Have you ever tried to use a newly learned Japanese phrase, only to panic when you couldn’t understand your interlocutor’s reply? 

Whether you’re making new Japanese friends or traveling in Japan, knowing how to give questions and answers in Japanese will allow for smoother communication. Learning how to ask Japanese questions will also help you better understand Japanese, and improve your speaking and listening skills. The keys to mastering these skills early on are to speak a lot and practice!  

In this article, we’ll introduce the ten most useful Japanese question & answer patterns. Even if you’re just getting started, you can start having basic conversations with these phrases! Learn how to speak Japanese here at JapanesePod101.com!

First things first, though: How do you form questions in Japanese?

Japanese questions are easy to recognize because the question particle か (ka) always appears at the end (formal / polite form), and questions are asked with a rising tone.

Table of Contents

1. What’s your name?
2. Where are you from?
3. Do you speak Japanese?
4. How long have you been studying Japanese?
5. Have you been to [location]?
6. How is ___?
7. Do you like [country’s] food?
8. What are you doing?
9. What’s wrong?
10. How much is this?
11. How JapanesePod101 Can Help You Learn More Japanese

1. What’s your name?

Question:

• Japanese: (あなたの)名前は何ですか。
• Reading: (Anata no) namae wa nan desu ka.  
• English: “What is (your) name?”

This is one of the most common phrases that’s used when meeting someone new. The Japanese possessive case あなたの (anata no), meaning “your,” can be omitted when the context makes it clear whose name you’re talking about. Especially in casual conversations, the subject and possessive case (noun + possessive particle の) are often omitted; this sounds more natural.

Answer:

(1) Polite

• Japanese: 私の名前は___です。
• Reading: Watashi no namae wa ___ desu. 
• English: “My name is ___.”

This is the most common way to give someone your name. 

(2) Casually Polite

• Japanese: (私は)___です。
• Reading: (Watashi wa) ___ desu. 
• English: “(I) am ___.”

This is another common phrase for giving someone your name. In a casual conversation, you can omit the subject 私は (Watashi wa), meaning “I.”

(3) Very Polite

• Japanese: ___と申します。
• Reading: ___ to mōshimasu. 
• English: “I am ___.” (honorific language – humble expression) 

Japanese uses honorific language, called 敬語 (Keigo), which has various expressions that connote different levels of politeness and respect. 

This phrase is a humble expression that’s used in official occasions where you should speak very politely, or when you’re talking to someone who is very honorable.

Example:

Q: 名前は何ですか。  
Namae wa nan desu ka.
“What is your name?”

A: 私の名前はかおりです。
Watashi no namae wa Kaori desu.
“My name is Kaori.”

Q: あなたの名前は何ですか。(What is your name?) 

A: はじめまして、私はゆりです。(Nice to meet you. I’m Yuri.)

2. Where are you from?

Question:

• Japanese: (あなたの)出身はどこですか。
• Reading: (Anata no) shusshin wa doko desu ka.
• English: “Where are you from?”

This is one of the most popular Japanese questions that foreigners may be asked. あなたの出身はどこですか。literally translates as “Where is your hometown?”

The possessive case あなたの (anata no), meaning “your,” can be omitted in casual situations. In order to ask more politely, use the word どちら (dochira) instead of どこ (doko).

Answer:

(1)

• Japanese: (私は)___出身です。 
• Reading: (Watashi wa) ___ shusshin desu. 
• English: “(I) am from (my origin is) ___.”

This is a typical way to answer the question.

The word 出身 (shusshin) refers to a person’s origin, such as his or her hometown, city, or country. If you’re a foreigner in Japan, you can put your country name in the blank.

The subject 私は (Watashi wa), or “I,” can be omitted in casual situations.

(2)

• Japanese: (私は)___から来ました。 
• Reading: (Watashi wa) ___ kara kimashita. 
• English: “(I) come from ___.”

This is another common way to answer, and once again, the subject can be omitted in casual situations.

Example:

Q: あなたの出身はどこですか。 
Anata no shusshin wa doko desu ka.
“Where are you from?”

A: 私は東京出身です。
Watashi wa Tōkyō shusshin desu.
“I’m from Tokyo.”

3. Do you speak Japanese?

These basic questions and answers in Japanese will be extremely helpful for you while in Japan. 

Question:

(1)

• Japanese: (あなたは) ___を話しますか。
• Reading: (Anata wa) ___ o hanashimasu ka.
• English: “Do you speak ___?”

The subject あなたは (Anata wa), meaning “you,” can be omitted in casual situations.

(2)

• Japanese: (あなたは) ___を話せますか。
• Reading: (Anata wa) o hanasemasu ka.
• English: “Can you speak ___?”

This question sounds similar to the one above, but it indicates “speaking ability” by changing 話します (hanashimasu) into 話せます (hanasemasu).

The subject can be omitted in casual situations.

Language Vocabulary

In Japanese, the name of a language is expressed with the word 語 (-go), meaning “language,” attached after the name of a language or country.

English	Japanese	Reading
English	英語	Eigo
Japanese	日本語	Nihon-go
French	フランス語	Furansu-go
Italian	イタリア語	Itaria-go
German	ドイツ語	Doitsu-go
Spanish	スペイン語	Supein-go
Russian	ロシア語	Roshia-go
Chinese	中国語	Chūgoku-go
Korean	韓国語	Kankoku-go
Thai	タイ語	Tai-go
Vietnamese	ベトナム語	Betonamu-go

Answer:

(1)

• Japanese: 私は___を話します。
• Reading: Watashi wa ___ o hanashimasu.
• English: “I speak ___.”

(2)

• Japanese: 私は___を話せます。 
• Reading: Watashi wa ___ o hanasemasu. 
• English: “I can speak ___.”

(3)

• Japanese: 私は___を話せません。 
• Reading: Watashi wa ___ o hanasemasen. 
• English: “I can’t speak ___.”

This is a negative form you can use to say that you can’t speak the language.

Example:

Q: あなたは日本語を話しますか。  
Anata wa Nihon-go o hanashimasu ka.
“Do you speak Japanese?”

A: はい、私は少し日本語を話します。
Hai, watashi wa sukoshi Nihon-go o hanashimasu.
“Yes, I speak Japanese a little.”

Q: 日本語を話せますか。(Can you speak Japanese?)

A: 私は日本語を話せます。(I can speak Japanese.)

4. How long have you been studying Japanese?

Question:

• Japanese: どのくらい___を勉強していますか。
• Reading: Dono kurai ___ o benkyō shite imasu ka.
• English: “How long have you been studying ___?”

どのくらい (Dono kurai) literally translates as “to what extent,” but in this case, it refers to “how long.”

If you come from abroad and speak a bit of Japanese while in Japan, Japanese people will be very curious and ask you this question.

Answer:

(1)

• Japanese: ___か月です。 
• Reading: ___-kagetsu desu. 
• English: “For ___ month(s).”

If you’ve been learning Japanese for a few months, you can use this phrase to answer. Put the number of months in the blank.

___-kagetsu desu literally means “It’s ___ month(s).”

There’s no difference in expression for singular and plural in Japanese. So whether you’ve been learning for one month or several, the phrase remains the same.

(2)

• Japanese: ___年です。 
• Reading: ___-nen desu. 
• English: “For ___ year(s).”

Use this phrase if you’ve been studying for one or more years.

___-nen desu literally means “It’s ___ year(s).”

Example:

Q: どのくらい日本語を勉強していますか。   
Dono kurai Nihon-go o benkyō shite imasu ka.
“How long have you been studying Japanese?”

A: 1年5か月です。
Ichi-nen go-kagetsu desu.
“For a year and five months.”

5. Have you been to [location]?

Question:

• Japanese: ___に行ったことがありますか。
• Reading: ___ ni itta koto ga arimasu ka.
• English: “Have you been to ___?”

-ことがあります (-koto ga arimasu) is an expression meaning “to have done (something),” and it’s used after the past tense form of a verb. In this case, that would be 行った (itta), meaning “went.” It’s translated as “Have you been to ___?”

You can put the name of any place in the blank.

Answer:

(1)

• Japanese: はい、行ったことがあります。
• Reading: Hai, itta koto ga arimasu.
• English: “Yes, I have been.”

(2)

• Japanese: いいえ、行ったことがありません。 
• Reading: Iie, itta koto ga arimasen.
• English: “No, I have never been.”

This is a negative sentence for answering “no.”

Example:

Q: 皇居に行ったことがありますか。   
Kōkyo ni itta koto ga arimasu ka.
“Have you been to the Imperial Palace?”

A: いいえ、行ったことがありません。
Iie, itta koto ga arimasen.
“No, I have never been.”

Q: 皇居に行ったことがありますか。  (Have you been to the Imperial Palace?)

A: はい、行ったことがあります。  (Yes, I have been.)

6. How is ___?

Question:

• Japanese: ___ はどうですか。 
• Reading: ___ wa dō desu ka.
• English: “How is ___?”

This is a common phrase to ask about the condition, situation, or status of something.

What Can You Ask About?

➢ 調子はどうですか。 (Chōshi wa dō desu ka.) – “How is the condition?”
調子 means “condition,” and in this case, it means “How are you doing?” or “How is it going?”

➢ 勉強はどうですか。 (Benkyō wa dō desu ka.) – “How is studying?”

➢ 仕事の進み具合はどうですか。(Shigoto no susumiguai wa dō desu ka.) – “How is the progress of work?”

Answer:

(1)

• Japanese: 良いです。
• Reading: Ii desu. 
• English: “It’s good.”

うまく行っています (umaku itte imasu), meaning “It’s going good,” is another common expression you can use to say that something’s going well.

(2)

• Japanese: まあまあです。 
• Reading: Mā-mā desu. 
• English: “So-so.”

This phrase is very common, and it’s used to say that something is relatively good.

(3)

• Japanese: あまり良くないです。 
• Reading: Amari yokunai desu.
• English: “It’s not so good.”

You can use this phrase when things aren’t going very well. Japanese people tend to avoid straightforward words like “bad,” even if something is bad; they prefer to use euphemistic expressions.

Example:

Q: 体調はどうですか。 
Taichō wa dō desu ka.
“How is your body condition?” / “How are you feeling?”

A: まあまあです。 
Mā-mā desu.
“So-so.”

Q: 勉強はどうですか。 (How is studying?)

A: うまく行っています。(It’s going good.)

7. Do you like [country’s] food?

Question:

• Japanese: ___ 料理は好きですか。
• Reading: ___ ryōri wa suki desu ka.
• English: “Do you like ___ food?”

To express a country’s food, put the name of the country in the blank and add 料理 (ryōri) after it. 料理 (ryōri) means “cuisine” or “cooking.”

Cuisine Vocabulary:

English	Japanese	Reading
Japanese food	日本料理	Nihon ryōri
Chinese food	中華料理	Chūka ryōri
Korean food	韓国料理	Kankoku ryōri
French food	フランス料理	Furansu ryōri
Italian food	イタリア料理	Itaria ryōri
Spanish food	スペイン料理	Supein ryōri
Indian food	インド料理	Indo ryōri
Thai food	タイ料理	Tai ryōri

Answer:

(1)

• Japanese: はい、好きです。
• Reading: Hai, suki desu. 
• English: “Yes, I like it.”

(2)

• Japanese: まあまあ好きです。 
• Reading: Mā-mā suki desu. 
• English: “I somewhat like it.”

This phrase is a very common way to say that you relatively like something. 

(3)

• Japanese: いいえ、好きではありません。 
• Reading: Iie, suki de wa arimasen.
• English: “No, I don’t like it.”

This is a simple phrase to answer that you don’t like something. However, some Japanese people tend to use more euphemistic expressions to avoid saying “no.”

In such cases, you can also say ___料理は苦手です (___ ryōri wa nigate desu), which means “I’m not good with ___.”

Example:

Q: フランス料理は好きですか。 
Furansu ryōri wa suki desu ka.
“Do you like French food?”

A: はい、好きです。 
Hai, suki desu.
“Yes, I like it.”

8. What are you doing?

Question:

• Japanese: 何をしていますか。
• Reading: Nani o shite imasu ka.
• English: “What (are you) doing?”

There’s also a shorter version you can say: 何してますか。(Nani shite masu ka.) It’s still polite, but it sounds more casual.

This Japanese expression doesn’t have a particular subject. Therefore, if you add a subject, such as 彼女は (kanojo wa) meaning “she” or 彼は (kare wa) meaning “he,” to the beginning of the sentence, it becomes “What is she / he doing?”

Answer:

Answers can vary, but here are some general answers to the question.

(1)

• Japanese: ___ をしています。
• Reading: ___ o shite imasu. 
• English: “(I’m) doing ___.”

To answer the question, put a suitable noun in the blank. Some Japanese nouns belong to a group that allows the noun to turn into a verb when attached with the verb する (suru), meaning “do.“ For example:

演技する (engi suru) = 演技 (engi), meaning “acting” + する (suru), meaning “do” —–> “to act”

This phrase works well with this kind of noun.

This Japanese expression doesn’t have a particular subject, so if you add a subject, such as 彼女は (kanojo wa) meaning “she” or 彼は (kare wa) meaning “he,” to the beginning of the sentence, it becomes: “She / he is doing ___.”

How to Use:

➢ 仕事をしています。(Shigoto o shite imasu.) – “I’m doing work.” = “I’m working.”
➢ 勉強をしています。(Benkyō o shite imasu.) – “I’m doing study.” = “I’m studying.”
➢ 食事をしています。(Shokuji o shite imasu.) – “I’m doing meal.” = “I’m having a meal.”

(2)

• Japanese: ___ています。 
• Reading: ___-te imasu.  
• English: “(I’m) ___ing.”

This is another common phrase for telling someone what you’re doing. You can put any Japanese verb in the blank. The verb must be conjugated in a form that -ている(-te iru) can follow.

How to Use:

➢ 見ています。(Mite imasu.) – “I’m watching/looking.”
➢ 歩いています。(Aruite imasu.) – “I’m walking.”
➢ 食べています。(Tabete imasu.) – “I’m eating.”

Example:

Q: 何をしていますか。  
Nani o shite imasu ka.
“What are you doing?”

A: 映画を見ています。 
Eiga o mite imasu.
“I’m watching a movie.”

Q:何をしていますか。 (What are you doing?)

A: 本を読んでいます。 (I’m reading a book.)

9. What’s wrong?

Question:

• Japanese: どうしましたか。 
• Reading: Dō shimashita ka.
• English: “What’s wrong?” / “What’s the matter?”

A similar phrase is どうかしましたか。(Dō ka shimashita ka.) which means the same thing.

Answer:

Answers can vary, but here are some examples.

(1)

• Japanese: 何でもないです。
• Reading: Nan demo nai desu.
• English: “It’s nothing.” / “There’s nothing wrong.”

何でもない (Nan demo nai) means “nothing.”

(2)

• Japanese: 疲れています。 
• Reading: Tsukarete imasu. 
• English: “I’m tired.”

(3)

• Japanese: 気分が悪いです。 
• Reading: Kibun ga warui desu.
• English: “I don’t feel good.”

This literally translates as “feeling is bad,” but in this case, it means “I don’t feel good/well.”

Example:

Q: どうしましたか。 顔色が悪いですよ。 
Dō shimashita ka. Kaoiro ga warui desu yo.
“What’s wrong? You look pale.”

A: 少し疲れています。 
Sukoshi tsukarete imasu.
“I’m a bit tired.”

