🇯🇵 Japanese vocabulary

The 300 most common Japanese words

Learn these first: they make up a big share of everything you'll read. Ranked by frequency, with meanings, romanization and examples for the top 50.

Test your Japanese vocabulary Japanese phrases

#	Japanese	Romanization	Meaning	Type
1	の私の本 — my book	no	(possessive particle) 's, of	particle
2	は私は学生です。 — I am a student.	wa	(topic particle) as for	particle
3	に学校に行きます。 — I go to school.	ni	(particle) to, at, in	particle
4	を水を飲みます。 — I drink water.	o	(direct object particle)	particle
5	が雨が降っています。 — It's raining.	ga	(subject particle); but	particle
6	と友達と話しました。 — I talked with a friend.	to	and; with; (quotation)	particle
7	で駅で会いましょう。 — Let's meet at the station.	de	at, in; by, with	particle
8	も私も行きます。 — I'm going too.	mo	also, too; even	particle
9	から東京から来ました。 — I came from Tokyo.	kara	from; because	particle
10	ですこれはペンです。 — This is a pen.	desu	to be (polite)	verb
11	だ今日は日曜日だ。 — Today is Sunday.	da	to be (plain)	verb
12	する毎日勉強する。 — I study every day.	suru	to do	verb
13	ある机の上に本がある。 — There's a book on the desk.	aru	to be, to exist (things); to have	verb
14	いる部屋に猫がいる。 — There's a cat in the room.	iru	to be, to exist (people, animals)	verb
15	なる医者になりたい。 — I want to become a doctor.	naru	to become	verb
16	これこれは何ですか。 — What is this?	kore	this (one)	pronoun
17	それそれをください。 — I'll take that, please.	sore	that (one, near you)	pronoun
18	あれあれは富士山です。 — That's Mount Fuji.	are	that (one, over there)	pronoun
19	このこの本は面白い。 — This book is interesting.	kono	this (+ noun)	determiner
20	そのその人は誰ですか。 — Who is that person?	sono	that (+ noun)	determiner
21	私私は田中です。 — I'm Tanaka.	watashi	I, me	pronoun
22	あなたあなたの名前は？ — What's your name?	anata	you	pronoun
23	彼彼は先生です。 — He is a teacher.	kare	he, him; boyfriend	pronoun
24	彼女彼女は歌が上手だ。 — She sings well.	kanojo	she, her; girlfriend	pronoun
25	ない時間がない。 — There's no time.	nai	not; there isn't	adjective
26	言う彼は何と言いましたか。 — What did he say?	iu	to say	verb
27	思う明日は晴れると思う。 — I think it'll be sunny tomorrow.	omou	to think	verb
28	行く明日、京都に行く。 — I'm going to Kyoto tomorrow.	iku	to go	verb
29	来る友達が家に来る。 — A friend is coming to my house.	kuru	to come	verb
30	見るテレビを見る。 — I watch TV.	miru	to see, to look, to watch	verb
31	人あの人は親切だ。 — That person is kind.	hito	person, people	noun
32	時子どもの時、よく泳いだ。 — When I was a child, I swam a lot.	toki	time, when	noun
33	今今、何時ですか。 — What time is it now?	ima	now	noun
34	日いい日だね。 — It's a nice day, isn't it?	hi	day; sun	noun
35	年今年は忙しい年だった。 — This year was a busy one.	toshi	year	noun
36	何何を食べたい？ — What do you want to eat?	nani	what	pronoun
37	どう調子はどう？ — How are you doing?	dō	how	adverb
38	いいいい天気ですね。 — Nice weather, isn't it?	ii	good, fine	adjective
39	よくよく眠れましたか。 — Did you sleep well?	yoku	well; often	adverb
40	とてもとても美味しい。 — It's very tasty.	totemo	very	adverb
41	まだまだ終わっていない。 — It isn't finished yet.	mada	still; not yet	adverb
42	もうもう帰りました。 — He already went home.	mō	already; (any) more	adverb
43	またまた明日。 — See you tomorrow.	mata	again; also	adverb
44	でも行きたい。でも時間がない。 — I want to go. But I have no time.	demo	but; even	conjunction
