Your Call
4. Asking to Speak to Someone
5. Responding to the Caller / Asking Someone to Wait
6. Leaving a Message
7. Asking for Clarification
8. Ending the Phone Call
9. Sample Phone Conversations
10. Conclusion

1. Picking up the Phone

First impressions are critical! Let’s start by looking at some Japanese phone call phrases you could use to answer the phone. 

1. もしもし。 

Romanization: Moshimoshi.
English: “Hello.”

This is the most common way to answer a phone call in Japanese.

もし もし (moshimoshi) comes from the word 申す もうす (mōsu), which is “to say” in a humble manner. You can also add the word はい (hai), meaning “yes,” in front:

• はい、もしもし。 (Hai, moshimoshi.) – “Yes, hello.”

Moshimoshi is typically used by the receiver to answer the phone, but the caller may also say moshimoshi before continuing in order to make sure the other person can hear.

2. はい、___です。 

Romanization: Hai, ___ desu.
English: “Yes, this is ___.” [Polite]

When you pick up the phone, you say はい (hai), meaning “yes,” and then state who is speaking. 

To give your name, make sure to place the general and polite predicate -です (-desu) at the end. Keep in mind that you should normally give your family name (as opposed to only your first name) when answering the phone in Japanese. 

3. はい、___でございます。

Romanization: Hai, ___ de gozaimasu.
English: “Yes, this is ___.” [Very polite]

This phrase is very polite and often used in business contexts, such as when answering a company phone. 

4. どちら様でしょうか。 

Romanization: Dochira-sama deshō ka.
English: “Who is this?” [Very polite]

This phrase can be used later on when you want to know who’s calling, but some people ask this when they first receive a call. You can make the phrase even more polite by placing this in front:

• 失礼ですが… (Shitsurei desu ga…) – “Excuse me, but…” 

Examples

• はい、もしもし、田中です。 
  Hai, moshimoshi, Tanaka desu.
  “Yes, hello, Tanaka is speaking.”

• はい、ABC株式会社でございます。
  Hai, ABC kabushikigaisha de gozaimasu.
  “Yes, this is ABC company.”

• もしもし、鈴木です。どちら様でしょうか。
  Moshimoshi, Suzuki desu. Dochira-sama deshō ka.
  “Hello, this is Suzuki. Who’s calling?”

もしもし　(moshimoshi) – “hello” on the phone

2. Introducing Yourself

When you make a phone call in Japanese, it’s expected that you introduce yourself by stating your name and/or the company you’re representing. 

1. いつもお世話になっております。 

Romanization: Itsumo o-sewa ni natte orimasu.
English: “Thank you for always being favorable.” / “It has always been a pleasure to work with you.”
Literally: “You always take care of me.”

This is a common Japanese phrase that does not translate well into other languages. It’s most often used in business communications, and it can be said by either the caller or the receiver. 

→ To learn more untranslatable Japanese words, please see our article Untranslatable Japanese Words: Let’s Talk Like a Native!

2. 私は___です。

Romanization: Watashi wa ___ desu. 
English: “This is ___.” [Polite]

This phrase literally means, “I am ___.” It’s a general and polite way to introduce yourself over the phone. 

If you’re calling a close friend or family member, you can say:

•  ___ だよ。 (___ da yo.) – “It’s ___.”

In this case, you can omit the subject (私 watashi).

3. 私は___と申します。

Romanization: Watashi wa ___ to mōshimasu.
English: “This is ___.” [Very polite]

This is a formal expression that denotes humbleness and respect. It’s often used in business situations and other official contexts. 

4. 私は___の___です/と申します。

Romanization: Watashi wa ___ no ___ desu / to mōshimasu.
English: “I am ___ from ___.”

This is the phrase you would use if you were calling as a business person or staff member of a company/organization. In Japanese culture, the group is often considered more important than the individual (collectivism) and a business person or staff member is seen as a representative of their company. Thus, telling where you belong is important.

Examples

• いつもお世話になっております。本田です。 
  Itsumo o-sewa ni natte orimasu. Honda desu.
  “Thank you for your continued support. This is Honda.”

• もしもし、私だよ。
  Moshimoshi, watashi da yo.
  “Hello, it’s me.” [Very casual]

• 私はXYZ株式会社の山本と申します。
  Watashi wa XYZ kabushikigaisha no Yamamoto to mōshimasu.
  “This is Yamamoto from XYZ company.”

3. Stating the Reason for Your Call

Once the greetings and introductions are over, it’s time to let the other person know why you’re calling. Below are some phone phrases in Japanese for making reservations, asking for information, and more! 

1. ___ の予約をしたくて電話しました。

Romanization: ___ no yoyaku o shitakute denwa shimashita. 
English: “I’m calling because I’d like to make a reservation for ___.”

This Japanese phone call phrase is useful for booking a table at a restaurant, hair salon, etc. 

Vocabulary:

• 予約をする (yoyaku o suru) – “to book” / “to make a reservation”
• 電話する (denwa suru) – “to call”

2. ___について確認したくて電話しました。

Romanization: ___ni tsuite kakunin shitakute denwa shimashita.
English: “I’m calling because I’d like to confirm about ___.”

You can use this phrase when you want to check something. For example, you might say this while calling customer service to see if you can return an item or while calling a restaurant to see if you can change your reservation. 

Vocabulary

• 確認する (kakunin suru) – “to check” / “to confirm”

3. ___のサポートが必要なので電話しました。

Romanization: ___ no sapōto ga hitsuyō na node denwa shimashita.
English: “I’m calling because I need support for ___.”

This phrase is useful for situations where you need some support. You might say this when calling a help center for software services or talking with a customer service representative for info on setting up a gadget.

4. 着信があったので折り返し電話しました。

Romanization: Chakushin ga atta node orikaeshi denwa shimashita. 
English: “I received an incoming call, so I called back.”

When you call someone back, just give your name and use this phrase.