10. How much is this?

Question:

• Japanese: これはいくらですか。
• Reading: Kore wa ikura desu ka.
• English: “How much is this?”

This is a must-know phrase if you plan on shopping during your trip to Japan.

Answer:

• Japanese: これは___円です。
• Reading: Kore wa ___-en desu. 
• English: “It’s ¥___.”

The Japanese currency is 円, which is actually pronounced as えん (en). The currency symbol is ¥.

Example:

Q: この本はいくらですか。  
Kono hon wa ikura desu ka.
Kono hon wa ikura desu ka.

A: この本は1000円です。 
Kono hon wa sen-en desu.
“This book is ¥1000.”

For more useful shopping phrases with audio, please check out this lesson on 15 Shopping Phrases: Exchanges, Refunds, and Complaints!

11. How JapanesePod101 Can Help You Learn More Japanese

In this article, we introduced the ten most useful Japanese question & answer patterns. After learning these, you’ll have strong survival Japanese communication skills! 

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

Here are some more lessons with audio about the basics of Japanese:

• Most Common Adjectives
• Most Useful Pronouns
• Top 15 Questions You Should Know for Conversations

For beginners, our lesson on the Top 25 Must-Know Phrases is a must-read! 

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 any Japanese questions and answers you still want to know! We’d be glad to help, and look forward to hearing from you!

Learning a new language is fun, but it requires a lot of effort—studying the complicated grammar rules and memorizing thousands of words. But we have a tip for you! The fastest and easiest way to learn Japanese is to just focus on the most useful and common Japanese sentence patterns and start speaking them!

The most frequently used Japanese sentence patterns are useful for survival communication and day-to-day interactions. When you know the essential sentence patterns in Japanese, you can arrange and create more sentences to express yourself and have conversations. 

In this article, we’ll introduce the ten most useful Japanese sentence patterns, which cover the most basic statements and questions. Boost your Japanese conversation skills here at JapanesePod101.com!

Table of Contents

1. A is B – AはBです
2. Asking Simple Questions: Is A B?　AはBですか。
3. I Want (to)… 　…が欲しいです/…たいです　
4. I Need (to)… 　…が必要です/…(する)必要があります　
5. I like … 　…が好きです
6. Please (do) … ….(して)ください
7. May I / Can I (Do) …? ….(しても）いいですか。/a>
8. What is …? ….は何ですか？　
9. When is …? ….はいつですか？　
10. Where is …? ….はどこですか？　
11. Conclusion: How JapanesePod101.com Can Help You Learn More Japanese

With the top 10 Japanese sentence patterns, you can easily have simple conversations!

1. A is B – AはBです

“A is B“ = A (wa) B (desu) or  A は B です

This is the simplest Japanese sentence construction for describing something. A is usually a noun and B can be a noun or an adjective.

です (desu) is the basic predicate that represents politeness; it’s placed at the end of a Japanese sentence. 

The Japanese sentence structure is SOV (Subject + Object + Verb), while English has an SVO structure (Subject + Verb + Object).

Examples:

• 私は学生です。(Watashi wa gakusei desu.) — “I am a student.”

• 彼は私の友達です。(Kare wa watashi no tomodachi desu.) — “He is my friend.”

• このご飯は美味しいです。(Kono gohan wa oishii desu.) — “This meal is delicious.”

• あのレストランは海鮮料理で有名です。(Ano resutoran wa kaisen ryōri de yūmei desu.) — “That restaurant is famous for seafood.”

• 今年の夏は去年より暑いです。 (Kotoshi no natsu wa kyonen yori atsui desu.) — “This summer is hotter than the one last year.”

For more about Japanese nouns and adjectives, please check out our pages on the 50 Most Common Nouns and 50 Most Common Adjectives.

2. Asking Simple Questions:  Is A B?　AはBですか。

“Is A B ?“ = A (wa) B (desu ka) or  A は B ですか。

Here’s the most common question sentence pattern in Japanese. 

To make a Japanese interrogative sentence, simply add the question marker か (ka) to the end of an affirmative sentence and pronounce it with a rising intonation. 

Examples:

• あなたは学生ですか。(Anata wa gakusei desu ka.) — “Are you a student?”

• 彼らはあなたの友達ですか。(Kare-ra wa anata no tomodachi desu ka.) — “Are they your friends?”

• その本は難しいですか。(Sono hon wa muzukashii desu ka.) — “Is that book difficult?”

• 今日の天気は雨のち曇りですか。(Kyō no tenki wa ame nochi kumori desu ka.) — “Is the weather today cloudy after rain?”

• 駅の隣のビルは銀行ですか。(Eki no tonari no biru wa ginkō desu ka.) — “Is the building next to the station a bank?”

Ashita wa hare desu ka. = “Is tomorrow sunny?”

3. I Want (to)… 　…が欲しいです/…たいです　

“I want  …“ = [noun] …が欲しい です  (ga hoshii desu)

“I want to …“ =  [verb] …たい です  (-tai desu)

These are the simplest Japanese sentence patterns for expressing “want.”

These Japanese phrases differ depending on whether you want something [noun] or want to do something [verb], as indicated above.

Keep in mind that the subject can be omitted from a Japanese sentence when it’s clear from the context who the subject is.

Japanese verb conjugation is NOT affected by the person (I, you, he, she, we, they), number (singular/plural), or gender (female/male) of the subject.

Examples using a noun:

• （私は）水が欲しいです。([Watashi wa] mizu ga hoshii desu.) — “I want water.”

• （私は）新しい車が欲しいです。([Watashi wa] atarashii kuruma ga hoshii desu.) —  “I want a new car.”

• 誕生日にダイヤの指輪が欲しいです。(Tanjōbi ni daiya no yubiwa ga hoshii desu.) — “I want a diamond ring for (my) birthday.”

Examples using a verb:

• （私は）今日は和食が食べたいです。([Watashi wa] kyō wa washoku ga tabetai desu.) — “I want to eat Japanese food today.”

• 来年は沖縄に行きたいです。(Rainen wa Okinawa ni ikitai desu.) — “I want to go to Okinawa next year.”

• 太ったので運動をしたいです。(Futotta node undō o shitai desu.) — “I want to do exercises because I got fat.”

For more information about Japanese verbs, please check out our Japanese Verbs and 50 Most Common Verbs pages.

4. I Need (to)… 　…が必要です/…(する)必要があります　

“I need …“ = [noun] …が必要です (ga hitsuyō desu)

“I need to …“ = [verb] …(する)必要があります (hitsuyō ga arimasu)

These are the simplest Japanese sentence patterns for expressing “need.”

As you can see above, the Japanese sentence structure changes depending on whether you need something [noun] or need to do something [verb].

Examples using a noun:

• （私は）あなたが必要です。([Watashi wa] anata ga hitsuyō desu.) — “I need you.”

• その車は電気の充電が必要です。(Sono kuruma wa denki no jūden ga hitsuyō desu.) — “That car needs to charge with electricity.”

• この店での支払いはクレジットカードが必要です。(Kono mise de no shiharai wa kurejitto kādo ga hitsuyō desu.) — “You need a credit card to pay at this store.”

Examples using a verb:

•  週末に働く必要があります。(Shūmatsu ni hataraku hitsuyō ga arimasu.) — “I need to work on the weekend.”

• あなたは病院に行く必要があります。(Anata wa byōin ni iku hitsuyō ga arimasu.) — “You need to go to a hospital.”

• 学生は卒業試験に合格する必要があります。(Gakusei wa sotsugyō shiken ni gōkaku suru hitsuyō ga arimasu.) — “The students need to pass the graduation exam.”

Watashi wa shiken ni gōkaku suru hitsuyō ga arimasu. = “I need to pass the exam.”

5. I like … 　…が好きです　

“I like …“ = [noun] …が好きです (ga suki desu)

This is one of the easiest and most useful sentences in Japanese. You can use it the same way you would in English when you’re fond of something or someone.

Examples:

• 私は動物が好きです。(Watashi wa dōbutsu ga suki desu.) — “I like animals.”

• 彼は食べることが好きです。(Kare wa taberu koto ga suki desu.) — “He likes eating.”

• 私の猫は昼寝が好きです。(Watashi no neko wa hirune ga suki desu.) — “My cat likes taking a nap.”

• かおりは背が高い男性が好きです。(Kaori wa se ga takai dansei ga suki desu.) — “Kaori likes tall guys.”

• 私は山より海が好きです。(Watashi wa yama yori umi ga suki desu.) — “I like the sea more than the mountains.”

6. Please (do) …   ….(して)ください　

“Please (do) …” = … [verb]  …ください (kudasai)

This is a simple sentence pattern in Japanese for asking someone to do something; here, the word ください(Kusadai) is used with a verb. 

Also note that when a noun and the postpositional particle を (o) come before kudasai, it becomes a polite way of saying “Please give (me) [noun].”  For example: りんごを一つください (ringo o hitotsu kudasai), meaning “Please give me one apple.”

Examples:

•  静かにしてください。(Shizuka ni shite kudasai.) — “Please be quiet.”

• お座りください。(O-suwari kudasai.) — “Please be seated/sit down.”

• そのペンを取ってください。(Sono pen o totte kudasai.) — “Please take the pen.”

• 食事の前に手を洗ってください。(Shokuji no mae ni te o aratte kudasai.) — “Please wash your hands before the meal.”

• 次の電車が来るまでしばらくお待ちください。(Tsugi no densha ga kuru made shibaraku o-machi kudasai.) — “Please wait some time until the next train comes.”

7. May I / Can I (Do) …?   ….(しても）いいですか。

“May I / Can I (do) …?”  = … [verb] …(しても）いいですか。(mo ii desu ka.)  

This is a very common Japanese language sentence structure to ask for permission in a polite way. It literally means: “(Is it/Am I) good to (do)…?”

Examples:

• 今から行ってもいいですか。(Ima kara itte mo ii desu ka.) — “Can I go now?”

• 水を飲んでもいいですか。(Mizu o nonde mo ii desu ka.) — “Can I drink water?”

• 明日提出してもいいですか。(Ashita teishutsu shite mo ii desu ka.) — “May I submit it tomorrow?”

• ここで楽器を演奏してもいいですか。(Koko de gakki o ensō shite mo ii desu ka.) — “Can I play instruments here?”

• この切符でこの電車に乗ってもいいですか。(Kono kippu de kono densha ni notte mo ii desu ka.) — “Can I take this train with this ticket?”

Kono kippu de kono densha ni notte mo ii desu ka. = “Can I take this train with this ticket?”

8. What is …?   ….は何ですか？　

“What is …?” = … [noun] ….は何ですか？(wa nan desu ka?) 

This is a very simple phrase to ask for information in a polite way.  

Examples:

• これは何ですか。(Kore wa nan desu ka.) — “What is this?”

• あなたの名前は何ですか。(Anata no namae wa nan desu ka.) — “What is your name?”

• 今年の和暦は何ですか。(Kotoshi no wareki wa nan desu ka.) — “What is the year of the Japanese era this year?”

• この下着の素材は何ですか。(Kono shitagi no sozai wa nan desu ka.) — “What is the material of this underwear?”

• あなたの一番好きな映画は何ですか。(Anata no ichi-ban suki na eiga wa nan desu ka.) — “What is your favorite movie?”

Anata no ichi-ban suki na eiga wa nan desu ka. = “What is your favorite movie?”

9. When is …?   ….はいつですか？　

“When is …?” = … [noun] ….はいつですか。(wa itsu desu ka.)

This is a common Japanese sentence pattern to ask about time in a polite way.  

Examples:

• 次の会議はいつですか。(Tsugi no kaigi wa itsu desu ka.) — “When is the next meeting?”

• あなたの誕生日はいつですか。(Anata no tanjōbi wa itsu desu ka.) — “When is your birthday?”

• 桜の満開時期はいつですか。(Sakura no mankai jiki wa itsu desu ka.) — “When is the best season of full-bloom cherry blossoms?”

• 初めて海外旅行したのはいつですか。(Hajimete kaigai ryokō shita no wa itsu desu ka.) — “When was the first time you traveled overseas?”

• 大学の卒業式はいつですか。(Daigaku no sotsugyōshiki wa itsu desu ka.) — “When is the graduation ceremony of the university?”

Sotsugyōshiki wa itsu desu ka. = “When is the graduation ceremony?”

10. Where is …?   ….はどこですか？　

“Where is …?” = … [noun] ….はどこですか。(wa doko desu ka.)

This is a common Japanese sentence pattern for asking about location in a polite way.  

Examples:

• 明日の会議はどこですか。(Ashita no kaigi wa doko desu ka.) — “Where is the meeting tomorrow?”

•  あなたの地元はどこですか。(Anata no jimoto wa doko desu ka.) — “Where is your hometown?”

• 渋谷駅はどこですか。(Shibuya Eki wa doko desu ka.) — “Where is Shibuya Station?”

• ここから一番近いトイレはどこですか。(Koko kara ichi-ban chikai toire wa doko desu ka.) — “Where is the nearest toilet from here?”

• 東海道新幹線の乗り場はどこですか。(Tōkaidō Shinkansen no noriba wa doko desu ka.) — “Where is the platform of Tōkaidō Shinkansen?”

For more information (with audio) about the most useful Japanese sentence patterns, please check out the Top 10 Sentence Patterns for Beginners lesson on our website.

11. Conclusion: How JapanesePod101.com Can Help You Learn More Japanese

In this article, we introduced the ten most useful sentence patterns in Japanese. Once you learn these Japanese sentence patterns, you can create many more variations for better communication! The good thing about Japanese is that verbs don’t conjugate in terms of the number (singular/plural), person (I, you, he, she, we, they, it), or gender of the subject/object! So don’t hesitate to practice speaking today!

If you would like to learn more about the Japanese language, you’ll find much more helpful content on JapanesePod101.com. We provide a variety of free lessons to help you improve your Japanese language skills. Here’s some more information about Japanese basics, with audio to enrich your conversations:

• Most Common Adjectives
• Most Useful Pronouns
• Must-Know Adverbs and Phrases for Connecting Thoughts
• Learn the Top 25 Must-Know Phrases! (For Beginners)

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 any Japanese sentence patterns you still want to know! We’d be glad to help, and look forward to hearing from you!

Posted by JapanesePod101.com in Japanese Grammar, Japanese Language, Japanese Lessons, Japanese Online, Japanese Phrases, Japanese Words, Learn Japanese, Learn Japanese, Speak Japanese, Team JapanesePod101, Team JapanesePod101 | Comment

October 19, 2020

Top 100 Common Japanese Adverbs

It’s impossible to explain something in detail without using adverbs. These are words which can efficiently express time, frequency, place, manner, degree, and more. When you want to boost your language skills, learning adverbs is important and inevitable.

Just like those in other languages, there are a variety of Japanese adverbs and they’re frequently used in sentences. Japanese adverbs are quite similar to English adverbs, though there are some differences to keep in mind. For example, Japanese adverbs are classified in categories according to their characteristics, and they’re placed in different positions in a sentence depending on how they’re used. But don’t worry! The rules are quite simple, and you’ll get the hang of them over time! 

In this article, JapanesePod101.com will provide you with:

• A Japanese adverbs list containing 100 useful Japanese adverbs
• Explanations of how to use Japanese adverbs
• Examples of Japanese adverbs in sentences

Let’s get started!

Table of Contents

1. The Adverb in Japanese: An Introduction
2. Japanese Adverbs List
3. How Do You Use Adverbs in Japanese Sentences?
4. Conclusion: How JapanesePod101 Can Help You Learn More Japanese

When you learn Japanese adverbs, your conversation will be colorful and rich in expression.