45	しかししかし、問題がある。 — However, there is a problem.	shikashi	however, but	conjunction
46	そして朝ご飯を食べて、そして出かけた。 — I ate breakfast and then went out.	soshite	and, and then	conjunction
47	ね寒いね。 — It's cold, isn't it?	ne	(particle) ...right?, isn't it?	particle
48	よ大丈夫だよ。 — It's fine, really.	yo	(emphatic particle) I tell you	particle
49	かお元気ですか。 — How are you?	ka	(question particle); or	particle
50	やりんごやバナナを買った。 — I bought apples, bananas and such.	ya	and (non-exhaustive list)	particle
51	まで	made	until; to, as far as	particle
52	より	yori	than; from	particle
53	へ	e	to, towards	particle
54	など	nado	etc., and so on	particle
55	だけ	dake	only, just	particle
56	ここ	koko	here	pronoun
57	そこ	soko	there	pronoun
58	あそこ	asoko	over there	pronoun
59	どこ	doko	where	pronoun
60	誰	dare	who	pronoun
61	いつ	itsu	when	pronoun
62	なぜ	naze	why	adverb
63	どうして	dōshite	why; how	adverb
64	いくら	ikura	how much	adverb
65	僕	boku	I, me (male, casual)	pronoun
66	俺	ore	I, me (male, very casual)	pronoun
67	君	kimi	you (casual)	pronoun
68	みんな	minna	everyone	pronoun
69	自分	jibun	oneself; I	pronoun
70	私たち	watashitachi	we, us	pronoun
71	彼ら	karera	they, them	pronoun
72	はい	hai	yes	interjection
73	いいえ	iie	no	interjection
74	ええ	ee	yes, yeah	interjection
75	うん	un	yeah, uh-huh	interjection
76	ありがとう	arigatō	thank you	interjection
77	すみません	sumimasen	excuse me; sorry; thank you	interjection
78	ごめんなさい	gomen nasai	I'm sorry	interjection
79	こんにちは	konnichiwa	hello, good afternoon	interjection
80	おはよう	ohayō	good morning	interjection
81	さようなら	sayōnara	goodbye	interjection
82	お願いします	onegai shimasu	please	verb
83	ちょっと	chotto	a little; just a moment	adverb
84	少し	sukoshi	a little, a few	adverb
85	たくさん	takusan	a lot, many	adverb
86	全部	zenbu	all, everything	noun
87	一緒に	issho ni	together	adverb
88	すぐ	sugu	immediately, soon	adverb
89	本当に	hontō ni	really, truly	adverb
90	たぶん	tabun	probably, maybe	adverb
91	きっと	kitto	surely, certainly	adverb
92	いつも	itsumo	always	adverb
93	時々	tokidoki	sometimes	adverb
94	特に	toku ni	especially	adverb
95	実は	jitsu wa	actually, to tell the truth	adverb
96	もちろん	mochiron	of course	adverb
97	ちょうど	chōdo	exactly, just	adverb
98	一番	ichiban	most; number one	adverb
99	だから	dakara	so, therefore	conjunction
100	それで	sorede	and so, then	conjunction
101	けど	kedo	but, although	conjunction
102	もし	moshi	if	adverb
103	例えば	tatoeba	for example	adverb
104	つまり	tsumari	in other words	adverb
105	やる	yaru	to do (casual); to give	verb
106	できる	dekiru	can, to be able to; to be done	verb
107	わかる	wakaru	to understand	verb
108	知る	shiru	to know, to find out	verb
109	聞く	kiku	to hear, to listen; to ask	verb
110	話す	hanasu	to speak, to talk	verb
111	食べる	taberu	to eat	verb
112	飲む	nomu	to drink	verb
113	帰る	kaeru	to go home, to return	verb
114	入る	hairu	to enter	verb
115	出る	deru	to go out, to leave; to appear	verb
116	使う	tsukau	to use	verb
117	持つ	motsu	to hold, to have	verb
118	待つ	matsu	to wait	verb
119	書く	kaku	to write	verb
120	読む	yomu	to read	verb
121	買う	kau	to buy	verb
122	会う	au	to meet	verb
123	作る	tsukuru	to make	verb
124	考える	kangaeru	to think, to consider	verb
125	始まる	hajimaru	to begin	verb
126	終わる	owaru	to end, to finish	verb
127	住む	sumu	to live, to reside	verb