Vocabulary

• 着信 (chakushin) – “incoming call”
• 折り返し電話する (orikaeshi denwa suru) – “call back”

Examples

• もしもし、マッサージの予約をしたくて電話しました。
  Moshimoshi, massāji no yoyaku o shitakute denwa shimashita.
  “Hello, I’m calling because I’d like to make a booking for a massage.”

• 自然災害によるキャンセル料について確認したくて電話しました。
  Shizen saigai ni yoru kyanseruryō ni tsuite kakunin shitakute denwa shimashita.
  “I’m calling because I’d like to check about a cancelation fee due to a natural disaster.”

• 着信があったので折り返し電話したよ。何だった？
  Chakushin ga atta node orikaeshi denwa shita yo. Nan datta?
  “I received an incoming call and I’m calling you back. What was it?” [Very casual]

着信があったので折り返し電話しました。(Chakushin ga atta node orikaeshi denwa shimashita.)
“I received an incoming call, so I called back.”

4. Asking to Speak to Someone

What if the person who answers the phone is not who you intended to call? You can use the following phrases to ask if you can be transferred to the right person. 

1. ___ さんをお願いします。 

Romanization: ___-san o onegai shimasu. 
English: “Mr./Ms. ___, please.”

This is a useful phrase that’s simple yet still polite. By stating the name of the person you want to speak to, it implies to the receiver that you’d like to be connected to him/her. 

さん (san) is a general and polite Japanese honorific (敬称 keishō) that is placed after one’s name. It’s normally used after a family name (苗字 myōji / 姓 sei) in formal settings, but it can also be used after a given name (名 mei). 

If we’re calling someone of a higher rank than us or just want to show more respect, we use 様 (sama). For example, we might use this when calling customers, clients, or guests. 

2. ___ さんはいますか。 

Romanization: ___-san wa imasu ka.
English: “Is Mr./Ms. ___ there?” [Polite]

This is a very simple and casually polite phrase.  

3. ___ さんはいらっしゃいますか。

Romanization: ___-san wa irasshaimasu ka.
English: “Is Mr./Ms. ___ there?” [Very polite]

This phrase is even more polite and respectful, which makes it ideal for use in formal situations. Use this phrase if you’re calling someone who is superior to you or deserving of great respect.

4. ___ さんにつないでいただけますか。 

Romanization: ___-san ni tsunaide itadakemasu ka.
English: “Could you connect with Mr./Ms. ___?”

This is another polite way you can ask to speak to someone.

Examples

• 吉田と申します。原田様はいらっしゃいますか。
  Yoshida to mōshimasu. Harada-sama wa irasshaimasu ka.
  “I am Yoshida. Is Mr. Harada there?” [Very polite and respectful]

• もしもし、お父さん？お母さんいる？
  Moshimoshi, o-tō-san? O-kā-san iru?
  “Hello, Dad? Is Mom there?” [Very casual]

•  人事部の中田さんにつないでいただけますか。
  Jinjibu no Nakata-san ni tsunaide itadakemasu ka.
  “Could you please connect me with Mr. Nakata of the Human Resources Department?”

5. Responding to the Caller / Asking Someone to Wait 

If you’re the receiver and have been asked to connect someone, you may need to put the caller on hold for a moment and inform them if the person they’re inquiring after is not available. Here are some phrases you can use to do so politely: 

1. 申し訳ございません、___はただ今外出中です。

Romanization: Mōshiwake gozaimasen, ___ wa tadaima gaishutsuchū desu.
English: “I’m sorry, ___ is out of office now.”

This phrase is often used in business situations. It is proper Japanese phone call etiquette to apologize to the caller when the person they’re asking for is not in office.

In Japanese business settings, you don’t use honorifics (such as さん san) when saying a colleague’s name.

2. ___は本日お休みをいただいております。

Romanization: ___ wa honjitsu o-yasumi o itadaite orimasu. 
English: “___ is off today.” [Very polite]

This is a humbly respectful and very polite expression to use when the person they want is absent.

3. 確認いたします、少々お待ちください。

Romanization: Kakunin itashimasu, shōshō o-machi kudasai.
English: “I will check, please hold for a moment.”

When you need to check something and want the caller to wait for a moment, you can use this polite phrase. 

4. ___へおつなぎいたしますので、少々お待ちくださいませ。

Romanization: ___ e o-tsunagi itashimasu node,  shōshō o-machi kudasai mase.
English: “I will put you through to ___, please hold for a moment.”

You would use this phrase before transferring the caller to someone. 

Examples

• 申し訳ございません、山田は本日お休みをいただいております。
  Mōshiwake gozaimasen, Yamada wa honjitsu o-yasumi o itadaite orimasu.
  “I’m sorry, Yamada is off today.”

• 確認するね、ちょっと待って。
  Kakunin suru ne, chotto matte.
  “I’ll check, one moment.” [Very casual]

• 上田へおつなぎいたしますので、少々お待ちくださいませ。
  Ueda e o-tsunagi itashimasu node, shōshō o-machi kudasai mase.
  “I will transfer you to Ueda, please hold for a moment.”

少々お待ちください。  (Shōshō o-machi kudasai) – “Please wait a moment.”

6. Leaving a Message

Especially during a business phone call, you might need to leave a message if the person you’re trying to reach is unavailable. Below are a few different ways you could do this. 

1. 伝言をお願いできますか。

Romanization: Dengon o onegai dekimasu ka.
English: “Can I leave a message?”

Use this simple phrase when you want to leave a message.

Vocabulary

• 伝言 (dengon) – “a message”

2. ___さんに、私から電話があったと伝えていただけますか。

Romanization: ___-san ni, watashi kara denwa ga atta to tsutaete itadakemasu ka.
English: “Could you please tell Mr./Ms. ___ that I called?”

When you just want to let the person know that you have called, this phrase is useful and polite.

3. ___さんに、私へ折り返し電話するようお伝えいただけますか。

Romanization: ___-san ni, watashi e orikaeshi denwa suru yō o-tsutae itadakemasu ka.
English: “Could you please tell Mr./Ms. ___ to call me back?”

This is a polite way to ask for a call back.