1. The Adverb in Japanese: An Introduction

1 – What is the Function of Japanese Adverbs?

An adverb, or 副詞 (fukushi), is not an independent class of word, as it’s always used with other words. Adverbs are similar to adjectives in that they both modify words. However, adverbs modify verbs, or 動詞 (dōshi), adjectives, or 形容詞 (keiyōshi), and other adverbs, while adjectives only modify nouns, called 名詞 (meishi).

Japanese adverbs, unlike those in English, can appear anywhere in a sentence when they’re used before verbs. 

2 – The Classifications and Types of Japanese Adverbs 

1. Derived from Adjectives

Most adverbs are linked to adjectives that share similar meanings. By changing a part of an adjective, we can turn it into an adverb. You can also see this rule applied in English. For example: “first” / “kind” / “happy” (Adjectives)  >>> “firstly” / “kindly” / “happily” (Adverbs).

In most cases, it’s easy to change Japanese adjectives to adverbs. There are two types of conjugations here.

• Modification of Japanese い (i) Adjectives

An い (i) adjective always ends with い (i).

By changing the final い (i) to く (ku), an adjective will turn into an adverb.

Example:

い (i) Adjective [ Stem + い (i) ]	Adverb [ Stem + く(ku) ]
悲しい kanashii   “sad”	悲しく kanashiku   “sadly”
高い takai   “high”	高く takaku   “highly”
丸い marui  “round”	丸く maruku  “roundly”

• Modification of Japanese な (na) Adjectives

A な (na) adjective always ends with な (na) when it comes before a noun.

Changing な (na) to に (ni) will convert a な (na) adjective into an adverb.

Example:

Adjective [ Stem + な (na) ]	Adverb [ Stem + に (ni) ]
親切な shinsetsu na  “kind”	親切に shinsetsu ni    “kindly”
静かな shizuka na   “quiet”	静かに shizuka ni   “quietly”
簡単な kantan na    “easy”	簡単に kantan ni   “easily”

For more information about Japanese adjectives, please visit 50 Most Common Adjectives.

• Other Non-Adjectival Adverbs

There are also Japanese adverbs which are not related to adjectives. Such adverbs do not have a particular pattern to identify them with, so you have to remember each vocabulary term. The good thing is that they’re used in the same way as other adverbs.

Non-adjectival adverbs are often seen among adverbs of frequency, time, and place, which we’ll explain in the following sections.

2. Classification of Japanese Adverbs

Japanese adverbs are classified into different categories, including Time, Frequency, Place, Manner, and Degree. Although it’s not so important to know which adverbs belong to what category, it is useful if you know them for more accurate usage.

Now let’s see various Japanese adverbs from each category! 

Chirashizushi wa kantan ni tsukuremasu. = “You can make Chirashizushi easily.”

簡単に (Kantan ni) is an adverb.

2. Japanese Adverbs List

1 – Japanese Adverbs of Time

Japanese time adverbs indicate when something happens, has happened, or will happen.

	Meaning	Reading	Kanji	Hiragana
1	“today”	kyō	今日	きょう
2	“yesterday”	kinō	昨日	きのう
3	“tomorrow”	ashita	明日	あした
4	“this morning”	kesa	今朝	けさ
5	“tonight”	kon’ya	今夜	こんや
6	“now”	ima	今	いま
7	“later”	ato de	後で	あとで
8	“soon”	sugu ni	ー	すぐに
9	“right now”	ima sugu ni	今すぐに	いますぐに
10	“previously”	mae ni	前に	まえに
11	“recently”	saikin	最近	さいきん
12	“someday”	itsuka	ー	いつか
13	“yet”	mada	ー	まだ

2 – Japanese Adverbs of Frequency

Adverbs of frequency are used when describing how often an action takes place.

	Meaning	Reading	Kanji	Hiragana
14	“always”	itsumo	ー	いつも
15	“sometimes”	tokidoki	時々	ときどき
16	“often”	yoku	ー	よく
17	“rarely”	tama ni	ー	たまに
18	“seldom”	metta ni	ー	めったに *used only with negative forms
19	“probably”	tabun	多分	たぶん
20	“likely”	osoraku	ー	おそらく
21	“normally”	tsūjō	通常	つうじょう
22	“(not) at all”	zenzen (-nai) *	全然 (ーない) *	ぜんぜん(ーない) *
23	“never”	kesshite  (-nai) *	決して (ーない) *	けっして(ーない) *
24	“definitely,” “inevitably”	kanarazu	必ず	かならず
25	“daily,” “every day”	mainichi	毎日	まいにち
26	“weekly,” “every week”	maishū	毎週	まいしゅう
27	“monthly,” “every month”	maitsuki	毎月	まいつき
28	“annually,” “every year”	maitoshi	毎年	まいとし
29	“every time”	maikai	毎回	まいかい

* 全然 (ーない) [zenzen (-nai)]  and 決して (ーない) [kesshite (-nai)] are the negative forms which are usually used together with -ない (-nai).

For example:

• 私は全然気にしない。
  Watashi wa zenzen ki ni shinai.　 
  “I don’t care at all.”

• 彼女は決して肉を食べない。
  Kanojo wa kesshite niku o tabenai. 
  “She never eats meat.”

Kanojo wa kesshite niku o tabenai. = “She never eats meat.”

決して (kesshite), meaning “never,” is an adverb.

3 – Japanese Adverbs of Place

Adverbs of place indicate where an action takes place.

	Meaning	Reading	Kanji	Hiragana
30	“here”	koko	ー	ここ
31	“there”	soko	ー	そこ
32	“there,” “over there”	asoko	ー	あそこ
33	“over here,” “this way”	kotchi	ー	こっち
34	“over there,” “that way”	atchi	ー	あっち
35	“somewhere”	doko ka	ー	どこか
36	“anywhere”	doko demo	ー	どこでも
37	“inside”	naka de	中で	なかで
38	“outside”	soto de	外で	そとで
39	“away”	hanarete	離れて	はなれて
40	“near,” “close by”	chikaku ni	近くに	ちかくに
41	“(at) home”	ie de	家で	いえで

Watashi no kaisha chikaku ni Tōkyō Tawā ga arimasu. 

= “There is Tokyo Tower close to my company.”   

近くに (chikaku ni), meaning “close,” is an adverb.

4 – Japanese Adverbs of Manner

Adverbs of manner describe the condition of a thing or how an action is performed. Adverbs which are related to adjectives mostly fall in this category. Keep in mind that some Japanese adverbs don’t have direct translations in English.

	Meaning	Reading	Kanji	Hiragana
42	“slowly”	yukkuri	ー	はやく
43	“fast”	hayaku	早く/速く	すばやく
44	“quickly”	subayaku	素早く	おそく
45	“late,” “tardily”	osoku	遅く
46	“quietly”	shizuka ni	静かに	しずかに
47	“enjoyably,” “merrily”	tanoshiku	楽しく	たのしく
48	“interestingly,” “amusingly”	omoshiroku	面白く	おもしろく
49	“noisily,” “loudly”	urusaku	ー	うるさく
50	“simultaneously,” “at the same time”	ichi-do ni	一度に	いちどに
51	“easily”	kantan ni	簡単に	かんたんに
52	“well”	yoku	良く	よく
53	“badly”	waruku	悪く	わるく
54	“together”	issho ni	一緒に	いっしょに
55	“alone”	hitori de	一人で	ひとりで
56	“by chance,” “accidentally”	gūzen ni	偶然に	ぐうぜんに
57	“suddenly”	kyū ni	急に	きゅうに
58	“largely,” “greatly”	ōkiku	大きく	おおきく
59	“small”	chiisaku	小さく	ちいさく
60	“newly”	atarashiku	新しく	あたらしく
61	“old”	furuku	古く	ふるく
62	“beautifully,” “neatly,” “cleanly”	kirei ni	綺麗に	きれいに
63	“dirtily”	kitanaku	汚く	きたなく
64	“kindly”	shinsetsu ni	親切に	しんせつに
65	“cheerily,” “lively”	genki ni	元気に	げんきに
66	“conveniently”	benri ni	便利に	べんりに
67	“hotly”	astuku	暑く	あつく
68	“coldly”	samuku	寒く	さむく
69	“difficultly”	muzukashiku	難しく	むずかしく
70	“gently”	yasashiku	優しく	やさしく
71	“highly,” “high,” “expensive”	takaku	高く	たかく
72	“low”	hikuku	低く	ひくく
73	“cheaply,” “inexpensively”	yasuku	安く	やすく
74	“getting along well with”	nakayoku	仲良く	なかよく
75	“boring”	tsumaranaku	ー	つまらなく
76	“brightly”	akaruku	明るく	あかるく
77	“dark,” “darkly”	kuraku	暗く	くらく
78	“hard,” “fastly,” “firmly”	kataku	硬く・固く	かたく
79	“softly”	yawarakaku	柔らかく	やわらかく
80	“red”*	akaku*	赤く	あかく
81	“white”*	shiroku*	白く	しろく
82	“blue”*	aoku*	青く	あおく
83	“yellow”*	kiiroku*	黄色く	きいろく
84	“brown”*	chairoku*	茶色く	ちゃいろく
85	“black”*	kuroku*	黒く	くろく

*There are adverbs for colors in Japanese, but there are no equivalent words in English for adverbs of color.

In Japanese, these color adverbs are transformed from い (i) adjectives.

• 赤い  (akai)  >> 赤く (akaku)
• 白い (shiroi) >> 白く (shiroku)
• 黒い (kuroi)  >> 黒く (kuroku)

Here’s an example:

私は髪を黒く染めた。
Watasih wa kami o kuroku someta.　
“I dyed my hair black.”

Hitori de konsāto e itta. = “I went to the concert alone.”

一人で (hitori de), “meaning alone,” is an adverb.

5 – Japanese Adverbs of Degree

Adverbs of degree indicate the degree or extent of a thing, situation, or action.

	Meaning	Reading	Kanji	Hiragana
86	“very”	totemo	ー	とても
87	“quite”	kanari	ー	かなり
88	“pretty,” “way”	sōtō ni	相当に	そうとうに
89	“terribly”	hidoku	酷く	ひどく
90	“plenty,” “much,” “many”	takusan	沢山	たくさん
91	“slightly,” “barely,” “only”	wazukani	僅かに	わずかに
92	“largely,” “nearly,” “mostly”	hotondo	ー	ほとんど
93	“about,” “roughly,” “more or less”	hobo	ー	ほぼ
94	“a little,” “a bit,” “a few”	sukoshi	少し	すこし
95	“truly,” “really”	hontō ni	本当に	ほんとうに
96	“strongly”	tsuyoku	強く	つよく
97	“weakly”	yowaku	弱く	よわく
98	“much,” “greatly,” “highly”	daibu	大分	だいぶ
99	“mostly”	daitai	大体	だいたい
100	“just,” “right,” “precisely,” “exactly”	chōdo	丁度	ちょうど

Watashi wa kazoku ga totemo daisuki desu. = “I like my family very much.” 

とても (totemo), meaning “very,” is an adverb.

3. How Do You Use Adverbs in Japanese Sentences?

In terms of Japanese adverb placement, most of them can appear anywhere in a sentence, but they should come before the verb.

Let’s take a look at some examples of Japanese adverbs in sentences.

• 私は後で宿題をする。
  Watashi wa ato de shukudai o suru.  
  “I will do my homework later.”

後で (ato de), meaning “later,” is an adverb. In Japanese, this can also be placed at the front of the sentence or in front of the verb する (suru), meaning “to do.” 

•  時々彼は参拝に行きます。
  Tokidoki kare wa sanpai ni ikimasu.  
  “He sometimes goes to visit a shrine.”

時々 (tokidoki) is an adverb, and it can also appear in front of 参拝に (sanpai ni), meaning “to visit a shrine,” or in front of 行きます (ikimasu), meaning “goes.”

• 近くに本屋はありますか。
  Chikaku ni hon’ya wa arimasu ka. 　
  “Is there a bookstore nearby?” 

近くに (chikaku ni), meaning “nearby,” is an adverb. It can be placed in front of ありますか (arimasu ka), meaning “is there.”

• 台風は素早く過ぎ去った。
  Taifū wa subayaku sugisatta. 
  “The typhoon passed by quickly.”

素早く (subayaku), meaning “quickly,” is an adverb, and it can also appear at the front of the sentence.

• 本当に彼を信じますか。
  Hontō ni kare o shinjimasu ka.  
  “Do you really believe him?”

本当に (hontō ni), meaning “really,” is an adverb. It can also be put in front of 信じます (shinjimasu), meaning “believe.”

4. Conclusion: How JapanesePod101 Can Help You Learn More Japanese

In this article, we introduced you to Japanese adverbs. There are many adverbs in the Japanese language, and they’re just as rich in expression as adjectives. However, if you already know a lot of Japanese adjectives, then don’t worry! You can easily learn many adjective-transformed adverbs! Or vice-versa; once you learn Japanese adverbs, you can also learn the adjectives much easier. 

If you would like to learn more about the Japanese language and other useful Japanese phrases for any situation, you’ll find much more helpful content on JapanesePod101.com. We provide a variety of free lessons for you to improve your Japanese language skills. For example, you may find these lessons with audio recordings useful: 50 Most Common Nouns, 50 Most Common Verbs, and Most Common Adjectives.

 To learn more about Japanese adverbs and adjectives, check out Must-Know Adverbs and Phrases for Connecting Thoughts and Spring Adjectives/Adverbs. How to Improve Your Speaking Skills and Top 10 Conversational Phrases are also useful pages you can visit to brush up on your Japanese conversational skills.

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

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

You asked, so we provided—easy-to-follow instructions on how to set up your electronic devices to write in Japanese! We’ll also give you a few excellent tips on how to use this keyboard, as well as some online and app alternatives if you prefer not to set up a Japanese keyboard.

Table of Contents

1. Why it’s Important to Learn to Type in Japanese
2. Setting up Your Computer and Mobile Devices for Japanese
3. How to Activate an Onscreen Keyboard on Your Computer
4. How to Change the Language Settings to Japanese on Your Computer
5. Activating the Japanese Keyboard on Your Mobile Phone and Tablet
6. Japanese Keyboard Typing Tips
7. How to Practice Typing Japanese

1. Why it’s Important to Learn to Type in Japanese

Learning a new language is made so much easier when you’re able to read and write/type it. This way, you will:

• Get the most out of any dictionary and Japanese language apps on your devices
• Expand your ability to find Japanese websites and use the various search engines
• Be able to communicate much better online with your Japanese teachers and friends, and look super cool in the process! 

2. Setting up Your Computer and Mobile Devices for Japanese

It takes only a few steps to set up any of your devices to read and type in Japanese. It’s super-easy on your mobile phone and tablet, and a simple process on your computer.

On your computer, you’ll first activate the onscreen keyboard to work with. You’ll only be using your mouse or touchpad/pointer for this keyboard. Then, you’ll need to change the language setting to Japanese, so all text will appear in Japanese. You could also opt to use online keyboards instead. Read on for the links!

On your mobile devices, it’s even easier—you only have to change the keyboard. We also provide a few alternatives in the form of online keyboards and downloadable apps.