128	働く	hataraku	to work	verb
129	取る	toru	to take	verb
130	くれる	kureru	to give (to me)	verb
131	もらう	morau	to receive	verb
132	あげる	ageru	to give	verb
133	教える	oshieru	to teach; to tell	verb
134	覚える	oboeru	to remember; to learn	verb
135	忘れる	wasureru	to forget	verb
136	死ぬ	shinu	to die	verb
137	生きる	ikiru	to live	verb
138	寝る	neru	to sleep, to go to bed	verb
139	起きる	okiru	to get up, to wake up	verb
140	歩く	aruku	to walk	verb
141	走る	hashiru	to run	verb
142	立つ	tatsu	to stand	verb
143	座る	suwaru	to sit	verb
144	送る	okuru	to send	verb
145	呼ぶ	yobu	to call	verb
146	変わる	kawaru	to change	verb
147	決める	kimeru	to decide	verb
148	続ける	tsuzukeru	to continue	verb
149	助ける	tasukeru	to help, to save	verb
150	探す	sagasu	to look for	verb
151	見つける	mitsukeru	to find	verb
152	感じる	kanjiru	to feel	verb
153	信じる	shinjiru	to believe	verb
154	愛する	aisuru	to love	verb
155	好き	suki	liked, fond of	adjective
156	嫌い	kirai	disliked	adjective
157	大丈夫	daijōbu	all right, OK	adjective
158	大切	taisetsu	important, precious	adjective
159	大事	daiji	important	adjective
160	必要	hitsuyō	necessary; need	adjective
161	元気	genki	healthy, energetic, well	adjective
162	上手	jōzu	skilful, good at	adjective
163	簡単	kantan	easy, simple	adjective
164	静か	shizuka	quiet	adjective
165	大きい	ōkii	big	adjective
166	小さい	chiisai	small	adjective
167	新しい	atarashii	new	adjective
168	古い	furui	old (things)	adjective
169	高い	takai	high, tall; expensive	adjective
170	安い	yasui	cheap	adjective
171	多い	ōi	many, a lot	adjective
172	少ない	sukunai	few, little	adjective
173	長い	nagai	long	adjective
174	早い	hayai	early; fast	adjective
175	悪い	warui	bad	adjective
176	良い	yoi	good (formal)	adjective
177	楽しい	tanoshii	fun, enjoyable	adjective
178	難しい	muzukashii	difficult	adjective
179	面白い	omoshiroi	interesting, funny	adjective
180	美しい	utsukushii	beautiful	adjective
181	怖い	kowai	scary; afraid	adjective
182	嬉しい	ureshii	happy, glad	adjective
183	可愛い	kawaii	cute	adjective
184	強い	tsuyoi	strong	adjective
185	同じ	onaji	same	adjective
186	違う	chigau	to differ; to be wrong	verb
187	ほしい	hoshii	to want (something)	adjective
188	すごい	sugoi	amazing, great	adjective
189	本	hon	book	noun
190	家	ie	house, home	noun
191	方	hō	direction; way of; person (polite)	noun
192	中	naka	inside, middle	noun
193	上	ue	top, above	noun
194	下	shita	below, under	noun
195	前	mae	front; before	noun
196	後	ato	after, later; behind	noun
197	外	soto	outside	noun
198	間	aida	between; interval	noun
199	話	hanashi	story, talk	noun
200	言葉	kotoba	word; language	noun
201	名前	namae	name	noun
202	気	ki	spirit, mind, feeling	noun
203	心	kokoro	heart, mind	noun
204	目	me	eye	noun
205	手	te	hand	noun
206	顔	kao	face	noun
207	体	karada	body	noun
208	頭	atama	head	noun
209	声	koe	voice	noun
210	子ども	kodomo	child	noun
211	男	otoko	man, male	noun
212	女	onna	woman, female	noun
213	友達	tomodachi	friend	noun
214	家族	kazoku	family	noun
215	父	chichi	father (my)	noun
216	母	haha	mother (my)	noun
217	お父さん	otōsan	father, dad	noun
218	お母さん	okāsan	mother, mom	noun
219	先生	sensei	teacher; doctor	noun
220	学生	gakusei	student	noun
221	学校	gakkō	school	noun
222	会社	kaisha	company, office	noun
223	仕事	shigoto	work, job	noun
224	時間	jikan	time; hour	noun