Examples

• 山口さんへ伝言をお願いできますか。
  Yamaguchi-san e dengon o onegai dekimasu ka.
  “Could you give a message to Mr. Yamaguchi?”

• まゆみに、私から電話があったと伝えておいてね。
  Mayumi ni, watashi kara denwa ga atta to tsutaete oite ne.
  “Can you tell Mayumi that I called?” [Very casual]

• 中村さんに、明日私へ折り返し電話するようお伝えいただけますか。
  Nakamura-san ni, ashita watashi e orikaeshi denwa suru yō o-tsutae itadakemasu ka.
  “Could you please tell Mr. Nakamura to call me back tomorrow?”

7. Asking for Clarification

As a non-native speaker, you might need to ask for clarification at some point during your Japanese phone call conversation. There are a few polite phrases you can use. 

1. すみません、もう一度言ってください。

Romanization: Sumimasen, mō ichi-do itte kudasai.
English: “I’m sorry, could you repeat again?”

If you can’t hear what the other person is saying, you can use this phrase to ask them to repeat.

Vocabulary

• すみません (sumimasen) – “sorry” / “excuse me”
• もう一度 (mō ichi-do) – “once again”

2. すみません、聞こえにくいです。

Romanization: Sumimasen, kikoenikui desu.
English: “I’m sorry, but it’s hard to hear you.”

You can use this phrase to tell the other person that you’re not hearing them well.

3. 電波が悪いようです。

Romanization: Denpa ga warui yō desu.
English: “It seems there is a bad signal.”

If you’re experiencing a bad connection, you can use this phrase to inform the other person. 

Vocabulary

• 電波 (denpa) – “electric wave,” but it usually refers to a cell phone signal

4. もう一度ゆっくりおっしゃってくださいますか。 

Romanization: Mō ichi-do yukkuri osshatte kudasaimasu ka.
English: “Could you please say it again slowly?”

This is a very polite phrase you can use if you need them to repeat what they said more slowly. 

Vocabulary

• おっしゃる (ossharu) – the respectful version of 言う (iu), meaning “say”

5. 確認のため繰り返しますと、…　

Romanization: Kakunin no tame kurikaeshimasu to, …
English: “Let me repeat it to double check…”

Use this phrase when you want to double check something, or to make sure you or the receiver understand things correctly.

Vocabulary

• 確認 (kakunin) – “check” / “conform”
• 繰り返す (kurikaesu) – “repeat”

Examples

• すみません、聞こえにくいです。もう一度言ってください。
  Sumimasen, kikoenikui desu. Mō ichi-do itte kudasai.
  “I’m sorry, but it’s hard to hear you. Could you say that again?”

• ごめん、聞こえなかった。もう一度ゆっくり言ってくれる？
  Gomen, kikoenakatta. Mō ichi-do yukkuri itte kureru?
  “Sorry, I couldn’t hear you. Can you say that again slowly?” [Very casual]

• 確認のため繰り返しますと、私の電話番号は012334567です。
  Kakunin no tame kurikaeshimasu to, watashi no denwa bangō wa 012334567 desu.
  “Let me repeat it to double check…my phone number is 012334567.”

もう一度言ってください。  (Mō ichi-do itte kudasai.) – “Please repeat again.”

8. Ending the Phone Call

Finally, let’s go over a few different ways of ending a phone call in Japanese. 

1. はい、わかりました。 

Romanization: Hai, wakarimashita. 
English: “Yes, I understood.”

This phrase can be used during the conversation, but saying it at the end shows that you understood the conversation as a whole. In casual conversations, you can replace はい (hai) with: 

• うん (un) – “yeah”

2. かしこまりました。

Romanization: Kashikomarimashita.
English: “Understood.” / “Certainly.”

This phrase is a humble and very polite version of わかりました (wakarimashita). It’s often used in business situations as well as in communications toward customers and guests.

3. よろしくお願いいたします。 

Romanization: Yoroshiku onegai itashimasu.

This is one of the most frequently used untranslatable Japanese phrases. We often use it in business settings, especially when closing a conversation or ending an email. 

It literally translates as “Suitable favor please,” but it can have various meanings depending on the situation. For example: 

• “Nice to meet you” 
• “Best regards” 
• “Favorably please” 
• “Please take care of me”

In phone conversations, it’s used as a final greeting.

4. 失礼します。

Romanization: Shitsurei shimasu. 

This is another common untranslatable Japanese phrase used in formal situations. 

The literal translation is: “I do rude/impolite.” But when ending a phone call or leaving an office/meeting room, it means: “May I be excused.”

失礼いたします(shitsurei itashimasu) is even more polite.

Examples

• かしこまりました。では、失礼いたします。
  Kashikomarimashita. Dewa, shitsurei itashimasu.
  “Certainly. Please excuse me now.”

• うん、わかったよ。じゃあね。
  Un, wakatta yo. Jā ne.
  “Yeah, understood. Bye then.” [Very casual]

• 明日の会議の件かしこまりました。よろしくお願いいたします。
  Ashita no kaigi no ken kashikomarimashita. Yoroshiku onegai itashimasu.
  “I understood about the meeting tomorrow. Favorably please.”

9. Sample Phone Conversations

Now that we’ve introduced you to several useful phone call phrases, it’s time to see them in action. Below, you’ll find two sample phone conversations: one casual and one formal. 

1 – Casual Conversation (Two Friends)

A: 
もしもし、まりこ？
Moshimoshi, Mariko?
“Hello, Mariko?”

B:
もしもし、かなちゃん! どうしたの?
Moshimoshi, Kana-chan! Dō shita no?
“Hello, Kana! What’s up?”

A: 
今週の土曜日空いてる?
Konshū no do-yōbi aite ru?
“Are you free on Saturday this weekend?”

B: 
うん、午後からなら暇だよ。
Un, gogo kara nara hima da yo.
“Yeah, I’m free from the afternoon.”

A: 
___の映画の無料券もらったから、一緒に行きたいと思って。どうかな?
___ no eiga no muryōken moratta kara, issho ni ikitai to omotte. Dō ka na?
“I got the free movie tickets for ___ and I’d like to go with you. What do you think?”