3. How to Activate an Onscreen Keyboard on Your Computer

1- Mac

1. Go to System Preferences > Keyboard.

2. Check the option “Show Keyboard & Character Viewers in Menu Bar.”

3. You’ll see a new icon on the right side of the main bar; click on it and select “Show Keyboard Viewer.”

2- Windows

1. Go to Start > Settings > Easy Access > Keyboard.

2. Turn on the option for “Onscreen Keyboard.”

3- Online Keyboards

If you don’t want to activate your computer’s onscreen keyboard, you also have the option to use online keyboards. Here are some good options:

• Gate2Home
• Branah Japanese
• vkBoard

4- Add-ons of Extensions for Browsers

Instead of an online keyboard, you could also choose to download a Google extension to your browser for a language input tool. The Google Input Tools extension allows users to use input tools in Chrome web pages, for example.

4. How to Change the Language Settings to Japanese on Your Computer

Now that you’re all set to work with an onscreen keyboard on your computer, it’s time to download the Japanese language pack for your operating system of choice:

• Windows 8 (and higher)
• Windows 7
• Mac (OS X and higher)

1- Windows 8 (and higher)

1. Go to Settings > Change PC Settings > Time & Language > Region & Language.

2. Click on “Add a Language” and select “Japanese.” This will add it to your list of languages. It will appear as 日本語 with the note “language pack available.”

3. Click on 日本語 > “Options” > “Download.” It will take a few minutes to download and install the language pack.

4. As a keyboard layout, you’ll only need the one marked as “Japanese – 日本語.” You can ignore other keyboard layouts.

2- Windows 7

1. Go to Start > Control Panel > Clock, Language, and Region.

2. On the “Region and Language” option, click on “Change Keyboards or Other Input Methods.”

3. On the “Keyboards and Languages” tab, click on “Change Keyboards” > “Add” > “Japanese.”

4. Expand the option of “Japanese” and then expand the option “Keyboard.” Select the keyboard layout marked as “Japanese.” You can ignore other keyboard layouts. Click “OK” and then “Apply.”

3- Mac (OS X and higher)

If you can’t see the language listed, please make sure to select the right option from System Preferences > Language and Region

1. From the Apple Menu (top left corner of the screen) go to System Preferences > Keyboard.

2. Click the Input Sources tab and a list of available keyboards and input methods will appear.

3. Click on the plus button, select “Japanese,” and add the “Japanese” keyboard.

5. Activating the Japanese Keyboard on Your Mobile Phone and Tablet

Texting and searching in Japanese will greatly help you master the language! Adding a Japanese keyboard on your mobile phone and/or tablet is super-easy.

You could also opt to download an app instead of adding a keyboard. Read on for our suggestions.

Below are the instructions for both iOS and Android mobile phones and tablets.

1- iOS

1. Go to Settings > General > Keyboard.

2. Tap “Keyboards” and then “Add New Keyboard.”

3. Select “Japanese” from the list.

4. When typing, you can switch between languages by tapping and holding on the icon to reveal the keyboard language menu.

2- Android

1. Go to Settings > General Management > Language and Input > On-screen Keyboard (or “Virtual Keyboard” on some devices) > Samsung Keyboard.

2. Tap “Language and Types” or “ + Select Input Languages” depending on the device and then “MANAGE INPUT LANGUAGES” if available.

3. Select 日本語 from the list.

4. When typing, you can switch between languages by swiping the space bar.

3- Applications for Mobile Phones

If you don’t want to add a keyboard on your mobile phone or tablet, these are a few good apps to consider:

• ATOK Japanese Input Keyboard
• Google Japanese Input
• Japanese Keyboard – Romaji to Japanese
• FlickKeyboard

6. Japanese Keyboard Typing Tips

Typing in Japanese can be very challenging at first! Therefore, we added here a few useful tips to make it easier to use your Japanese keyboard.

1- Computer

1. To toggle your IME on/off, you just need to hit “Alt + Tilde (~).” 

2. You can just type in Japanese words on your keyboard, if you know how they’re spelled in Romanization. (Like “a” = あ, “ko” = こ, and “re” = れ）But there are some points to be noticed:

 – To type ん, you need to type “nn” (double “n”). When you hit just “n,” you may have the chance to hit vowels (a, e, i, o, u) and it will make な, に, ぬ, ね, の. So you need that extra “n” to type ん.

 – To type small-sized vowel characters, as in ねぇ or あぁ, you need to hit “l” or “x + vowel.” For example, to type ぁ, you hit “la” or “xa.”

 – To get っ, the small “tsu.” However, you don’t have to type “ltsu” or “xtsu.” You just type it using a double consonant. For example, to type きっと, you hit “kitto.”

3. If you want to use Katakana instead of Hiragana, in most cases all you need to do is hit “spacebar” after you’ve typed the word in Hiragana. Then, your IME will most likely recommend that word in Katakana. But if this isn’t the case for you, or if you instead want a Katakana input mode, just hit “Ctrl + Caps Lock” to find it.

4. To convert to Kanji, you need to use the “spacebar” just like you do with Katakana words. Your IME will suggest a candidate Kanji list for the word. So hit the “spacebar” until you find the one you’re looking for, and then hit the “Enter” to determine the conversion candidate.

2- Mobile Phones

1. You can type Japanese words on a Kana-style keyboard as well as a Romanization-style keyboard. As for the Romanization-style typing, it’s almost the same as it is on the PC.

2. You’ll have only ten Hiragana letter keys, plus a punctuation key and a text face key to input with a Kana-style keyboard. The letter keys are arranged by consonant and each of them has three or more letters inside it. To select a letter, quickly tap the key to go through the different letters. Alternatively, you can simply hold down the key, which will bring up the options visually, and then slide your finger to the intended letter. 

3. The 改行 key is the equivalent to the Enter key, and the 空白 key is the equivalent to the space key.

7. How to Practice Typing Japanese

As you probably know by now, learning Japanese is all about practice, practice, and more practice! Strengthen your Japanese typing skills by writing comments on any of our lesson pages, and our teacher will answer.
If you’re a JapanesePod101 Premium PLUS member, you can directly text our teacher via the My Teacher app—use your Japanese keyboard to do this!

How many verbs do you think you use everyday? Verbs are the second-most frequently used part of speech in Japanese (after nouns), making it crucial to know and understand Japanese verb conjugation.

Compared to English, Japanese verb conjugation has distinct rules which might be difficult to understand at first. However, the good news is that Japanese verbs do not conjugate according to the speaker. Instead, the Japanese verb conjugation rules are the same for every grammatical person, or 人称 (ninshō), and any number of subjects (singular or plural). Therefore, you won’t be easily confused on how to conjugate Japanese verbs in this respect. In addition, there are very few irregular verb conjugations!

In this article, we’ll introduce the basics of Japanese verbs and Japanese verb conjugation, including verb groups and conjugation patterns. We’ll also provide examples for you.
Once you learn the conjugation patterns, you only have to apply the rules to any new verbs you learn! Let’s get started here at JapanesePod101.com!

Table of Contents

1. What is Conjugation?
2. Japanese Verb Conjugation Groups
3. Conjugation Patterns
4. Conjugation Patterns for Irregular Verbs
5. Let’s Practice!
6. Conclusion: How JapanesePod101 Can Help You Learn More Japanese

1. What is Conjugation?

1 – What Does Conjugation Mean?

Conjugation in Japanese is described as the variation of the form of a certain part of speech—such as verbs—which is influenced by certain elements. These include: voice, mood, tense, and politeness level.

In Japanese, there are four parts of speech which have conjugation: 

• 動詞 (dōshi) — Verb
• 助動詞 (jodōshi) — Auxiliary Verb 
• 形容詞 (keiyōshi) — Adjective 
• 形容動詞 (keiyōdōshi) — Adjective Verb 

In this article, we’ll just be focusing on Japanese verb conjugations so we can explain in better detail. 

2 – What Affects Conjugation? 

As we mentioned above, the voice, mood, tense, and politeness level are identified by the form of Japanese verb conjugation used.

• Voice

There are two types of voice: 能動態 (nōdōtai), or “active voice,” and 受動態 (judōtai), or “passive voice.”

• The basic form of a verb is usually the active voice, where the subject performs the action.
  
  私は日記を書く。
  Watashi wa nikki o kaku.
  “I write a journal.”

• In Japanese, the passive voice is mainly used when the action is performed on the subject, or 受け身 (ukemi). However, it’s also used for other cases, such as:
  
  可能 (kanō) — to denote ability
  自発 (jihatsu) — spontaneous
  使役 (shieki) — causative
  尊敬 (sonkei) — respectful language

The Japanese passive voice is expressed in either れる (reru) or られる (rareru), which are auxiliary verbs used together with other verbs.

-Passive action: 
先生によく叱-られる。
Sensei ni yoku shika-rareru.
“I’m often scolded by the teacher.”

-Ability:              
たくさん食べ-られる
Takusan tabe-rareru.
“I can eat a lot.”

-Spontaneous:  
毎年あの災害が思い出さ-れる。
Maitoshi ano saigai ga omoidasa-reru.
“That disaster is remembered every year.”

-Respectful:      
講師が話さ-れる。
Kōshi ga hanasa-reru.
“A lecturer is talking.” [In a respectful manner]

Active: Watashi wa nikki o kaku. (“I write a journal.”)

Passive: Nikki wa watashi ni yori kakareru. (“The journal is written by me.”)

• Mood 

There are different types of moods that are identified in the conjugation forms. Grammatical mood  refers to the attitude of the speaker toward the action of the verb. For example, it indicates whether  that person is giving an order, making an assumption, giving a suggestion, etc.

Example:

Dictionary form : 食べる (taberu) “to eat”

Verb stem: 食べ- (tabe-)  

Mood / Usage	Conjugation	Kanji
Negative Form	tabenai	食べない
Attributive Form	taberu(toki)	食べる（とき）
Conditional Form	tabereba	食べれば
Imperative Form	tabero	食べろ
Volitional Form ( “Let’s-“)	tabeyō	食べよう

• Tense  

Japanese verb conjugation by tense is actually very simple when compared to English and romance languages such as French, Spanish, and Italian.

There are just two main tenses for the Japanese verb forms: present and past tense. The form of the present tense is used for future and habitual action, and therefore there is no particular future tense. 

The past tense always ends with た。 (–ta).  

• Japanese verb conjugation (Present Tense):
  
  私は今出かける。
  Watashi wa ima dekakeru.
  “I go out now.”
  
  私は来週出かける。
  Watashi wa raishū dekakeru.
  Literal translation: “I go out next week,” or “I will go out next week.”

• Japanese verb conjugation (Past Tense):
  
  私は出かけた。
  Watashi wa dekaketa.
  “I went out.”

• Level of Politeness   

In Japanese conjugation, politeness level is another factor to consider. Verbs in the dictionary form are casual and informal, while verbs in the formal form end with ます (-masu), as do verbs in the ordinary polite form 丁寧語 (Teineigo).

In addition to verb conjugation, the Japanese language (especially verbs) has three types of 敬語 (keigo), or “honorific language,” which affect the Japanese conjugation forms. They also show different levels of respect: 

丁寧語 (teineigo) — polite

尊敬語 (sonkeigo) — respectful

謙譲語 (kenjōgo) — humble / modest

They’re used to express social distance and intimacy, as well as disparity or similarity in rank. For more details on Japanese 敬語 (keigo), please visit Japanese Honorifics.

It’s necessary for adults to be able to use 敬語 (keigo) properly in formal situations in Japan. However, you can use at least the formal/polite form without being rude.

Here’s a Japanese conjugation table for 言う (iu), or “to say,” by politeness level.

Form	Reading	Kanji
Dictionary / Informal	i-u	言-う
Formal / Teineigo / Polite	ii-masu	言い-ます
Sonkeigo / Respectful	ossharu	おっしゃる
Kenjōgo / Humble	mōsu	申す

Appropriate use of 敬語 (keigo) is a must in the Japanese business world.

2. Japanese Verb Conjugation Groups

Japanese verbs always end with u or ru, and verbs are categorized into three groups: 

Class 1: U-verb

Class 2 : Ru-verb

Class 3: Irregular verb

Japanese verbs consist of two parts: a verb base (“stem”) and a suffix.  

A stem doesn’t change and a suffix conjugates according to the voice, mood, tense, and forms (casual vs. polite, and plain vs. negative).

1 – Class 1: U-verbs

U-verbs always end with –u. However, please note that this refers to the last vowel being u when it’s written in reading form. Therefore, U-verbs can end with Hiragana う(u), く (ku), す(su), つ（tsu), ぬ (nu), む (mu), and sometimes る (ru). 

Examples of U-verbs

English	Reading	Kanji	Hiragana
“listen” / “hear”	kiku	聞く	きく
“wait”	matsu	待つ	まつ
“write”	kaku	書く	かく
“go”	iku	行く	いく

2 – Class 2: Ru-Verbs

Ru-verbs always end with –ru which is Hiragana る. Some verbs that end with る (ru) are categorized as U-verbs, such as 取る (toru), meaning “take,” but they’re just a few exceptions that you’ll easily start to recognize.

Examples of Ru-verbs

English	Reading	Kanji	Hiragana
“eat”	taberu	食べる	食べる
“wake up” / “get up”	okiru	起きる	おきる
“sleep”	neru	寝る	ねる
“teach”	oshieru	教える	おしえる

3 – Class 3: Irregular Verbs

Surprise! There are only two irregular Japanese verbs, which are 来る (kuru), meaning “come,” and する (suru), meaning “do.”

Unlike U-verbs and Ru-verbs, the stem of the irregular verbs change according to the conjugation forms. 

The Japanese verb する (suru), meaning “do,” is one of the most frequently used verbs. It’s also very handy because it can often turn a noun into a verb when it’s added after a noun. Here’s how Japanese irregular verb conjugation works for this word:

• 回転 (kaiten) 　＋　する (suru) 　= “to rotate” / “to spin around”
  [“rotation” / “spin”]             [“do”]  

• 出席 (shusseki) 　＋　する (suru) 　= “to attend”
  [“attendance”]                    [“do”]

•  謝罪 (shazai)　＋　 する (suru) 　= “to apologize”
              [“apology”]                         [“do”]

For more Japanese verb vocabulary, please visit our article on The 100+ Most Common Japanese Verbs.

運動 (undō) “exercise” +  する (suru) “to do” = Undō-suru (“to exercise”)

3. Conjugation Patterns

In the Japanese verb conjugation system, a suffix (which is often an auxiliary verb) plays an important role in conjugation, together with the main verb.

1 – Class 1: U-verb Conjugation

U-verbs conjugate as in this example:

• Dictionary form: はなす・話す (hanasu) “to talk” / “to speak”
• Verb stem: はな- (hana-)  

The verb 話す (hanasu), which means “to talk” or “to speak,” has the stem はな (hana) and the suffix す (su). 

In Japanese conjugation, suffixes conjugate and change like in the example below, according to the forms.

Form	Informal	Formal
Present	はな-す　 hana-su	はな-します hana-shimasu
Negative-present	はな-さない hana-sanai	はな-しません hana-shimasen
Past	はな-した hana-shita	はな-しました hana-shimashita
Negative-past	はな-さなかった hana-sanakatta	はな-しませんでした hana-shimasen deshita
Volitional	はな-そう hana-sō	はな-しましょう hana-shimashō
Passive	はな-される hana-sareru	はな-されます hana-saremasu
Causative	はな-させる haha-saseru	はな-させます haha-sasemasu
Conditional	はな-せば hana-seba
Imperative	はな-せ hana-se	はな-しなさい haha-shinasai

Example Sentences

• 私は彼と話しませんでした。
  Watashi wa kare to hana-shimasen deshita. 
  “I didn’t talk with him.” [past / formal / polite]

• 彼らと一緒に話そう。
  Kare-ra to issho ni hana-sō.   
  “Let’s talk with them.” [volitional / informal]

• 本当のことを話せ！
  Hontō no koto o hana-se!　　
  “Tell the truth!” [imperative / informal]

2 – Class 2: Ru-verb Conjugation

Ru-verb conjugation is similar to U-verb conjugation, but slightly different. Please pay attention to the suffix after the stem. 