225	今日	kyō	today	noun
226	明日	ashita	tomorrow	noun
227	昨日	kinō	yesterday	noun
228	毎日	mainichi	every day	noun
229	朝	asa	morning	noun
230	夜	yoru	night	noun
231	今年	kotoshi	this year	noun
232	世界	sekai	world	noun
233	国	kuni	country	noun
234	町	machi	town	noun
235	道	michi	road, way	noun
236	駅	eki	station	noun
237	車	kuruma	car	noun
238	電話	denwa	telephone	noun
239	部屋	heya	room	noun
240	水	mizu	water	noun
241	お金	okane	money	noun
242	ご飯	gohan	rice, meal	noun
243	店	mise	shop, store	noun
244	問題	mondai	problem, question	noun
245	意味	imi	meaning	noun
246	理由	riyū	reason	noun
247	場合	baai	case, situation	noun
248	自分で	jibun de	by oneself	adverb
249	生活	seikatsu	life, daily life	noun
250	映画	eiga	movie	noun
251	音楽	ongaku	music	noun
252	日本	nihon	Japan	noun
253	日本語	nihongo	Japanese (language)	noun
254	英語	eigo	English (language)	noun
255	天気	tenki	weather	noun
256	雨	ame	rain	noun
257	空	sora	sky	noun
258	猫	neko	cat	noun
259	犬	inu	dog	noun
260	一	ichi	one	number
261	二	ni	two	number
262	三	san	three	number
263	四	yon	four	number
264	五	go	five	number
265	十	jū	ten	number
266	百	hyaku	hundred	number
267	千	sen	thousand	number
268	万	man	ten thousand	number
269	一つ	hitotsu	one (thing)	number
270	二つ	futatsu	two (things)	number
271	初めて	hajimete	for the first time	adverb
272	最初	saisho	first, beginning	noun
273	最後	saigo	last, end	noun
274	次	tsugi	next	noun
275	他	hoka	other, another	noun
276	全然	zenzen	not at all; totally	adverb
277	ずっと	zutto	all the time; by far	adverb
278	やっぱり	yappari	as expected, after all	adverb
279	さっき	sakki	a moment ago	adverb
280	後で	ato de	later	adverb
281	先に	saki ni	ahead, first	adverb
282	誰か	dareka	someone	pronoun
283	何か	nanika	something	pronoun
284	こう	kō	like this, this way	adverb
285	そう	sō	so, like that; yes	adverb
286	ああ	ā	ah, oh; like that	interjection
287	えっ	e'	eh? what?	interjection
288	おい	oi	hey	interjection
289	ため	tame	for the sake of; because of	noun
290	よう	yō	way, manner; seem, like	noun
291	はず	hazu	should, expected to	noun
292	ところ	tokoro	place; point (in time)	noun
293	こと	koto	thing, matter (abstract)	noun
294	もの	mono	thing (tangible)	noun
295	さん	san	Mr., Ms. (honorific suffix)	particle
296	食べ物	tabemono	food	noun
297	電車	densha	train	noun
298	病院	byōin	hospital	noun
299	来週	raishū	next week	noun
300	夏	natsu	summer	noun

Frequency ranking based on Japanese Wikipedia (2022).

Questions

What are the most common Japanese words?

The top ten are の ((possessive particle) 's), は ((topic particle) as for), に ((particle) to), を ((direct object particle)), が ((subject particle); but), と (and; with; (quotation)), で (at), も (also), から (from; because), です (to be (polite)).

How many Japanese words do I need to know?

The few hundred most frequent words make up a large share of any everyday text, which is why they're the best place to start. To read graded stories comfortably you need roughly 1,000–2,000; for unadapted books, several thousand. Test yourself with the Japanese vocabulary size test.

Where does this list come from?

The ranking is based on Japanese Wikipedia (2022), cleaned by hand to remove names, fragments and noise, with meanings added for learners.