B: 
ありがとう。いいね、見に行こう！
Arigatō. Ii ne, mi ni ikō!
“Thank you. That’s nice, let’s go watch!”

A: 
じゃあ、2時に新宿駅東口で待ち合わせしよう。
Jā, ni-ji ni Shinjuku Eki higashiguchi de machiawase shiyō.
“Well, then let’s meet at the east exit of Shinjuku Station at two o’clock.”

B: 
うん、わかった。土曜日の2時に新宿駅ね。
Un, wakatta. Do-yōbi no ni-ji ni Shinjuku Eki ne.
“Okay, noted. At Shinjuku Station at two o’clock on Saturday.”

A: 
じゃあ土曜日にね。バイバイ。
Jā do-yōbi ni ne. Baibai.
“See you on Saturday, then. Bye.”

B: 
うん、よろしくね。バイバイ。
Un, yoroshiku ne. Baibai.
“Yeah, thank you. Bye.”

2 – Formal Conversation (Calling a Client’s Office)

A:
はい、XYZ株式会社でございます。
Hai, XYZ kabushikigaisha de gozaimasu.
“Hello, this is XYZ company.”

B: 
もしもし、いつもお世話になっております。私はABC株式会社の田中と申します。
Moshimoshi, itsumo o-sewa ni natte orimasu. Watashi wa ABC kabushikigaisha no Tanaka to mōshimasu.
“Hello, it’s always a pleasure to work with you. I am Tanaka from ABC company.”

A: 
いつもお世話になっております。ご用件は何でしょうか。
Itsumo o-sewa ni natte orimasu. Go-yōken wa nan deshō ka.
“Thank you for your continued support, too. How can I help you?”

B: 
国際部の上野さんにつないでいただけますか。
Kokusaibu no Ueno-san ni tsunaide itadakemasu ka.
“Could you connect me with Mr. Ueno of the International Department?”

A: 
確認いたします、少々お待ちくださいませ。
Kakunin itashimasu, shōshō o-machi kudasai mase.
“I will check, please hold for a moment.”

— a minute later —

A: 
申し訳ございません、上野はただ今外出中です。ご伝言を承りましょうか。
Mōshiwake gozaimasen, Ueno wa tadaima gaishutsuchū desu. Go-dengon o uketamawarimashō ka.
“I’m sorry, Ueno is out of office now. Would you like to leave a message?”

B:
はい、お願いします。送り状の件について確認したくて電話しました。上野さんに、明日私へ折り返し電話するようお伝えいただけますか。
Hai, onegai shimasu. Okurijō no ken ni tsuite kakunin shitakute denwa shimashita. Ueno-san ni, ashita watashi e orikaeshi denwa suru yō o-tsutae itadakemasu ka.
“Yes, please. I called because I’d like to check about the invoice. Could you please tell Mr. Ueno to call me back tomorrow?”

A: 
かしこまりました。上野へ田中様からのご伝言をお伝えいたします。
Kashikomarimashita. Ueno e Tanaka-sama kara no go-dengon o o-tsutae itashimasu.
“Certainly. I will send the message from Mr. Tanaka to Ueno.”

B: 
ありがごうございます。よろしくお願いいたします。では、失礼いたします。
Arigatō gozaimasu. Yoroshiku onegai itashimasu. Dewa, shitsurei itashimasu.
“Thank you. Please do so. May I be excused now?”

A:
お電話ありがとうございました。失礼いたします。
O-denwa arigatō gozaimashita. Shitsurei itashimasu.
“Thank you for calling. Goodbye.”

10. Conclusion

In this article, we introduced the most useful and frequently used Japanese phone call phrases. Once you master this list of polite expressions, you can make or receive your next call in Japanese with confidence—whether you’re chatting with a friend or getting info from a customer service rep.

If you would like to learn more about the Japanese language and pick up additional Japanese phrases for different situations, you’ll find a lot of helpful content on JapanesePod101.com. We provide a variety of free lessons designed to help improve your Japanese language skills. 

Not sure where to start? Check out these articles: 

• The 10 Most Useful Japanese Sentence Patterns
• Essential Business Japanese: Learn the Most Useful Phrases
• The 10 Most Useful Japanese Questions and Answers

And there’s so much more! Learn faster and enjoy studying Japanese at JapanesePod101.com!

Before you go, let us know in the comments if there’s a topic you’d like us to cover in a future article. What words, phrases, or cultural topics would you like to learn more about? We’d be glad to help, and we look forward to hearing from you!

You’ve just started studying Japanese? Then you should build a solid foundation by learning the easiest and most frequently used Japanese words for beginners! 

Japanese dictionaries list anywhere from 55,000 to 82,000 words, though the number of words used per day by ordinary Japanese adults is said to be around 800-900 (or 1000-1200 words for university students). 

Some linguists state that Japanese is one of the most difficult languages for native English speakers to learn. The Foreign Service Institute (FSI) has labeled Japanese a Category IV language, which is the most difficult level. 

However, there are a few things about Japanese that English speakers find easy. While it can take forever to master the Kanji system for reading and writing, learning how to listen and speak in daily conversations isn’t as difficult as you may think! You don’t have to worry about whether to use singular or plural forms, which article to add before a noun, or how to conjugate verbs (I am / she is / they are). These concepts do not exist in the Japanese language!

In this article, JapanesePod101.com will introduce the most useful Japanese beginner words that are used in everyday situations.

日本語の初級単語を学ぼう。
Nihon-go no shokyū tango o manabō.
“Let’s learn Japanese beginner words.”

Table of Contents

1. Pronouns – 代名詞 (Daimeishi)
2. Numbers – 数字 (Sūji)
3. Nouns – 名詞 (Meishi)
4. Verbs – 動詞 (Dōshi)
5. Adjectives – 形容詞 (Keiyōshi)
6. Conjunctions – 接続詞 (Setsuzokushi)
7. Other – その他 (Sonota)
8. Conclusion

1. Pronouns – 代名詞 (Daimeishi)

Pronouns are a major component of Japanese vocabulary, so learning them early on in your studies is a great idea. To give you a headstart, here’s a list of the most important pronouns in Japanese. 