• Dictionary form:  たべる・食べる (taberu) “to eat”
• Verb stem: たべ- (tabe-)  

The verb 食べる (taberu), meaning “to eat,” has the stem たべ (tabe) and the suffix る (ru). 

The suffix conjugates and changes as follows:

Form	Informal	Formal
Present	たべ-る tabe-ru	たべ-ます tabe-masu
Negative-present	たべ-ない tabe-nai	たべ-ません tabe-masen
Past	たべ-た tabe-ta	たべ-ました tabe-mashita
Negative-past	たべ-なかった tabe-nakatta	たべ-ませんでした tabe-masen deshita
Volitional	たべ-よう tabe-yō	たべ-ましょう tabe-mashō
Passive	たべ-られる tabe-rareru	たべ-られます tabe-raremasu
Causative	たべ-させる tabe-saseru	たべ-させます tabe-sasemasu
Conditional	たべ-れば tabe-reba
Imperative	たべ-ろ tabe-ro	たべ-なさい tabe-nasai

Example Sentences

• 彼女は肉を食べません。
  Kanojo wa niku o tabe-masen. 　
  “She does not eat meat.” [present / formal / polite]

• 私は子供達に野菜を食べさせます。
  Watashi wa kodomo-tachi ni yasai o tabe-sasemasu.   
  “I make my children eat vegetables.” [causative / formal]

• これを食べれば良くなるよ！
  Kore o tabe-reba yoku naru yo!　　
  “If you eat this, you’ll get better!” [conditional]

Watashi wa niku o tabe-masen. = “I don’t eat meat.”

4. Conjugation Patterns for Irregular Verbs 

Contrary to U-verbs and Ru-verbs, the two irregular verbs 来る (kuru), meaning “come,” and する (suru), meaning “do,” conjugate even the stems. These two irregular verbs are frequently used, so let’s simply memorize them!

1. 来る

• Dictionary form: くる・来る (kuru) “to come”
• Verb stem: く (ku-) /  こ (ko-) / き (ki-) 

Form	Informal	Formal
Present	く-る ku-ru	き-ます ki-masu
Negative-present	こ-ない ko-nai	き-ません ki-masen
Past	き-た ki-ta	き-ました ki-mashita
Negative-past	こ-なかった ko-nakatta	き-ませんでした ki-masen deshita
Volitional	こ-よう ko-yō	き-ましょう ki-mashō
Passive	こ-られる ko-rareru	こ-られます ko-raremasu
Causative	こ-させる ko-saseru	こ-させます ko-sasemasu
Conditional	く-れば ku-reba
Imperative	こ-い ko-i	き-なさい ki-nasai

Example Sentences

• 彼女は昨日学校に来なかった。
  Kanojo wa kinō gakkō ni ko-nakatta.
  “She did not come to school yesterday.” [past / informal]

• こちらへ来れば安全です。
  Kochira e ku-reba anzen desu. 
  “You will be safe if you come here.” [conditional]

• 今すぐここへ来なさい！
  Ima sugu koko e ki-nasai!　　
  “Come here right now!” [imperative / formal / polite]

2. する

• Dictionary form: する (suru) “to do”
• Verb stem: す (su-)  / し (shi-) / さ (sa-)

Form	Informal	Formal
Present	す-る su-ru	し-ます shi-masu
Negative-present	し-ない shi-nai	し-ません shi-masen
Past	し-た shi-ta	し-ました shi-mashita
Negative-past	し-なかった shi-nakatta	し-ませんでした shi-masen deshita
Volitional	し-よう shi-yō	し-ましょう shi-mashō
Passive	さ-れる sa-reru	さ-れます sa-remasu
Causative	さ-せる sa-seru	さ-せます sa-semasu
Conditional	す-れば su-reba
Imperative	し-ろ shi-ro	し-なさい shi-nasai

Example Sentences

• 彼はそんなことしません。
  Kare wa sonna koto shi-masen.
  “He does not do such things.” [present / formal / polite]

• 一緒に勉強しよう。
  Issho ni benkyō shi-yō.    
  “Let’s study together.” [volitional / informal]
    * benkyō + suru (studying + do = to study)

• 早くしなさい！
  Hayaku shi-nasai!　　
  “Do it quickly!” [imperative / formal / polite]

5. Let’s Practice! 

Now it’s time for a Japanese conjugation quiz to practice! 

Try to conjugate each verb in the ( ), following the instructions, and write your answer in the blank. Even if you don’t know, try to guess and check the answers below!

1. Write the verb in the past tense and informal form:
   
   Watashi wa kinō ringo o (taberu) ______ .
   (“I ate an apple yesterday.”)
   
   

2. Write the verb in the volitional and formal form:
   
   Watashi-tachi to issho ni  (hanasu) ______ .
   (“Let’s talk with us.”)
   
   

3. Write the verb in the negative-present and formal form:
   
   Kyō wa shiken no hi desu ga, dare mo (kuru) ______ .
   (“Although today is the exam day, nobody comes.”)
   
   

4. Write the verb in the imperative and formal form:
   
   Kanojo ni (shazai suru) ______!
   (“Apologize to her!”)
   
   

5. Write the verb in the volitional and formal/polite form: 
   
   Issho ni (iku) ______.
   (“Let’s go together.”)

Sushi o tabeyō! = “Let’s eat Sushi!”

Let’s check the answers!

1. The past tense and informal form of taberu is tabemashita.
   It’s the conjugation pattern of Class 2: Ru-verbs.
   
   Watashi wa kinō ringo o tabemashita.
   (“I ate an apple yesterday.”)
   
   

2. The volitional and formal form of hanasu is hanashimashō.
   It’s the conjugation pattern of Class 1: U-verbs.
   
   Watashi-tachi to issho ni hanashimashō.
   (“Let’s talk with us.”)
   
   

3. The negative-present and formal form of kuru is kimasen.
   It’s the conjugation pattern of the Class 3 irregular verb 来る (kuru), meaning “to come.”
   
   Kyō wa shiken no hi desu ga, dare mo kimasen.
   (“Although today is the exam day, nobody comes.”)
   
   

4. The imperative and formal form of shazai suru is shazai shinasai.
   It’s the conjugation pattern of the Class 3 irregular verb する (suru), meaning “to do.”
   * shazai (“apology”) + suru (“to do”) = “to apologize”
   
   Kanojo ni shazai shinasai!
   (“Apologize to her!”)
   
   

5. The volitional and formal/polite form of iku is ikimashō.
   It’s the conjugation pattern of Class 1: U-verbs.
   
   Issho ni ikimashō.
   (“Let’s go together.”)

6. Conclusion: How JapanesePod101 Can Help You Learn More Japanese

In this article, we introduced you to Japanese verbs conjugation. Japanese verb conjugation has unique rules, but it’s simpler than you think. For example, you don’t have to worry about conjugating for person or number.

Once you master the conjugation patterns, you’ll be able to increase your verb vocabulary much easier!

If you would like to learn more about the Japanese language and other useful Japanese phrases by situation, you’ll find a lot more helpful content on JapanesePod101.com. We provide a variety of free lessons for you to help improve your Japanese language skills. To start, here’s some more information about the basics of Japanese with audio: 

• 50 Most Common Nouns
• 50 Most Common Verbs
• 50 Most Common Adjectives

To learn more about Japanese verbs and other grammar-related topics, check out Basic Kanji for Verbs and The 50 Most Common Japanese Verbs You’ll Find in Textbooks. How to Improve Your Speaking Skills and Must-Know Adverbs and Phrases for Connecting Thoughts are also useful if you want to brush up on your Japanese conversation skills.

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

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

How many Japanese verbs do you know? When you know the 100 most common Japanese verbs and understand basic Japanese verb conjugation, you can express and understand Japanese much better!

Verbs are one of the most important parts of speech, and it’s said that verbs are the second most frequently used words (26%, next to nouns at 42%) among all other categories of words in daily Japanese conversations. 

It’s always a bit tiring to learn grammatical rules, such as the conjugation patterns of verbs. However, it’s easier than you think! Once you have the rules down and become used to using them, all you have to do is apply those rules to new Japanese verbs you learn.

Japanese verb conjugation has unique rules from those in English. But don’t worry! Some features are simpler—there’s no verb conjugation based on the speaker, such as singular vs. plural, gender, or the category of that person grammatically, called 人称 (ninshō). This means that in English, verbs change based on who’s speaking:

• I am
• She is
• You are

• I go
• He goes

However, Japanese verbs remain the same regardless of who the speaker is.
In this article, we’ll introduce the top 100 Japanese verbs for beginners, which are most frequently used. We’ll also give you some tips about Japanese verb conjugation, though we’ll have a more in-depth article on this topic later on. Let’s master Japanese verbs here at JapanesePod101!

Table of Contents

1. Verb Groups: Different Types of Japanese Verbs
2. Action Verbs: Physical
3. Action Verbs: Mental
4. Other Verbs
5. Japanese Auxiliary Verbs: 助動詞 (Jodōshi)
6. Verb Usage: How Japanese Verbs Work
7. Conclusion: How JapanesePod101 Can Help You Learn More Japanese

1. Verb Groups: Different Types of Japanese Verbs

Japanese verbs always end with u or ru, and verbs are categorized into three groups: 

• Class 1: U-verb
• Class 2: Ru-verb
• Class 3: Irregular verb

As the conjugation system itself is very simple, memorizing the patterns and rules will help you learn how to use Japanese verbs properly.

Japanese verbs consist of two parts: a verb base (“stem”) and a suffix. A stem doesn’t change, and a suffix conjugates according to the forms. These forms include casual vs. polite and plain vs. negative.

Class 1: U-Verbs

書く (kaku)：write	Casual	Polite
Stem	kak
Basic Form	書-く kak-u	書-きます kak-imasu
Negative Form	書-かない kak-anai	書-きません kak-imasen

The verb 書く (kaku), meaning “write,” has the stem kak and the suffix u. As you can see from the Japanese verbs chart above, the suffix conjugates and changes according to the forms. 

However, you have to keep in mind that if a verb ends with u, it means that the last vowel is u. Therefore,  u-verbs can end with Hiragana:

• う(u)
• く (ku)
• す(su)
• つ (tsu)
• ぬ (nu)
• む (mu)
• る (ru) 

U-verb Examples

English	Reading	Kanji	Hiragana
meet	au	会う	あう
learn	manabu	学ぶ	まなぶ
push	osu	押す	おす
pull	hiku	引く	ひく

Class 2: Ru-Verbs

出る (deru) ：come out	Casual	Polite
Stem	de
Basic Form	出-る de-ru	出-ます de-masu
Negative Form	出-ない de-nai	出-ません de-masen

The verb 出る (deru), meaning “come out,” has the stem de and the suffix ru. The suffix conjugates and changes as it did above. It’s similar to u-verbs, but slightly different.

Ru-verb Examples

English	Reading	Kanji	Hiragana
teach	oshieru	教える	おしえる
exist (living things)	iru	いる	いる
sleep	neru	寝る	ねる
answer	kotaeru	答える	こたえる

Class 3: Irregular Verbs

Don’t worry too much! There are only two Japanese irregular verbs.

The stems of the verbs change according to the conjugating forms. There are only two verbs, so let’s memorize them!

• 来る (kuru)：come

来る (kuru) ：come	Casual	Polite
Stem	ku / ko / ki
Basic Form	来-る く-る ku-ru	来-ます き-ます ki-masu
Negative Form	来-ない こ-ない ko-nai	来-ません き-ません ki-masen

• する (suru)：do

する (suru) ：do	Casual	Polite
Stem	su / shi
Basic Form	す-る su-ru	し-ます shi-masu
Negative Form	し-ない shi-nai	し-ません shi-masen

The Japanese verb する (suru), meaning “do,” is a very handy word which can often turn a noun into a verb when it’s added next to the noun. 

For example:

• 勉強 (benkyō)   ＋　する (suru) 　= to study

studying                (do)  

• 参加 (sanka) 　＋　する (suru) 　= to participate

participation           (do)  

• 感謝 (kansha)   ＋　する (suru) 　= to thank/appreciate

  appreciation/gratitude      (do)  

Now that you have a better idea of how to conjugate different types of verbs, let’s move on to our Japanese verbs list! 

2. Action Verbs: Physical 

To start, here are the most common Japanese verbs of motion.

English	Japanese Reading	Kanji	Hiragana
see / look / watch	miru	見る	みる
hear / listen	kiku	聞く	きく
say	iu	言う	いう
walk	aruku	歩く	あるく
run	hashiru	走る	はしる
eat	taberu	食べる	たべる
drink	nomu	飲む	のむ
take	toru	取る	とる
use	tsukau	使う	つかう
move	ugoku	動く	うごく
hold / grab	tsukamu	掴む	つかむ
sit	suwaru	座る	すわる
stand	tatsu	立つ	たつ
wear	kiru	着る	きる
take off (clothes/shoes)	nugu	脱ぐ	ぬぐ
work	hataraku	働く	はたらく
wake up	okiru	起きる	おきる
go	iku	行く	いく
come	kuru	来る	くる
bend	mageru	曲げる	まげる
search	sagasu	探す	さがす
read	yomu	読む	よむ
play	asobu	遊ぶ	あそぶ
get on (vehicle)	noru	乗る	のる
get off (vehicle)	oriru	降りる	おりる
start	hajimeru	始める	はじめる
finish	oeru	終える	おえる
open	akeru	開ける	あける
close	shimeru	閉める	しめる
stop	tomeru	止める	とめる
put	oku	置く	おく
wait	matsu	待つ	まつ
rest	yasumu	休む	やすむ
learn	manabu	学ぶ	まなぶ
give	ataeru	与える	あたえる
visit	otozureru	訪れる	おとずれる
leave	saru	去る	さる
depart	shuppatsu suru	出発する	しゅっぱつする
arrive	tōchaku suru	到着する	とうちゃくする
sell	uru	売る	うる
buy	kau	買う	かう
live	ikiru	生きる	いきる
die	shinu	死ぬ	しぬ

3. Action Verbs: Mental 

These everyday Japanese verbs are essential for expressing actions that aren’t physical or immediately tangible. Take a look!

know	Japanese Reading	Kanji	Hiragana
know	shiru	知る	しる
think	kangaeru	考える	かんがえる
imagine	sōzō suru	想像する	そうぞうする
feel	kanjiru	感じる	かんじる
like	konomu	好む	このむ
dislike	kirau	嫌う	きらう
love	aisuru	愛する	あいする
hate	nikumu	憎む	にくむ
believe	shinjiru	信じる	しんじる
expect	kitai suru	期待する	きたいする
understand	rikai suru	理解する	りかいする
remember	omoidasu	思い出す	おもいだす
agree	dōi suru	同意する	どういする
laugh	warau	笑う	わらう
cry	naku	泣く	なく
get angry	okoru	怒る	おこる
feel sad	kanashimu	悲しむ	かなしむ
wish / hope	negau	願う	ねがう
get surprised	odoroku	驚く	おどろく
forget	wasureru	忘れる	わすれる
satisfy	manzoku suru	満足する	まんぞくする
doubt	utagau	疑う	うたがう
decide	kimeru	決める	きめる
notice	kizuku	気づく	きづく

To check your pronunciation of Japanese verbs with audio, see our page about the 25 Most Commonly Used Verbs.

