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THE MINIMUM AMOUNT OF JAPANESE YOU SHOULD LEARN BEFORE TRAVELING TO JAPAN.
OCTOBER 1, 2010 • 3043 WORDS WRITTEN BY KOICHI • ART BY AYA FRANCISCO
Say you're going to Japan. Then you realize that you don't know any Japanese
words.
Or, you're learning Japanese, and you want to make sure you know some of the
most important words in the Japanese language.
Also, if you'd like to get the most out of this list (and your trip to Japan), I highly
recommend that you learn hiragana and katakana, two of the Japanese "alphabets."
We've made a free learn hiragana guide, and a free learn katakana guide just for
such an occasion.
Emergency
Asking
People
Locations
Food
Being Polite
Greetings
Basic Verbs
Basic Adjectives
Numbers
EMERGENCY
First and foremost, let's learn the Japanese words that have to do with
"emergency" situations. You don't want to be caught off guard in a foreign
country. If you're in trouble, you need to be able to scream the correct words to
ask for help, whether that involves nding a bathroom after you ate some bad
tempura (speaking from experience here), or nding someone who can speak
English (or whatever your native language is).
トイレ
toire
トイレ (toire) = Toilet
⼿洗い
tearai
助けて
tasukete
わかりません
wakarimasen
わかりません (wakarimasen) = I
don't understand
Maybe somebody is messing with you and you want them to stop (yakuza?). You
could say this.
英語
eigo
英語 (eigo) = English
Sometimes you just need someone who speaks some English. Even though all
Japanese people learn English in school, very few Japanese people are any good at
speaking it. Still, it doesn't hurt to try.
服
fuku
服 (fuku) = Clothes
Maybe you're at a hot springs and can't nd your clothes. Hey, it's possible.
死にそう
shini sou
When things get really serious, you may need to pull out all the stops.
警察
keisatsu
警察 (keisatsu) = Police
If something really bad happens, these are the people you want to ask for.
危ない
abunai
You'll see this on signs and stuff. If someone says "abunai" to you, you should
probably be careful.
危険
kiken
Basically, this is just another abunai. You'll see this on signs as well.
ASKING
Asking broad general questions, then using body language to tell people the rest is
a really fun way to get by in a country where you don't speak the language.
どうした
doushita
Then again, you probably won't understand what the person responds with, but
it's always nice to ask.
どうして
doushite
なに
nani
What!? WHAT!?
時間
jikan
時間 (jikan) = Time
Just ask this with an quizzical tone and people will get the drift. Point to your
wrist while you're at it. You might want to learn some numbers (keep reading) to
understand the answer.
質問
shitsumon
質問 (shitsumon) = Question
Have a question? Let someone know. Couple this with "eigo! eigo!" and maybe
someone who can speak some English will come to answer your shitsumon.
だれ
dare
だれ (dare) = Who
いつ
itsu
いつ (itsu) = When
Pretty important if you're trying to time something. "I know we have to meet, but
when are we meeting?"
PEOPLE
People are a big part of life and vocabulary. Learning Japanese words that have to
do with people can be very important.
先⽣
sensei
先⽣ (sensei) = Teacher
学⽣
gakusei
学⽣ (gakusei) = Student
会社員
kaishain
⼈
hito
⼈ (hito) = Person
私
watashi
私 (watashi) = I
あなた
anata
LOCATIONS
LOCATIONS
Finding your way around can be pretty important. Here are some Japanese words
that will help you do that and keep you from getting lost.
ホテル
hoteru
どこ
doko
どこ (doko) = Where
Don't know where something is? Ask where it is with this word. Doko? Doko?
空港
kuukou
空港 (kuukou) = Airport
Combine this with the previous word, doko, and you have kuukou doko? (Where's
the airport?)
駅
eki
駅
eki
駅 (eki) = Station
Trains are a huge part of traveling in Japan. Just put the name of the station before
eki and you have the train station's name. For example, Tokyo Eki is "Tokyo
Station."
⽇本
nihon
⽇本
nippon
⽇本 (nihon/nippon) = Japan
⼤学
daigaku
⼤学 (daigaku) = College
If you're going to Japan to study in college, this Japanese word is pretty darn
important.
本屋
honya
本屋 (honya) = Bookstore
まんが喫茶
manga kissa
These are places with computers, internet, manga, and most importantly a place
to rest. These are much cheaper than hotels, and good places to stay in a pinch…
that being said, they are often smoky and uncomfortable. You can usually get free
fountain drinks, though!