Personal Pronouns – 人称代名詞 (Ninshō daimeishi)

English	Kanji	Hiragana	Reading
I  (female/casual; unisex/formal)	私	わたし	watashi
I  (male/casual)	僕	ぼく	boku
you  (general)	ー	あなた	anata
you  (casual)	君	きみ	kimi
he	彼	かれ	kare
she	彼女	かのじょ	kanojo
they	彼ら	かれら	kare-ra

Examples:

• 彼と彼女は同じ大学の学生です。
  Kare to kanojo wa onaji daigaku no gakusei desu.
  “He and she are students of the same university.”

• これは私からあなたへのプレゼントです。
  Kore wa watashi kara anata e no purezento desu.
  “This is a present for you from me.”

• 君と僕は同い年だ。
  Kimi to boku wa onaidoshi da.
  “You and I are the same age.”

Demonstrative Pronouns – 指示代名詞 (Shiji daimeishi)

English	Kanji	Hiragana	Reading
this  (close to the speaker)	ー	これ	kore
it / that  (close to the listener)	ー	それ	sore
that (far from both the speaker and the listener)	ー	あれ	are
these  (close to the speaker)	ー	これら	kore-ra
they / those  (close to the listener)	ー	それら	sore-ra
those  (far from both the speaker and the listener)	ー	あれら	are-ra

Examples:

• それを取ってください。そう、それです。
  Sore o totte kudasai. Sō, sore desu.
  “Please pass me that [close to the listener]. Yes, that’s it.”

• これは私のです。あれはあなたのです。
  Kore wa watashi no desu. Are wa anata no desu.
  “This is mine. That is yours.”

• これらの作品をどう思いますか。 
  Kore-ra no sakuhin o dō omoimasu ka.
  “What do you think about these works?””What do you think about these works?”

For more details about Japanese pronouns, please see Your Ultimate Guide to Japanese Pronouns.

これは私の本です。
Kore wa watashi no hon desu.
“This is my book.”

Interrogative Pronouns – 疑問詞 (Gimonshi)

English	Kanji	Hiragana	Reading
what	何	なに	nani
who	誰	だれ	dare
where	ー	どこ	doko
which	ー	どの	dono
why	ー	なぜ／どうして	naze / dōshite
when	ー	いつ	itsu
how much	ー	いくら	ikura
how many	ー	いくつ	ikutsu
how	ー	どうやって	dō yatte

Examples:

• これは何ですか。これとあれは何が違いますか。
  Kore wa nan desu ka. Kore to are wa nani ga chigaimasu ka.
  “What is this? What is the difference between this and that?”

• 誰とどこに行くの？いつ帰る？
  Dare to doko ni iku no? Itsu kaeru?
  “With whom and where are you going? When will you come back?”

• あれはいくらですか。いくつ買えば割引になりますか。 
  Are wa ikura desu ka. Ikutsu kaeba waribiki ni narimasu ka.
  “How much is that? How many should I buy to get a discount?”

For more information about asking and answering questions in Japanese, check out The 10 Most Useful Japanese Questions and Answers.

一番近い地下鉄の駅はどこですか。
Ichi-ban chikai chikatetsu no eki wa doko desu ka.
“Where is the nearest subway station?”

2. Numbers – 数字 (Sūji)

Japanese numbers are very simple. 

The names of all numbers in Japanese consist of the ten basic numbers shown below, except for certain units such as: hundred (百 hyaku), thousand (千 sen), ten-thousand (万 man), etc. There are no particular names like “eleven,” “twelve,” “thirty,” or “fifty.”

For example:

• Eleven in Japanese is read as jū-ichi, which is literally “ten-one.”
• Fifteen in Japanese is read as jū-go, which is literally “ten-five.”
• Thirty-five in Japanese is read as san-jū go, which is literally “three-ten-five.”

English	Kanji	Hiragana	Reading
one	一	いち	ichi
two	二	に	ni
three	三	さん	san
four	四	し/ よん	shi / yon
five	五	ご	go
six	六	ろく	roku
seven	七	しち / なな	shichi / nana
eight	八	はち	hachi
nine	九	く / きゅう	ku / kyū
ten	十	じゅう	jū

Examples:

• 彼は今年27才になります。
  Kare wa kotoshi ni-jū nana-sai ni narimasu.
  “He will be 27 years old this year.”

• このペンは95円で、そのえんぴつは70円です。 
  Kono pen wa kyū-jū go-en de, sono enpitsu wa nana-jū-en desu.
  “This pen is ninety-five yen and the pencil is seventy yen.”

• 私は英語を5年、イタリア語を1年勉強しています。 
  Watashi wa Eigo o go-nen, Itaria-go o ichi-nen benkyō shite imasu.
  “I have been studying English for five years and Italian for one year.”

To learn more about counting in Japanese, please check out Japanese Numbers: Let’s Master the Basic Japanese Numbers!

There are several variations of Japanese counters, each one used according to what’s being counted.
Birds = 1羽 (ichi-wa)、2羽(ni-wa), Books = 1冊(issatsu)、2冊(ni-satsu), Shoes = 1足(issoku)、2足(ni-soku)

3. Nouns – 名詞 (Meishi)

Our next set of basic Japanese words consists of frequently used nouns. When used together with verbs, nouns allow you to form complete sentences and effectively express yourself—in a pinch, you can even use them alone in order to convey a basic idea! 