4. Other Verbs 

You’re almost done! There are just a few more Japanese language verbs you should know.

English	Japanese Reading	Kanji	Hiragana
appear	arawareru	現れる	あらわれる
remain	kieru	消える	きえる
remain	nokoru	残る	のこる
return	kaeru	帰る	かえる
check	kakunin suru	確認する	かくにんする
increase	fueru	増える	ふえる
decrease	heru	減る	へる
carry	hakobu	運ぶ	はこぶ
get dry	kawaku	乾く	かわく
get wet	nureru	濡れる	ぬれる
wash	arau	洗う	あらう
get dirty	yogoreru	汚れる	よごれる
indicate	shimesu	示す	しめす
enjoy	tanoshimu	楽しむ	たのしむ
fall	ochiru	落ちる	おちる
win	katsu	勝つ	かつ
lose	makeru	負ける	まける
break	kowasu	壊す	こわす
fix	naosu	直す	なおす
cross	wataru	渡る	わたる
change	kawaru	変わる	かわる
send	okuru	送る	おくる
receive	uketoru	受け取る	うけとる

5. Japanese Auxiliary Verbs: 助動詞 (Jodōshi)

The Japanese 助動詞 (Jodōshi), which translates as “auxiliary verb,” is a functional type of word with some variations. By adding an auxiliary verb, the meaning of the preceding word will be modified. 

For example:

• 感じる (kanjiru) : “feel”   +   させる (saseru) [causative verb]

           = 感じさせる (kanjisaseru) : “make (you) feel”

• 食べる (taberu) : “eat”   +   られる (rareru) [ability]

           = 食べられる (taberareru) : edible

Here are some of the Japanese auxiliary verbs:

Japanese Reading	Hiragana	Usage / Meaning / Example
(sa)seru	(ら)れる	Causation 食べさせる  tabesaseru to make (one) eat
(ra) reru	(ら)れる	Passive / Ability, etc. 食べられる taberareru   edible / being eaten
nai / nu / n	(よ)う	Negation 食べない tabenai 　 (I do) not eat
yō	(よ)う	Volition 食べよう tabeyō 　 I will eat / Let’s eat
tai / tagaru	たい / たがる	Desire 食べたい tabetai  I want to eat
yō da	ようだ	Similarity 食べるようだ taberu yō da 　 it looks like (she/he) eats
sō da	そうだ	Hearsay 食べるそうだ taberu sō da  they say that (she/he) eats
rashii	らしい	Hearsay / Behavior 食べるらしい taberu rashii they say that (she/he) may eat
da / desu・masu	だ / です・ます	Predication / Politeness (copula) 食べます tabemasu　 (I) eat

6. Verb Usage: How Japanese Verbs Work

Japanese language verb conjugation patterns differ for u-verbs, ru-verbs, and irregular verbs. 

Because many frequently used Japanese words are in this category, let’s take a look at an example for u-verbs.

The conjugation pattern for the verb 書く (kaku), meaning “write,” is as follows:

Conjugation	Kanji	Usage / Meaning
kakAnai	書かない	Negative Form
kakImasu	書きます	Polite Form
kaIta	書いた	Ta- Form
kakU	書く	Dictionary Form
kakU toki	書くとき	Attributive Form
kakEba	書けば	Conditional Form
kakE	書け	Imperative Form
kakO	書こう	Suggestion Form (“Let’s-“)

For more detail on the grammar of Japanese verbs and other conjugation patterns, please visit Verb Conjugation.

We also have other articles you may like to check out: Top 100 Japanese Adjectives, Top 100 Japanese Nouns, and Japanese Pronouns.

7. Conclusion: How JapanesePod101 Can Help You Learn More Japanese

In this article, we introduced the most common Japanese verbs and explained the basics of Japanese verb conjugation. Once you know the conjugation patterns, you’ll be able to more quickly expand your Japanese verbs vocabulary and take better command of the language.

If you would like to learn more about the Japanese language and other useful Japanese phrases for a variety of situations, you’ll find a lot of helpful content on JapanesePod101.com. We provide an array of free lessons for you to improve your Japanese language skills. To get you started, here’s some more information on Japanese basics with audio: 

• 50 Most Common Nouns
• 50 Most Common Verbs
• 50 Most Common Adjectives

To learn how to converse with others in Japanese, check out Top 15 Questions You Should Know for Conversations and Top 10 Conversational Phrases. If you want to learn Japanese kanji, you’ll also enjoy Basic Kanji for Verbs and Basic Kanji for Adjectives.

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 any Japanese verbs you still want to know! We’d be glad to help, and look forward to hearing from you!

Pronouns are used to substitute nouns, such as people or things, in a sentence. Using pronouns allows you to avoid repetitive usage of a particular word in a sentence, which would sound awkward. Japanese pronouns are very different from those in English because Japanese pronouns can be omitted from a sentence when they’re implied through the context.

Unlike in English, there are many different variations of Japanese personal pronouns that translate as “I/me” and “you,” although only a few are commonly used. This expression of Japanese pronouns comes from Japanese culture, which puts importance on respect, seniority, and social order. 

Each Japanese pronoun variation denotes the different characteristics of the speaker. These include gender, age, social status, level of respect, and their relationship with the person they’re speaking to.
Ready to learn Japanese pronouns? In this Japanese pronoun guide, we introduce Japanese pronouns that will boost your language skills, and teach you how to use them. JapanesePod101 makes it simple and easy to understand!

Table of Contents

1. Japanese Personal Pronouns
2. Japanese Demonstrative Pronouns
3. Japanese Interrogative Pronouns
4. Japanese Indefinite Pronouns
5. Examples
6. Conclusion: How JapanesePod101 Can Help You Learn More Japanese

1. Japanese Personal Pronouns

Personal pronouns in Japanese are rich in expression, and there are dozens of first- and second-person pronouns. However, most of them aren’t commonly used so we’ll introduce frequently used Japanese personal pronouns here.

1. 1st, 2nd, 3rd Person Singular

1. How to Say “I”

Reading	Kanji	Hiragana	Level of Formality	Gender	Characteristics
watakushi	私	わたくし	very formal	both	Very formal and polite personal pronoun often used in very official occasions.
watashi	私	わたし	formal / informal	both	Used by both genders in formal occasions, such as at the workplace. This is the most commonly used word for “I,” but it’s often omitted in a sentence. In informal situations, this is typically used by women.
atashi	ー	あたし	informal	female	This is the casual version of watashi and it’s used by younger females in conversations. However, it can sound a bit childish and unsophisticated.
boku	僕	ぼく	informal	male	Used by males of all ages, but very often by kids and younger men. It gives an impression of  humbleness. This can also be used as a second-person pronoun toward little boys (English equivalent: “kid”).
ore	俺	おれ	very informal	male	Frequently used by men in informal settings, such as among family and friends. It sounds very masculine. This can be very rude when it’s used in formal occasions or in front of respectable/senior people.

2. How to Say “You”

Reading	Kanji	Hiragana	Level of Formality	Gender	Characteristics
anata	貴方	あなた	formal / informal	both	This is almost equivalent to the English word “you.” However, it’s not often used as the subject in a sentence, and it’s often omitted. It’s more common to use a person’s name with a Japanese honorific, such as 様 (sama) or さん (san), to express “you” in formal contexts. In addition, wives often call their husbands by this Japanese pronoun. When used this way, it’s comparable to the English words “dear” or “darling.” Kanji is rarely used.
kimi	君	きみ	informal	both	Often used to call subordinates and peers in informal settings. It can also be affectionate and polite when used by a boyfriend/husband to call his girlfriend/wife. It’s impolite and inappropriate when used with respectable/senior people or strangers. The Kanji 君 can also be read as kun when it’s added next to a male’s name as a casual and affectionate honorific word.
omae	お前	おまえ	very informal	both / male	Often used by men. It expresses that the speaker has a superior status or age, and it’s very rude to use this toward senior people and in formal settings. It’s also used among close friends to call peers. In addition, husbands frequently call their wives by this pronoun, which is comparable to the female use of anata.
anta	ー	あんた	very informal	both	It’s a short version of anata, but it sounds very impolite and implies a sense of contempt. It can also be used between people in a very close relationship. It’s very rude and inappropriate to use toward  senior people and in formal settings.
kisama	貴様	きさま	very rude and hostile	both	The historical origin of this word was very formal, but it’s used today as a very rude way to call another person. It has a sense of extreme hostility from the speaker. You’ll often hear this in  時代劇 (jidaigeki) (samurai warrior) drama shows.

3. How to Say “He” and “She”

Does Japanese have gendered pronouns? Sort of. Here’s what we mean:

Reading	Kanji	Hiragana	Level of Formality
kare	彼	かれ	formal / informal
kanojo	彼女	かのじょ	formal / informal

The Japanese pronouns for the third person are above. However, they’re not used like they are in English.

Native Japanese people prefer to use the person’s name, or to describe them as あの人 (ano hito), meaning “that person,” which makes it unnecessary to indicate gender.

In informal settings, 彼 (kare) means “boyfriend” and 彼女 (kanojo) means “girlfriend.”

2. 1st, 2nd, 3rd Person Plural

In order to make Japanese personal pronouns plural, a suffix is added to them.
The suffix can be ～達 (-tachi ), ～方 (-gata), or ～ら (-ra), depending on which word comes in front.

Meaning	Suffix	Reading	Level of Formality
We	-tachi	watashi-tachi	neutral / formal
You [plural]	-tachi	anata-tachi	neutral / formal
You [plural]	-gata	anata-gata	formal
They [he, plural]	-ra	kare-ra	neutral / formal
They [she, plural]	-ra	kanojo-ra	neutral / formal

The suffix 達 (-tachi) can be added to most of the nouns that refer to people and animals. For example, 動物達(dōbutsu-tachi) means “animals.”

3. Possessive Forms

To make Japanese possessive pronouns, add the suffix の (〜no) to the pronouns.

Meaning	Reading
mine	watashi no
yours	anata no
his	kare no
hers	kanojo no
ours	watashi-tachi no
theirs	kare-ra no

4. Reflective or Intensive Forms

To make Japanese reflexive pronouns or intensive forms, add the suffix 自身 (〜jishin) to the pronouns.

Meaning	Reading
myself	watashi jishin
yourself	anata jishin
himself	kare jishin
herself	kanojo jishin
ourselves	watashi-tachi jishin
themselves	kare-ra jishin

To hear how to pronounce Japanese pronouns, visit Most Useful Pronouns.

2. Japanese Demonstrative Pronouns

Demonstrative pronouns in Japanese are typically written in Hiragana. Further, Japanese demonstrative pronouns are easy to remember as they’re categorized in groups depending on their degree of distance from the speaker or listener.

Words that:

• begin with こ (ko-) indicate something close to the speaker. 
• begin with そ (so-) indicate some distance from the speaker or something close to the listener.
• begin with あ (a-) indicate far distance.

Meaning	Reading	Hiragana	Notes
this	kore	これ	near speaker
it	sore	それ	near listener
that	are	あれ	distant from both speaker and listener
these	kore-ra	これら	near speaker
those	sore-ra / are-ra	それら/ あれら	near listener / distant from both speaker and listener
here	koko	ここ	near speaker
there	soko	そこ	near listener
over there	asoko	あそこ	distant from both speaker and listener

3. Japanese Interrogative Pronouns

Similar to demonstrative pronouns, most of the Japanese interrogative pronouns begin with ど (do-) or だ (da-).

Meaning	Reading	Kanji	Hiragana
what	nani	何	なに
which	dono / dore	ー	どの/どれ
who	dare	誰	だれ
whom	dare ni	誰に	誰に
whose	dare no	誰の	だれの
when	itsu	ー	いつ
why	naze	ー	なぜ

Keep in mind that “whose” is a possessive form of “who,” and the rules of the Japanese possessive forms also apply:

誰 (dare) meaning “who” + の (〜no) = 誰の (dare no) meaning “whose.”

4. Japanese Indefinite Pronouns

In the Japanese language, “everyone/everybody” and “anyone/anybody” are both translated as 誰でも (dare demo) in some contexts.

In a negative sentence using indefinite pronouns such as “no one/nobody,” “nowhere,” and “nothing,” a negative form is typically: も…ない (...mo…nai …).

Meaning	Reading	Kanji	Hiragana
everyone / everybody	minna / dare demo	皆/誰でも	みんな/だれでも
everywhere	doko demo / doko ni mo	ー	どこでも/どこにも
everything	subete / zenbu	全て/全部	すべて/ぜんぶ
someone / somebody	dare ka	誰か	だれか
somewhere	doko ka	ー	どこか
something	nani ka	何か	なにか
no one / nobody	dare mo…nai	誰も…ない	だれも…ない
nowhere	doko ni mo…nai	ー	どこにも…ない
nothing	nani mo…nai	何も…ない	なにも…ない
anyone / anybody	dare demo	誰でも	だれでも
anywhere	doko demo / doko ni mo	ー	どこでも/どこにも
anything	nan demo	何でも	なんでも

5. Examples

Now that we’ve come to the end of this Japanese pronouns list, here are some example sentences using Japanese pronouns.

1. Personal Pronouns

• あなたと私は東京出身で、彼と彼女は大阪出身です。

Anata to watashi wa Tōkyō shusshin de, kare to kanojo wa Ōsaka shusshin desu. 

You and I are from Tokyo, and he and she are from Osaka.

• 年上の人に向かって「お前」や「貴様」と呼ぶことはとても失礼です。

Toshiue no hito ni mukatte “omae” ya “kisama” to yobu koto wa totemo shitsurei desu.

It is very rude to call an elder person omae and kisama.

• 私達は明日、君の誕生日会へ行きます。

Watashi-tachi wa ashita, kimi no tanjōbi kai e ikimasu.

We will go to your birthday party tomorrow.

2. Demonstrative Pronouns

• それをここに持ってきてください。

Sore o koko ni motte kite kudasai. 

Please bring it here.

• これらの本はあそこの棚へ戻してください。

Kore-ra no hon wa asoko no tana e modoshite kudasai. 

Please put these books back on the shelf over there.

• 彼らはここからあなたの家へ出発しました。

Kare-ra wa koko kara anata no ie e shuppatsu shimashita.

They departed to your home from here.

3. Interrogative Pronouns

• 私はなぜあそこに行かなければならないか分かりません。

Watashi wa naze aoko ni ikanakereba naranai ka wakarimasen. 

I don’t understand why I have to go there.

• 誰に向かって話しているのですか。

Dare ni mukatte hanashite iru no desu ka.

To whom are you talking?

• あそこのあの靴は誰のですか。

Asoko no ano kutsu wa dare no desu ka.

Whose shoes are those there?

4. Indefinite Pronouns

• 彼女はどこかに全てを置いてきました。

Kanojo wa doko ka ni subete o oite kimashita. 

She left everything somewhere.

• 誰もあのような変な服を持っていないでしょう。

Dare mo ano yō na hen na fuku o motte inai deshō.

No one would have strange clothes like that.