タクシー
takushi
家
ie
家
uchi
家 (ie/uchi) = Home
FOOD
You can't nd much better food than the food you can nd in Japan. Even
McDonalds somehow tastes better in Japan, not to mention Japanese food.
おなかすいた
onaka suita
はらへった
hara hetta
Two ways to say this one. First one is more neutral, second is more casual.
⾷べます
tabemasu
Do you eat this? Yes I eat this. Combine it with another word, like sushi. Sushi
tabemasu, with the right context, would mean "I eat sushi."
⾷べません
tabemasen
Do you eat this? No I don't. Like tabemasu, you can combine it with another food
word. Sushi tabemasen, in the right context, would mean "I do not eat sushi." Or,
combine it with niku to say niku tabemasen ("I don't eat meat"). Be warned, a lot of
Japanese people think sh is not meat… and it seems like almost everything has
sh.
飲みます
nomimasu
Glug Glug.
飲みません
nomimasen
⽔
mizu
⽔ (mizu) = Water
飲み物
nomimono
⾷べ物
tabemono
美味しい
oishii
If something tastes nice (or if you want to be nice), you'd say this.
不味い
mazui
不味い (mazui) = Bad Tasting
レストラン
resutoran
Now you need to gure out which one. There will be plenty of choices.
コンビニ
konbini
Great place to buy small things and food. Convenience Store food in Japan is
pretty awesome. You could eat at convenience stores for breakfast, lunch, and
dinner for a week and always nd something new and delicious.
スーパー
suupaa
BEING POLITE
You don't want to piss people off when you're in their country. When in Tokyo, as
they say.
ありがとうございます
arigatougozaimasu
The streets can be busy, it's nice to say excuse me when you walk through people,
bump into them, or need to get by.
ごめんなさい
gomennasai
If you bump into someone while trying to get by, you can say this.
いただきます
itadakimasu
Actually, I don't know if that's the best translation, but it's close enough. You say
this before you're about to eat, to kind of give thanks for the food you're about to
devour.
ごちそうさまでした
gochisousama deshita
Another bad translation! But, there isn't really a good one. You say this after you
eat, to say thanks for the food.
GREETINGS
Hopefully you meet some nice people in your travels. Say hello (and then
goodbye!) to them.
おはようございます
ohayougozaimasu
こんにちは
konnichiwa
こんばんは
konbanwa
ではまた
dewamata
また明⽇
mata ashita
For when you'll almost certainly see them the next day.
さようなら
sayounara
おやすみなさい
oyasuminasai
おやすみなさい (oyasuminasai) = Good Night
BASIC VERBS
Verbs will get you a long ways. You don't have to know much else as long as you
know verbs, because verbs help you to get things done. Even if you don't know the
grammatical particles that go with the verbs, you can still communicate.
⾏きます
ikimasu
⾏きます (ikimasu) = To Go
Where are you going? "Tokyo Eki. Ikimasu.," you could say, and people would
understand.
帰ります
kaerimasu
If you need to someone you're coming back. Will you come back to this hotel to
pay your bill? Yes. Kaerimasu.
⾷べます
tabemasu
します
shimasu
します (shimasu) = To Do
This is the best verb ever. It can be used with anything. Stick it on a noun for all I
care, people will understand. "Tennis shimasu," you could say. That means "do
tennis" or "I do tennis."
⾒ます
mimasu
買います
kaimasu
待ちます
machimasu
書きます
kakimasu
⽌まります
tomarimasu
Or, if you're driving, look out for the ⽌ symbol on a red triangle sign. That's a stop
sign.
教えます
oshiemasu
教えます (oshiemasu) = To Teach
話します
hanashimasu
Combine this with eigo (English). "Eigo. Hanashimasu?" People will know that
you're asking if someone speaks English.
BASIC ADJECTIVES
Adjectives, while not as awesome as verbs, are also very useful. They help you
describe things.
新しい
atarashii
嬉しい
ureshii
⼤丈夫
daijoubu
Say you fall down and hit your knee. You're okay, so you can say "daijoubu!" That
way people know that you're okay.
すごい
sugoi
For the sight seeing. Listen for it in cool sightseeing spots. All the cool kids are
saying it. In fact, everyone is saying it.
⾼い
takai
If you're in a store and something costs a lot, you can say takai to mean
"expensive." If you're talking about a building (and not planning on buying it) this
word will mean "tall." It's all about context.