Time

English	Kanji	Hiragana	Reading
time	時間	じかん	jikan
minute	分	ふん / ぷん	fun / pun
o’clock	時	じ	ji
day	日	にち / ひ / び	nichi / hi / bi
month	月	つき / げつ / がつ	tsuki / getsu / gatsu
year	年	ねん	nen
morning time (until noon)	午前	ごぜん	gozen
afternoon	午後	ごご	gogo
morning	朝	あさ	asa
noon / noontime / daytime	昼	ひる	hiru
early evening	夕方	ゆうがた	yūgata
evening / night	夜	よる	yoru
Monday	月曜日	げつようび	getsu-yōbi
Tuesday	火曜日	かようび	ka-yōbi
Wednesday	水曜日	すいようび	sui-yōbi
Thursday	木曜日	もくようび	moku-yōbi
Friday	金曜日	きんようび	kin-yōbi
Saturday	土曜日	どようび	do-yōbi
Sunday	日曜日	にちようび	nichi-yōbi

Examples:

• 私は月曜日から金曜日は朝6時に起きます。
  Watashi wa getsu-yōbi kara kin-yōbi wa asa roku-ji ni okimasu.
  “I get up at six o’clock from Monday to Friday.”

• 彼は1年に3ヶ月仕事で海外へ行きます。 
  Kare wa ichi-nen ni san-kagetsu shigoto de kaigai e ikimasu.
  “He goes abroad for three months a year for work.”

• 彼女は夜遅くに寝ますが、朝は早く起きます。 
  Kanojo wa yoru osoku ni nemasu ga, asa wa hayaku okimasu.
  “She goes to bed late at night, but gets up early in the morning.”

People

English	Kanji	Hiragana	Reading
parent	親	おや	oya
parents	両親	りょうしん	ryōshin
father / dad	父 / お父さん	ちち / おとうさん	chichi / o-tō-san
mother / mom	母 / お母さん	はは / おかあさん	haha / o-kā-san
older brother	兄	あに	ani
older sister	姉	あね	ane
younger brother	弟	おとうと	otōto
younger sister	妹	いもうと	imōto
grandfather / grandpa	祖父 / お爺ちゃん	そふ / おじいちゃん	sofu / o-jii-chan
grandmother / grandma	祖母 / お婆ちゃん	そぼ / おばあちゃん	sobo /o-bā-chan
uncle	伯父（叔父）	おじ	oji
aunt	伯母（叔母）	おば	oba
cousin	従兄弟	いとこ	itoko
grandchild	孫	まご	mago
Mr. / Mrs. / Ms.(put after a name to refer to a person politely)	ー	さん	-san
Mr. / Mrs. / Ms.(put after a name to refer to a person respectfully)	様	さま	-sama
work	仕事	しごと	shigoto
employee of a company	会社員	かいしゃいん	kaishain
doctor	医者	いしゃ	isha
lawyer	弁護士	べんごし	bengoshi
teacher	先生 / 教師	せんせい / きょうし	sensei / kyōshi
student	生徒 / 学生	せいと / がくせい	seito / gakusei

Examples:

• 私の父は弁護士で、母は高校の教師です。
  Watashi no chichi wa bengoshi de, haha wa kōkō no kyōshi desu.
  “My father is a lawyer and my mother is a highschool teacher.”

• 彼には兄と妹がいます。 
  Kare ni wa ani to imōto ga imasu.
  “He has an older brother and a younger sister.”

• 彼女の両親は大企業で会社員をしています。 
  Kanojo no ryōshin wa daikigyō de kaishain o shite imasu.
  “Her parents are employees of a large company.” / “Her parents work for a large company.”

Places Around Town

English	Kanji	Hiragana/Katakana	Reading
town / city	町 / 街	まち	machi
hospital	病院	びょういん	byōin
school	学校	がっこう	gakkō
supermarket	ー	スーパーマーケット	sūpāmāketto
store	店	みせ	mise
post office	郵便局	ゆうびんきょく	yūbinkyoku
city/town hall	（市/区）役所	(し/く)やくしょ	(shi / ku) yakusho
station	駅	えき	eki

Examples:

• 私の町には、駅のとなりに大きな病院があります。
  Watashi no machi ni wa, eki no tonari ni ōkina byōin ga arimasu.
  “There is a big hospital next to the station in my town.”

• この道をまっすぐ行くと市役所があります。
  Kono michi o massugu iku to shiyakusho ga arimasu.
  “Go straight on this road and you will find the city hall.”

• 日曜日は、郵便局は休みです。 
  Nichi-yōbi wa, yūbinkyoku wa yasumi desu.
  “The post office is closed on Sundays.”

School / Office Essentials

English	Kanji	Hiragana/Katakana	Reading
pen	ー	ペン	pen
pencil	鉛筆	えんぴつ	enpitsu
eraser	消しゴム	けしゴム	keshigomu
notebook	ー	ノート	nōto
textbook	教科書	きょうかしょ	kyōkasho
computer	ー	コンピューター	konpyūtā
internet	ー	インターネット	intānetto
wi-fi	ー	ワイファイ	waifai

Examples:

• ワイファイのパスワードは何ですか。
  Waifai no pasuwādo wa nan desu ka.
  “What is the wi-fi password?”

• 彼の学校は紙の教科書を使わずコンピューターを使います。
  Kare no gakkō wa kami no kyōkasho o tsukawazu konpyūtā o tsukaimasu.
  “His school does not use paper textbooks, but computers.”

• 試験では、鉛筆と消しゴムのみ使用できます。 
  Shiken de wa, enpitsu to keshigomu nomi shiyō dekimasu.
  “Only pencils and erasers can be used in the exam.”

Body Parts 

English	Kanji	Hiragana/Katakana	Reading
head	頭	あたま	atama
face	顔	かお	kao
eye	目	め	me
nose	鼻	はな	hana
mouth	口	くち	kuchi
ear	耳	みみ	mimi
neck	首	くび	kubi
body	体	からだ	karada
shoulder	肩	かた	kata
back	背中	せなか	senaka
chest / breast	胸	むね	mune
belly / abdomen	腹 / お腹	はら / おなか	hara / onaka
arm	腕	うで	ude
hand	手	て	te
finger	指	ゆび	yubi
leg	足	あし	ashi

Examples:

• 目と鼻は顔の重要な部位です。
  Me to hana wa kao no jūyō na bui desu.
  “The eyes and nose are important parts of the face.”

• 彼は事故で足を骨折しました。
  Kare wa jiko de ashi o kossetsu shimashita.
  “He broke his leg in the accident.”