• 誰かが彼にここで何でも食べていいと伝えました。

Dare ka ga kare ni koko de nan demo tabete ii to tsutaemashita.

Somebody told him that he could eat anything here.

 To learn more useful Japanese vocabulary, check out our 100 Adjectives and 100 Nouns articles.

6. Conclusion: How JapanesePod101 Can Help You Learn More Japanese

In this article, we introduced you to a variety of common pronouns in Japanese. By now, you should have an enhanced vocabulary and have a better idea of how to use Japanese pronouns. This is something that will definitely improve your overall Japanese language skills! 

Did you learn something new from this article? Do you want to know more about Japanese grammar? Let us know in the comments section below!

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

To get you started, here’s some more information about the basics of Japanese, with audio:

• 50 Most Common Nouns,
• 50 Most Common Verbs
• 50 Most Common Adjectives

To learn how to converse in Japanese, check out Top 15 Questions You Should Know for Conversations and Top 10 Conversational Phrases. Basic Kanji for Verbs and Basic Kanji for Adjectives are also useful if you want to learn Japanese kanji.

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

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After two days, I visited the local bank. It all started with my opening sentence:

은행 계좌를 만들고 싶어요

eunhaeng gyejwaleul mandeulgo sip-eoyo.

I want to open a bank account.

Everything went smoothly, and I exited the bank with a new account!

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When learning a new language, the grammatical part is inevitable. Even if you have a large vocabulary and can communicate well enough with native speakers of that language (which is a great way to practice at first!), you need to know the correct word order and sentence structure to continue improving. 

Japanese grammar is totally different from English grammar. However, once you get used to the Japanese sentence structure, it will be much easier for you to make sentences. This is because the Japanese language word order is more flexible than that of English.
In this article, we’ll introduce the basics of Japanese word order, which will help you better understand Japanese sentence structure as a whole. Brush up on your Japanese here at JapanesePod101.com!

Table of Contents

1. Overview of Word Order in Japanese
2. The Basic Word Order of Japanese
3. Word Order with Postpositional Phrases
4. Word Order with Modifiers
5. Asking Questions
6. Let’s Practice Making a Sentence in Japanese!
7. Conclusion: How JapanesePod101 Can Help You Learn More Japanese

1. Overview of Word Order in Japanese

1. Japanese is SOV

Japanese is an SOV language, which means that the basic word order in a sentence is S (subject) – O (object) – V (verb). English, on the other hand, is an SVO language with the order of  S (subject) – V (verb) – O (object).

　　　　　(S)    (O)      (V)

Japanese: 私は本を読みます。(Watashi wa hon o yomimasu.)

               (S) (V)     (O)

English: “I read the book.”

2. Variable/Flexible Sentence Structure

The Japanese sentence structure is flexible:

[1] The subject can be omitted when it’s clear from the context/situation. 

[2] The subject and object(s) can be placed in a variable order.

[1]

 (S)    (O)        (V)

(私は)本を読みます。 [(Watashi wa) hon o yomimasu.] = “I read the book.”

The subject 私は (watashi wa) can be omitted.

[2] 

                   (S) (V)     (O)

English: “I read the book.”

In English, the subject can’t be omitted and the verb comes before the object.

　　　　　　    (S)      (O)       (V)

Japanese: (私は) 本を読みます。 [(Watashi wa) hon o  yomimasu.]

In Japanese, the subject can be omitted and the verb is always at the end of a sentence. The basic word order in Japanese is variable in that the subject can also appear after the object, and the order of the objects (if there are multiple) is flexible.

The postpositional particles are used in a Japanese sentence to modify words.

3. The Distinguishable Features of Word Order in Japanese Sentences

Compared to English, one of the distinguishable features of word order in Japanese is that Japanese has a 述語 (Jyutsugo), grammatically translated as “predicate.”

The predicate is one of the two main parts of a sentence stating something about the subject. While an English predicate can appear in the middle of a sentence, a Japanese 述語 (Jyutsugo) is always placed at the end of a sentence. This applies to both the casual form and the polite form.

Japanese: 私は本を読みます。(Watashi wa hon o yomimasu.) >> 読みます(yomimasu) is the predicate.

English: “I read the book.” >> “read the book” is the predicate.

2. The Basic Word Order of Japanese

1. SOV in Japanese

As we saw in the previous section, the basic sentence structure of Japanese is S (subject) – O (object) – V (verb).

Japanese parts of speech are usually followed by 助詞 (Joshi), or “particles,” that modify the word in front.

The subject is the person or thing that’s being discussed or described in a sentence, and the Japanese subject is usually followed by は (wa) or が (ga), which are 格助詞 (Kaku-Joshi) meaning “case markers” or 係助詞 (Kakari-Joshi) meaning “binding particles.”

The object is usually a noun or pronoun that is acted upon by the subject. A Japanese object is followed by a particle, such as を (o) or に (ni), which are 格助詞 (Kaku-Joshi).
The verb conveys an action (eat, write, move, etc.), an occurrence (happen, change), or a state of being (be, seem, exist). Japanese verbs either end the sentence, or are followed by 丁寧体 (Teinei-tai) such as です (desu) or ます (masu) in the polite form.

Word Order	SVO :  English (subject)-(verb)-(object)
Example	“I read the book.”
	“I am a musician.”
	“The book is about music.”

SOV : Japanese (subject)-(object)-(verb)	Literal translation following the word order
私は本を読みます。 Watashi wa hon o yomimasu.	I / the book / read.
私は音楽家です。 Watashi wa ongakuka desu.	I / a musician / am.
その本は音楽についてです。 Sono hon wa ongaku ni tsuite desu.	The book  / the music / about / is.

2. Flexible Word Order

As we mentioned earlier, in Japanese grammar, word order is pretty flexible. Look at the diagram of the Japanese sentence structure in 1. 2. [2] above; the word order of the subject and object(s) is flexible. Even though the subject usually appears at the beginning of a sentence, the subject can also be placed in the middle or even be omitted.

Let’s take a look at the example. 

S (subject) – O (object) – V (verb)

• (私は)明日図書館で友達と本を読みます。

(Watashi wa) ashita   toshokan de   tomodachi to   hon o   yomimasu.      

(I)       (tomorrow) (at the library) (with a friend) (the book) (read).

“I will read the book with a friend at the library tomorrow.”

The subject and object(s) can be placed in a variable order.

For example, the sentence above can also be in the following orders:

(私は)図書館で明日友達と本を読みます。

(Watashi wa) toshokan de  ashita   tomodachi to   hon o  yomimasu. 

(私は)友達と図書館で明日本を読みます。

(Watashi wa) tomodachi to  toshokan de  ashita   hon o yomimasu.　

明日図書館で(私は)友達と本を読みます。

Ashita  toshokan de (watashi wa)  tomodachi to  hon o  yomimasu. 

3. Word Order with Postpositional Phrases

While English uses prepositions (such as “at,” “on,” and “for”) to express a relationship to another word, Japanese uses postpositional particles, or 助詞 (Joshi). These particles come after the modified noun, verb, adjective, or at the end of a sentence. 

There are several types of particles, categorized by function. However, we’ll only introduce the most essential particle: 格助詞 (Kaku-Joshi) or “case maker.”  

When there are multiple objects, their order is flexible and variable as mentioned in the previous section.

Meaning/Function	Reading	Hiragana	Example
Nominative case	-ga	ーが	彼女が一番です。 Kanojo ga ichi-ban desu.　 “She is number one.”
Location	-de	ーで	ここで食べます。 Koko de tabemasu. 　 “(I) eat here.”
Destination	-e	ーへ	彼は図書館へいきます。 Kare wa toshokan e ikimasu.  “He goes to the library.”
Dative case / Time	-ni	ーに	Dative: 彼は子供に本をあげました。 Kare wa kodomo ni hon o agemashita.  “He gave the kid a book.” Time: 私は5時に出発します。 Watashi wa go-ji ni shuppatsu shimasu.  “I depart at five o’clock.”
Origin	-kara	ーから	駅は家から徒歩5分です。 Eki wa ie kara toho go-fun desu. “The station is a five-minute walk from home.”
Co-participant	-to	ーと	彼女は彼と歌います。 Kanojo wa kare to utaimasu.  “She sings with him.”
Objective case	-o	ーを	私は本を読みます。 Watashi wa hon o yomimasu.  “I read the book.”
Possessive case	-no	ーの	これは私のカバンです。 Kore wa watashi no kaban desu.  “This is my bag.”
End point	-made	ーまで	彼は駅まで歩きました。 Kare wa eki made arukimashita.  “He walked to the station.”
Starting point / Comparative	-yori	ーより	Starting point: 会議は9時より行われます。 Kaigi wa ku-ji yori okonawaremasu.  “The meeting will be held at nine o’clock.” Comparative: これはあれより安いです。 Kore wa are yori yasui desu.  “This is cheaper than that.”

彼は駅まで歩きました。(Kare wa eki made arukimashita.), “He walked to the station.”

4. Word Order with Modifiers

With the basic Japanese word order rules in mind, let’s see how it works with modifiers to make more complex sentences.

A modifier is a word—such as an adjective, pronoun, or adverb—that expresses something about the word that follows it. Adjectives and pronouns modify nouns; adverbs modify verbs. 

Here’s the Japanese word order with modifiers by function.

1. With Adjectives

In Japanese word order, adjectives come in front of nouns to describe them.

• 赤いりんご (akai ringo), “red apple”
• 分厚い本 (buatsui  hon), “thick book”

In a sentence with a subject and verb, the format is: S (subject) – O (object) – V (verb).

• 彼は赤いりんごを食べました。(Kare wa akai ringo o tabemashita.), “He ate a red apple.”
• 私は分厚い本を読みます。(Watashi wa buatsui  hon o yomimasu.), “I read the thick book.”

To learn more about Japanese adjectives, please visit our page on the Most Common Adjectives.

2. With Possessive Pronouns

Japanese possessive pronouns—such as 私の (watashi no) meaning “my” and 彼の (kare no) meaning “his”—come in front of nouns. The Japanese possessive case is の (-no) which is the postpositional particle marked after a person or thing.

• 私の車 (Watashi no kuruma), “my car”
• 彼女の家 (Kanojo no ie), “her house”

In a sentence with a subject and verb:

• 彼は私の車を使いました。(Kare wa watashi no kuruma o tsukaimashita.), “He used my car.”
• 私は彼女の家へ行きました。(Watashi wa kanojo no ie e ikimashita.), “I went to her house.”

3. With Adverbs

Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. Japanese adverbs come in front of the words they modify.

• 静かに話します (shizuka ni hanashimasu), “speak quietly”
• ひどく疲れました (hidoku tsukaremashita), “terribly tired”

In a sentence with a subject and verb: 

• 彼女は静かに話します。(Kanojo wa shizuka ni  hanashimasu.), “She speaks quietly.”
• 彼女はとても静かに話します。(Kanojo wa totemo shizuka ni  hanashimasu.), “She speaks very quietly.”
• 私はひどく疲れました。(Watashi wa hidoku  tsukaremashita.), “I got terribly tired.”

For more about Japanese adverbs, please check out our page on Must-Know Adverbs and Phrases for Connecting Thoughts.

4. With Numerals

When numerals modify a noun, they come before that noun. When numerals are used as an object, they come before verbs. 

•  一冊の本 (Issatsu no hon), “one book”
• 二つのりんご (Futatsu no ringo), “two apples”
• 5匹います (Go-hiki  imasu), “there are five (kinds of animals)”

In a sentence with a subject and verb: 

• 私は１冊の本を読みます。(Watashi wa issatsu no hon o yomimasu.), “I read one book.”
• 木から落ちたのは二つのりんごです。(Ki kara ochita no wa futatsu no ringo desu.), “What fell from a tree are two apples.”
• 動物園にパンダが5頭います。(Dōbutsuen ni panda ga go-tō imasu.), “There are five pandas in the zoo.”

There’s a great variety of Japanese counter words which are used when talking about things, actions, or events. 

For more about the basics of Japanese numbers, please visit Numbers and Kanji for Numbers and Counters.

Dōbutsuen ni panda ga go-tō imasu. (“There are five pandas in the zoo.”)

5. Asking Questions

Making an interrogative sentence in Japanese is surprisingly easy! It doesn’t involve changing the word order or adding an auxiliary verb to form a question, like in English (e.g. You swim. >> Do you swim?).

In Japanese, you only have to add か (ka), a question marker, to the end of a sentence and pronounce it with a rising intonation. 

Polite / Basic Sentence

• 私は本を読みます。(Watashi wa hon o yomimasu.), “I read the book.”

　　　Question: 私は本を読みますか。 (Watashi wa hon o yomimasu ka.), “Do I read the book?”

• これは100円です。(Kore wa hyaku-en desu.), “This is 100 yen.”

          Question: これは100円ですか。 (Kore wa hyaku-en desu ka.), “Is this 100 yen?”

• 彼女は肉を食べません。(Kanojo wa niku o tabemasen.), “She doesn’t eat meat.”

          Question: 彼女は肉を食べませんか。(Kanojo wa niku o tabemasen ka.), “Doesn’t she eat meat?”

Casual Sentence

In casual and colloquial speech, just change the pronunciation to have a rising intonation at the end of a sentence, without adding か (ka). 

• 今日は寒い。(Kyō wa samui.), “Today is cold.”

　　　Question: 今日は寒い? (Kyō wa samui?), “Is today cold?”

• 私に小包が届いた。(Watashi ni kozutsumi ga todoita.), “The parcel was delivered to me.”

          Question: 私に小包が届いた？ (Watashi ni kozutsumi ga todoita?), “Was the parcel delivered to me?”

• （あなたは）犬が好き。[(Anata wa) inu ga suki.], “You like dogs.”

          Question:（あなたは）犬が好き？ [(Anata wa) inu ga suki?], “Do you like dogs?”

6. Let’s Practice Making a Sentence in Japanese! 

Learning by doing is the best way to master! Now, let’s practice making a Japanese sentence, step by step, with the Japanese word order rules you’ve learned today. If you don’t remember anything, feel free to review the sections above! 

Try to translate the following sentences in Japanese.

1. “You went to the library.”  : _________________

2. “You went to the library in the morning.”  : _________________

3. “You went to the library in the morning at eight o’clock.” : _________________

4. “Did you go to the library in the morning?” : _________________

5. “She ate sushi today.”  : _________________

6. “She ate sushi with Mariko today.”  : _________________

7. “She ate sushi with Mariko for lunch today.”  : _________________

8. “Did she eat sushi with Mariko for lunch today?” :_________________

If you don’t know certain vocabulary words, please check out our lists for the 50 Most Common Verbs and our School Vocabulary.

“Library” in Japanese is 図書館 (toshokan).

[Answers]

1. “You went to the library.” 

　 あなたは図書館へ行きました。(Anata wa toshokan e ikimashita.)

2. “You went to the library in the morning.” 

　あなたは朝図書館へ行きました。(Anata wa asa toshokan e ikimashita.)

3. “You went to the library in the morning at eight o’clock.” 

   あなたは朝8時に図書館へ行きました。(Anata wa asa hachi-ji ni toshokan e ikimashita.)

4. “Did you go to the library in the morning?” 

　あなたは朝図書館へ行きましたか。(Anata wa asa toshokan e ikimashita ka.)　

5. “She ate sushi today.”  

     彼女は今日寿司を食べました。(Kanojo wa kyō sushi o tabemashita.)

6. “She ate sushi with Mariko today.” 