⼤きい
ookii
⼩さい
chiisai
Or, perhaps you're not a big eater, get a chiisai portion instead.
近い
chikai
近い (chikai) = Near
遠い
tooi
遠い (tooi) = Far
悪い (warui) = Bad
How do you feel? Warui. Is he a good person? No, he's warui. This word is a little
bit exible.
いい
ii
いい (ii) = Good
There will be a lot of opportunity to use this word. Why? Because there are a lot of
good things in Japan.
⾯⽩い
omoshiroi
There are a lot of interesting things in Japan. You'll be able to use this word a lot!
楽しい
tanoshii
And, a bunch of fun things too. Japanese rollercoasters are really tanoshii, by the
way.
熱い
atsui
熱い (atsui) = Hot
In the summer, Japan gets this way. If it's humid, you can say mushi atsui.
寒い
samui
寒い (samui) = Cold
上⼿ (jouzu) = Good At
When you use your 100 Japanese words, people will tell you how jouzu your
Japanese is, even though it's probably not that good.
下⼿
heta
下⼿ (heta) = Bad At
⾚
aka
⾚ (aka) = Red
⻘
ao
⻘ (ao) = Blue
Trees, traf c lights, and many other "green" things are considered ao in Japanese.
Just a little tidbit of knowledge that might come in handy.
⿊
kuro
⿊ (kuro) = Black
緑
midori
緑 (midori) = Green
⻩⾊
kiiro
⻩⾊ (kiiro) = Yellow
⽩
shiro
⽩ (shiro) = White
Now I'm really running out of things to say about Japanese color words.
⾺⿅
baka
⾺⿅ (baka) = Stupid!
NUMBERS
Numbers will be helpful in many situations. There are many different counters in
Japanese, which are basically different ways to count different things, but basic
numbers like these will work in a pinch.
⼀
ichi
⼀ (ichi) = One
One ticket.
⼆
ni
⼆ (ni) = Two
Two people.
三
san
三 (san) = Three
Three o'clock.
四
shi
四
yon
四 (shi/yon) = Four
Kind of an unlucky number. Might be missing from building oors. Also, you
shouldn't give gifts in sets of four.
五
go
五 (go) = Five
Good way to remember the rst ve numbers: "Itchy knee! Son, She go!" Imagine
that playing out…
六
roku
六 (roku) = Six
七
nana
七
shichi
七 (nana/shichi) = Seven
Also kinda unlucky, because it also contains "shi." 死, or shi means "death."
⼋
hachi
⼋ (hachi) = Eight
The "hatch" (hachi) you have to open has a big number "eight" on it.
九
ku
九
kyuu
九 (ku/kyuu) = Nine
It was said that "Kublai Khan" (Ku) could only count to nine.
⼗
juu
⼗ (juu) = Ten
百
hyaku
百 (hyaku) = 100
Jumping up an interval, the most useful coin is the 100 yen coin, aka the hyaku en
coin.
千
sen
千 (sen) = 1,000
The rst paper bill in the Japanese monetary system. These are worth about $10.
There are also 2,000 and 5,000 yen bills, too.
万
man
万 (man) = 10,000
円 (en) = Yen.
Not really a number, but goes nicely with the numbers when you're talking
amounts of money. ichi en, hyaku en, ichi man en, ni man en, etc.
What other important words do you think should be on this list? Let us know on
Twitter.
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I hope this list was helpful for you! As I mentioned before, this is just the tip of the
iceberg. It's fun to go through and try to learn individual Japanese words, but
you're not learning the meaning behind the meaning. You don't understand why a
word is what it is, and to do that you need to study and build up a foundation for
your Japanese. You also need to study the grammar behind the words, too.
Greetings, in particular, are riddled with grammar. Learning the sounds of the
greetings without learning the mechanics is like going skydiving without a
parachute… doesn't make sense.
I hope you decide to dig a little deeper in your Japanese! The rst step is to learn
the phonetic-ish alphabets of Japanese, hiragana and katakana. Good luck!
OLDER ARTICLE
WHEN LEARNING JAPANESE, IT’S ALL ABOUT THE LITTLE VICTORIES
NEWER ARTICLE
WHY DO JAPANESE PEOPLE LIVE SO LONG?
OLDER JAPANESE
WHAT DOES YOROSHIKU ONEGAISHIMASU MEAN?
NEWER JAPANESE
WHEN LEARNING JAPANESE, IT’S ALL ABOUT THE LITTLE VICTORIES
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