• 今日は朝からお腹が痛い。 
  Kyō wa asa kara onaka ga itai.
  “I have abdominal pain from the morning today.”

6. Food

English	Kanji	Hiragana/Katakana	Reading
meat	肉	にく	niku
vegetable	野菜	やさい	yasai
fruit	果物	くだもの	kudamono
fish	魚	さかな	sakana
egg	卵	たまご	tamago
milk	牛乳	ぎゅうにゅう	gyūnyū
rice	米	こめ	kome
cooked rice / meal	ご飯	ごはん	gohan
noodle	麺	めん	men

Examples:

• 私は肉と卵を食べません。
  Watashi wa niku to tamago o tabemasen.
  “I don’t eat meat or eggs.”

• 彼は牛乳のアレルギーがあります。
  Kare wa gyūnyū no arerugī ga arimasu.
  “He is allergic to milk.”

• 日本の主食はお米です。
  Nihon no shushoku wa o-kome desu.
  “The staple food in Japan is rice.”

To learn even more Japanese nouns for beginners, please check out Guide to the Top 100+ Japanese Nouns.

日本の平均的な家族は、両親と子供2人です。
Nihon no heikinteki na kazoku wa, ryōshin to kodomo futari desu.
“The average Japanese family has parents and two children.”

4. Verbs – 動詞 (Dōshi)

Verbs are used with nouns to form a complete thought. Learning the most common Japanese verbs will help you communicate more effectively with native speakers and provide a solid vocabulary base to build on. 

Daily Activities

English	Kanji	Hiragana	Reading
wake up / get up	起きる	おきる	okiru
sleep	寝る	ねる	neru
see / watch / look	見る	みる	miru
hear / listen	聞く	きく	kiku
say	言う	いう	iu
eat	食べる	たべる	taberu
drink	飲む	のむ	nomu
go	行く	いく	iku
come	来る	くる	kuru
walk	歩く	あるく	aruku
run	走る	はしる	hashiru
enter	入る	はいる	hairu
go out / come out	出る	でる	deru
push	押す	おす	osu
pull	引く	ひく	hiku

English	Kanji	Hiragana	Reading
change	変える	かえる	kaeru
read	読む	よむ	yomu
write	書く	かく	kaku
do	ー	する	suru
work	仕事する	しごとする	shigoto suru
study	勉強する	べんきょうする	benkyō suru
drive	運転する	うんてんする	unten suru
cook	料理する	りょうりする	ryōri suru
stand	立つ	たつ	tatsu
sit	座る	すわる	suwaru
get on	乗る	のる	noru
get off	降りる	おりる	oriru

Examples:

• 私は甘いものを食べるのが好きです。
  Watashi wa amai mono o taberu no ga suki desu.
  “I like to eat sweets.”

• 何度も言うように、どこに行くか決まったら教えて。
  Nando mo iu yō ni, doko ni iku ka kimattara oshiete.
  “As I’ve said many times, let me know when you decide where to go.”

• このボタンを押して降りてください。
  Kono botan o oshite orite kudasai.
  “Please push this button to get off.”

Other Common Verbs

English	Kanji	Hiragana	Reading
have / hold	持つ	もつ	motsu
give	ー	あげる	ageru
take	取る	とる	toru
make	作る	つくる	tsukuru
let	ー	させる	saseru
think	思う	おもう	omou
meet	会う	あう	au
find	見つける	みつける	mitsukeru
lose	失くす	なくす	nakusu
wait	待つ	まつ	matsu
start / begin	始める	はじめる	hajimeru
finish	終える	おえる	oeru
be / exist (living thing)	居る	いる	iru
be / exist (non-living thing)	在る	ある	aru
laugh / smile	笑う	わらう	warau
get angry	怒る	おこる	okoru
become sad	悲しむ	かなしむ	kanashimu
enjoy	楽しむ	たのしむ	tanoshimu
love	愛する	あいする	aisuru
forget	忘れる	わすれる	wasureru
apologize	謝る	あやまる	ayamaru
rest	休む	やすむ	yasumu

Examples:

• 私が失くした財布を弟が見つけた。
  Watashi ga nakushita saifu o otōto ga mitsuketa.
  “My younger brother found the wallet that I lost.”

• 彼は両親を悲しませないために大学へ行く。
  Kare wa ryōshin o kanashimasenai tame ni daigaku e iku.
  “He goes to university in order not to make his parents sad.”

• 何があっても笑うことと愛することを忘れないでください。
  Nani ga atte mo warau koto to aisuru koto o wasurenaide kudasai.
  “No matter what happens, please do not forget to smile and love.”

To learn more about Japanese verbs, please check out The 100+ Most Common Japanese Verbs and Japanese Tenses: Simple Yet Unique.

カラオケで楽しむ 
Karaoke de tanoshimu
“Enjoy at karaoke”

5. Adjectives – 形容詞 (Keiyōshi)

As you know, adjectives are used to describe nouns. Learning the most common Japanese words for describing things will allow you to add spice to your conversations and flair to your writing, so pay close attention! 

Describing Objects

English	Kanji	Hiragana	Reading
big / large	大きい	おおきい	ōkii
small / little	小さい	ちいさい	chiisai
long	長い	ながい	nagai
short	短い	みじかい	mijikai
round	丸い	まるい	marui
square	四角い	しかくい	shikakui
hard / stiff	固い	かたい	katai
soft / flexible	柔らかい	やわらかい	yawarakai
hot*	熱い	あつい	atsui
cold (to the touch)**	冷たい	つめたい	tsumetai

* “hot” is 暑い (atsui) when referring to the weather.
** “cold” is 寒い (samui) when referring to the weather.

Examples:

• 熱いお茶と冷たいジュース、どちらが好きですか。
  Atsui o-cha to tsumetai jūsu, dochira ga suki desu ka.
  “Which do you prefer, hot tea or cold juice?”

• このパンは思ったよりも固い。
  Kono pan wa omotta yori mo katai.
  “This bread is harder than I thought.”