     彼女は今日まりこと寿司を食べました。(Kanojo wa kyō Mariko to sushi o tabemashita.)

7. “She ate sushi with Mariko for lunch today.” 

     彼女は今日お昼ご飯にまりこと寿司を食べました。(Kanojo wa kyō o-hirugohan ni Mariko to sushi o tabemashita.)

8. “Did she eat sushi with Mariko for lunch today?” :

    彼女は今日まりこと寿司を食べましたか。(Kanojo wa kyō Mariko to sushi o tabemashita ka.)

*The word order of objects can vary when there are many in a sentence.

7. Conclusion: How JapanesePod101 Can Help You Learn More Japanese

In this article, we introduced you to Japanese word order. Now you understand how the Japanese sentence structure works. At first, you might feel confused about the flexibility of Japanese word order, but you’ll find it’s actually a lot easier to make complex sentences once you get used to it!   

If you would like to learn more about the Japanese language and practice other useful Japanese phrases for any situation, you’ll find a lot more helpful content on JapanesePod101.com. We provide a variety of free lessons to help you improve your Japanese language skills. Here’s some more information about the basics of Japanese with audio: Top 10 Sentence Patterns for Beginners and Most Useful Pronouns.

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

Before you go, let us know in the comments if you still have questions about Japanese word order. We’d be glad to help.

Telling time is one of the most essential aspects of everyday life. Learning how to tell time in Japanese will help you improve your basic Japanese language skills. Whether you’re checking the time for transportation or making an appointment, knowing how to say time in Japanese will help you when visiting Japan.

Telling time in Japanese is quite simple and easy to understand. Unlike in English, when expressing time in Japanese, the words which indicate the hour and minute are always added next to the numbers (e.g. 3:12 or three twelve = 時 (3ji) 分 (12fun). Thus, even without context or a sentence, you’ll easily understand that these phrases indicate time in Japanese.

In this article, we introduce the basic vocabulary and phrases for telling time in Japanese. Let’s get started! 

Table of Contents

1. How to Ask for the Time
2. Telling Time in Japanese: Hours
3. Telling Time in Japanese: Minutes
4. The Hours Divided into Minutes
5. General Time Reference of the Day
6. Adverbs of Time in Japanese
7. Time Proverbs and Sayings
8. Conclusion: How JapanesePod101 Can Help You Learn More Japanese

1. How to Ask for the Time

Here’s a list of the most typical phrases for asking about time in Japanese.

1- What time is it now? 

Japanese: 今何時ですか。

Reading: Ima nan-ji desu ka. 

• すみません、今何時ですか。

Sumimasen, ima nan-ji desu ka. 

Excuse me, what time is it now?

2- Do you know the time now? 

Japanese: 今何時かわかりますか。

Reading: Ima nan-ji ka wakarimasu ka. 

• ちょっといいですか、今何時かわかりますか。

Chotto ii desu ka, ima nan-ji ka wakarimasu ka.

Can I talk to you a bit? Do you know the time now?

3- What time is the [e.g. meeting]? 

Japanese: [会議] は何時ですか。

Reading: [Kaigi] wa nan-ji desu ka.

• 田中さん、到着は何時ですか。

Tanaka-san, tōchaku wa nan-ji desu ka.

Mr. (Ms.) Tanaka, what time is the arrival?

4- What time do we meet up? 

Japanese: 何時に集合ですか。

Reading: Nan-ji ni shūgō desu ka.

• すみません、7月10日は何時に集合ですか。

Sumimasen, shichi-gatsu tōka wa nan-ji ni shūgō desu ka.

Excuse me, what time do we meet up on July 10?

To learn dates in Japanese, please visit our Reading Dates in Japanese article.

Japanese people are famous for being on time.

2. Telling Time in Japanese: Hours

When speaking, the twelve-hour clock is more commonly used; when written, either the twelve-hour clock or the twenty-four-hour clock is used for telling time in Japanese.

When using the twelve-hour clock, add 午前 (gozen) meaning “a.m.” or 午後 (gogo) meaning “p.m.” to clarify.

1- The Twelve-Hour Clock in Japanese

Add 時 (ji), meaning “hour” or “o’clock,” after the Japanese numbers. Keep in mind that Arabic numbers are commonly used.

English	Kanji	Hiragana	Reading
0 o’clock	零時	れいじ	rei-ji
1 o’clock	一時	いちじ	ichi-ji
2 o’clock	二時	にじ	ni-ji
3 o’clock	三時	さんじ	san-ji
4 o’clock	四時	よじ	yo-ji
5 o’clock	五時	ごじ	go-ji
6 o’clock	六時	ろくじ	roku-ji
7 o’clock	七時	しちじ	shichi-ji
8 o’clock	八時	はちじ	hachi-ji
9 o’clock	九時	くじ	ku-ji
10 o’clock	十時	じゅうじ	jū-ji
11 o’clock	十一時	じゅういちじ	jū ichi-ji
12 o’clock	十二時	じゅうにじ	jū ni-ji

Please visit our Japanese Numbers article and Numbers page on JapanesePod101 to learn how to read numbers in Japanese.

2- Examples

• 昼食の時間は午後１時です。

Chūshoku no jikan wa gogo ichi-ji desu. 

Lunch time is at one o’clock p.m.

• 会議は10時からですか。

Kaigi wa jū-ji kara desu ka.   

Is the meeting at ten o’clock?

• 明日の朝7時に来てください。

Ashita no asa shichi-ji ni kite kudasai.

Please come at seven o’clock tomorrow morning.

Toki wa kane nari (Time is money).

3. Telling Time in Japanese: Minutes

1- Minutes in Japanese

Unlike in English, 分  (fun) or (pun) meaning “minute” is always added after the numbers when telling minutes in Japanese. 

• “Minute(s)” in Japanese is 分 and it’s pronounced either fun or pun depending on which number comes before 分.

• Minutes are usually written with Arabic numbers rather than Kanji.

English	Kanji	Hiragana	Reading
1 minute	一分	いっぷん	ippun
2 minutes	二分	にふん	ni-fun
3 minutes	三分	さんぷん	san-pun
4 minutes	四分	よんふん	yon-fun
5 minutes	五分	ごふん	go-fun
6 minutes	六分	ろっぷん	roppun
7 minutes	七分	ななふん	nana-fun
8 minutes	八分	はっぷん	happun
9 minutes	九分	きゅうふん	kyū-fun
10 minutes	十分	じゅっぷん	juppun
20 minutes	二十分	にじゅっぷん	ni-juppun
30 minutes	三十分	さんじゅっぷん	san-juppun
40 minutes	四十分	よんじゅっぷん	yon-juppun
50 minutes	五十分	ごじゅっぷん	go-juppun

2- Examples

• 地震は朝9時24分に起きました。

Jishin wa asa ku-ji ni-jū yon-fun ni okimashita. 

The earthquake occurred at 9:24 in the morning.

• 次の電車は3時47分に来ます。

Tsugi no densha wa san-ji yon-jū nana-fun ni kimasu.     

The next train comes at 3:47.

• 今の時間は午後6時18分です。

Ima no jikan wa gogo roku-ji jū happun desu.

The current time is 6:18 p.m.

It is jū-ji jū ippun (10:11) in Japanese.

4. The Hours Divided into Minutes

Telling time with minutes in Japanese is quite simple and there are no special terms or phrases to express certain groups of minutes, except for 半 (han) meaning “half.” On the other hand, English has more specific expressions, such as “quarter,” “XX past two (XX minutes after two o’clock),” and “XX to seven (XX minutes before seven o’clock).” 

• To express “thirty minutes past XX o’clock” in Japanese, just add 半 (han), meaning “half,” after “number + 時 (ji).”

• There’s no particular word for “quarter” when telling time in Japanese. It‘s simply “fifteen minutes”: 15分 (jū go-fun).

• “Five past six,” or 6:05, is 6時5分 (roku-ji go-fun) in Japanese.

• “Ten to seven” is 7時10分前 (shichi-ji juppun mae) in Japanese, which literally means “Ten minutes before seven o’clock.”

 Examples

• 飛行機は朝8時半に出発します。

Hikōki wa asa hachi-ji han ni shuppatsu shimasu. 

The airplane departs at 8:30 in the morning.

• 明日の会議は3時15分前に来てください。

Ashita no kaigi wa san-ji jū go-fun mae ni kite kudasai.     

Please come to tomorrow’s meeting fifteen minutes before three o’clock.

• 今の時間は9時10分前です。

Ima no jikan wa ku-ji juppun mae desu.

The current time is ten minutes before nine o’clock.

• あの学校は朝6時半に開きます。

Ano gakkō wa asa roku-ji han ni akimasu.

That school opens at 6:30 in the morning.

5. General Time Reference of the Day

What if you want to give a nonspecific or approximate time in Japanese? Here’s some basic vocabulary for describing time in Japanese based on the general time of day.

English	Kanji	Hiragana	Reading
AM	午前	ごぜん	gozen
PM	午後	ごご	gogo
morning	朝	あさ	asa
early morning	早朝	そうちょう	sōchō
sunrise	日の出	ひので	hinode
noon	正午	しょうご	shōgo
midday	日中	にっちゅう	nicchū
early evening	夕方	ゆうがた	yūgata
sunset	日没	にちぼつ	nichibotsu
evening / night	夜	よる	yoru
midnight	深夜	しんや	shin’ya

The sunset time in summer is around seven o’clock p.m. in Japan.

 Examples

• 夏の日の出は早朝の4時半です。

Natsu no hinode wa sōchō no yo-ji han desu. 

The sunrise in summer is at 4:30 in the early morning.

• 明日の夜8時に夕食を食べましょう。

Ashita no yoru hachi-ji ni yūshoku o tabemashō.     

Let’s have dinner at eight o’clock tomorrow evening.

• 私の飛行機は深夜12時3分に出発します。

Watashi no hikōki wa shin’ya jū ni-ji san-pun ni shuppatsu shimasu.

My flight departs at 12:03, at midnight.

• 私は今日正午から夕方まで忙しいです。

Watashi wa kyō shōgo kara yūgata made isogashii desu.

I’m busy from noon to early evening today.

6. Adverbs of Time in Japanese

You can create more-detailed and specific time-related expression by using time adverbs. Japanese adverbs of time include:

English	Kanji	Hiragana	Reading
right now	今すぐ	いますぐ	ima sugu
before	前	まえ	mae
after	後	あと/ご	ato/go
soon	ー	もうすぐ	mō sugu
soon	ー	ほとんど	hotondo
around	頃	ころ/ごろ	koro/goro
about	約	やく	yaku
currently	現在	げんざい	genzai
meanwhile	その間に	そのあいだに	sono aida ni
at the same time	同時に	どうじに	dōji ni
at the same time	ー	いつでも	itsu demo
as soon as possible	出来るだけ早く	できるだけはやく	dekirudake hayaku
in a while	間もなく/しばらく	まもなく/しばらく	mamonaku/shibaraku
for a long time	長い間	ながいあいだ	nagai aida

 Examples

• 今すぐ来きてください。会議は15分後に始まります。

Ima sugu kite kudasai. Kaigi wa jū go-fun go ni hajimarimasu.      

Please come right now. The meeting is starting after fifteen minutes.

• 同時に、別のパーティーが午後7時半から始まります。

Dōji ni, betsu no pātī ga gogo shichi-ji han kara hajimarimasu.     

At the same time, another party will start at 7:30 p.m.

• 私は午前8時から長い間待っています。出来るだけ早くここへ来てください。

Watashi wa gozen hachi-ji kara nagai aida matte imasu. Dekirudake hayaku koko e kite kudasai.

I have been waiting for a long time, since 8 o’clock a.m. Come here as soon as possible.

• 今は午後2時58分で、もうすぐ3時になります。まもなく電車が来ます。

Ima wa gogo ni-ji go-jū happun de, mō sugu san-ji ni narimasu. Mamonaku densha ga kimasu.

It is 2:58 p.m. and it’s going to be 3:00 soon. The train comes in a while.

Japanese trains are very punctual.

7. Time Proverbs and Sayings

When talking about time in Japanese culture, there are many ことわざ (kotowaza) and 慣用句 (kan’yōku), or “proverbs” and “sayings” regarding time in Japanese. Here are some of the most famous proverbs.

• Time is money.

Japanese: 時は金なり

Reading: Toki wa kane nari

Meaning: It literally translates to “time is money,” and it means that time is as precious as money.

遅れないように! 「時は金なり」ですよ。

Okurenai yō ni! “Toki wa kane nari” desu yo.

Don’t be late! Time is money.

• Time flies.

Japanese: 光陰矢のごとし

Reading: Kōin ya no gotoshi

Meaning: It literally translates to “time is like an arrow,” meaning that time flies fast, like an arrow. The word 光陰 (Kōin) comes from  漢文 (Kanbun), an old Chinese word which denotes “light and shade,” meaning “time.” Thus, time goes by with days and nights.

前回会った時から既に5年経ちました。「光陰矢のごとし」ですね。

Zenkai atta toki kara sude ni go-nen tachimashita. “Kōin ya no gotoshi” desu ne.

Five years have already passed since we last met. Time flies, doesn’t it?

• Time and tide wait for no man.

Japanese: 歳月人を待たず

Reading: Saigetsu hito o matazu

Meaning: It literally translates to “years and months do not wait for man,” meaning that time goes by constantly without heeding one’s circumstances. It indicates that people shouldn’t waste time and should instead make each day count.

やるべき事ややりたい事は今すぐやりましょう。「歳月人を待たず」ですよ！

Yarubeki koto ya yaritai koto wa ima sugu yarimashō. ”Saigetsu hito o matazu” desu yo!

Do right now what you should do and what you want to do. It’s “time and tide wait for no man!”

• Each day is like a thousand years.

Japanese: 一日千秋

Reading: Ichijitsu senshū 

Meaning: It literally translates to “one day is like a thousand autumns.” It means that one can hardly wait for something because it feels very far in the future, as if one day is like a thousand years (autumn comes a thousand times). 秋 (aki/shū) means “autumn,” but it also can mean “time” as a metaphor. It’s said that autumn is the time for harvest, and ancient people realized that a year had passed when autumn came.

彼女は来月行く予定のコンサートを一日千秋の思いで待っています。

Kanojo wa raigetsu iku yotei no konsāto o ichijitsu senshū no omoi de matte imasu.

She’s waiting for the concert she’s going to next month with the feeling that each day is like a thousand years.

8. Conclusion: How JapanesePod101 Can Help You Learn More Japanese

In this article, we introduced how to tell time in Japanese, including the basic vocabulary and phrases, such as the different units of time in Japanese. Now you can ask for the time and tell time in Japanese whenever you make an appointment or check times for your travels.

I hope you’ll enjoy meeting friends and getting around in Japan; make sure you’re on time when meeting them! 

Are there any time-related words in Japanese you still want to know? Let us know in the comments! 

If you would like to learn more about the Japanese language and other useful Japanese phrases, you’ll find a lot of helpful content on JapanesePod101.com. We provide a variety of free lessons for you to improve your Japanese language skills. Here’s some more information about numbers and time in Japanese with audio: Talking about Time, Numbers, and Kanji for Numbers and Counters.

 To learn how to make conversation in Japanese, check out Top 15 Questions You Should Know for Conversations and Top 10 Conversational Phrases. Phrases You Need at the Bus or Train Station and Trains are also useful if you plan on getting around Japan with public transportation.

There’s so much more! Be a fast learner and enjoy studying Japanese at JapanesePod101.com!