• 私は次のバスが来るまで長い時間待ちました。
  Watashi wa tsugi no basu ga kuru made nagai jikan machimashita.
  “I waited a long time until the next bus arrived.”

Describing People and Emotions

English	Kanji	Hiragana	Reading
tall / high	高い	たかい	takai
short / low	低い	ひくい	hikui
thin / skinny / slim	痩せた	やせた	yaseta
fat	太った	ふとった	futotta
cute / pretty	可愛い	かわいい	kawaii
beautiful	美しい	うつくしい	utsukushii
handsome / cool	格好良い	かっこいい	kakkoii
kind / gentle	優しい	やさしい	yasashii
difficult	難しい	むずかしい	muzukashii
scary	怖い	こわい	kowai
fun / interesting	面白い	おもしろい	omoshiroi
happy	嬉しい	うれしい	ureshii
sad	悲しい	かなしい	kanashii
fun / enjoyable	楽しい	たのしい	tanoshii
sleepy	眠い	ねむい	nemui

Examples:

• 私は背が低いが、兄は背が高い。
  Watashi wa se ga hikui ga, ani wa se ga takai.
  “I’m short but my brother is tall.”

• 彼女は可愛いのに難しい性格です。
  Kanojo wa kawaii noni muzukashii seikaku desu.
  “She is pretty but has a difficult personality.”

• 怖い映画は嫌いです。
  Kowai eiga wa kirai desu.
  “I don’t like scary movies.”

Describing Weather

Technically, there is no one-word adjective to describe the weather in Japanese; weather is usually described using a weather noun and a particle, which together function like an adjective. 

English	Kanji	Hiragana	Reading
sunny	晴れの	はれの	hare no
rainy	雨の	あめの	ame no
cloudy	曇りの	くもりの	kumori no
windy	風の(ある/強い)	かぜの(ある/つよい）	kaze no aru / tsuyoi
snowy	雪の	ゆきの	yuki no

Examples:

•  風の強い日はよく電車が止まる。
  Kaze no tsuyoi hi wa yoku densha ga tomaru.
  “Trains often stop on windy days.”

• 雨の日は学校に行きたくない気分になります。
  Ame no hi wa gakkō ni ikitakunai kibun ni narimasu.
  “I feel like I don’t want to go to school on a rainy day.”

• 秋は晴れの日が多いです。
  Aki wa hare no hi ga ōi desu.
  “There are many sunny days in autumn.”

To learn more about Japanese adjectives, please check out our article Learn the Top 100 Essential Japanese Adjectives and -I vs. -NA Adjectives in Japanese.

晴れの日は楽しい 
hare no hi wa tanoshii
“sunny days are fun”

6. Conjunctions – 接続詞 (Setsuzokushi)

English	Kanji	Hiragana	Reading
and / then	ー	そして	soshite
because / therefore / thus	ー	だから	dakara
but	ー	だが	daga
however / on the contrary	ー	ところが	tokoroga
also	ー	また	mata
or	又は	または	matawa
by the way	ー	ところで	tokorode
moreover / furthermore	ー	さらに	sarani
for example	例えば	たとえば	tatoeba

Examples:

• 彼は学校へ行き、そして試験を受けた。
  “He went to school, and took an exam.”
  Kare wa gakkō e iki, soshite shiken o uketa.

• 朝はとても寒かった。ところが、午後はとても暑くなった。
  Asa wa totemo samukatta. Tokoroga, gogo wa totemo atsuku natta.
  “It was very cold in the morning. However, it became very hot in the afternoon.”

• お寿司またはラーメンを食べたいです。
  O-sushi matawa rāmen o tabetai desu.
  “I want to eat Sushi or Rāmen.”

For more information about Japanese conjunctions, please see Japanese Conjunctions: Learn Japanese Linking Words.

7. Other – その他 (Sonota)

Particles, or 助詞 (joshi), play a crucial role in Japanese grammar. Japanese particles are postpositional and they’re placed after nouns, verbs, and adjectives. In the table below are the most common beginner-level particles, as well as the basic predicates.

English	Hiragana	Reading
Case marker: topic, theme, and subject	は *	wa
Case marker: topic, theme, and subject (emphasizing)	が	ga
too	も	mo
of	の	no
in / at / to	に	ni
by	で	de
a predicate that is placed at the end of a sentence (present tense / casual)	だ	da
a predicate that is placed at the end of a sentence (present tense / polite)	です	desu
a predicate that is placed at the end of a sentence(past tense / casual)	だった	datta
a predicate that is placed at the end of a sentence(past tense / polite)	でした	deshita

* As a case marker particle, Hiragana “は” is read as “wa” instead of “ha.“

Examples:

• 彼も学生でした。
  Kare mo gakusei deshita.
  “He was a student, too.”

• 荷物は11月の第１週目に届きました。
  Nimotsu wa jū-ichi-gatsu no dai isshū-me ni todokimashita.
  “The package arrived in the first week of November.”

• 彼女は今学校にいます。
  Kanojo wa ima gakkō ni imasu.
  “She is at school now.”

Feeling a bit overwhelmed at this point? To learn more about the Japanese language in a simplified manner, please check out An Easy Guide to Japanese Grammar.

Particles play a very important role in Japanese grammar.

8. Conclusion

In this article, we introduced the most common Japanese beginner words, including pronouns, numbers, nouns, verbs, adjectives, conjunctions, and particles. Once you master this list, you’ll be able to understand quite a bit during your daily Japanese conversations in everyday situations!

If you would like to learn even more about the Japanese language, you’ll find more helpful content on JapanesePod101.com. We provide a variety of free lessons designed to help you improve your Japanese language skills. 

If you’re a beginner, the following articles will be quite useful:  

• Japanese Language Overview: All the Facts You Need to Know 
• Japanese Sentence Structure & Word Order
• The 10 Most Useful Japanese Sentence Patterns

And there’s so much more! Learn faster and enjoy studying Japanese at JapanesePod101.com!

Before you go, let us know in the comments if there are Japanese words in any category you still want to know! We’d be glad to help and look forward to hearing from you!