easy japanese essays

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• Draw it in the drawing area
• Type the name in the text area
• Look for it in the list
• Notice that 漢 is made of several components: 氵 艹 口 夫
• Draw any of these components (one at a time) in the drawing area, and select it when you see it
• Alternatively, look for a component in the list. 氵 艹 口 each have three strokes; 夫 has four strokes
• If you know the meanings of the components, type any of them in the text area: water (氵), grass (艹), mouth (口) or husband (夫)
• Keep adding components until you can see your kanji in the list of matches that appears near the top.
• Draw a component in the center of the area, as large as you can
• Try to draw the component as it appears in the kanji you're looking up
• Don't worry about stroke order or number of strokes
• Don't draw more than one component at a time

Joy o' Kanji - Individual Kanji Essays and Thematic Bundles

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• Download the kanji with readings and meanings for study offline or in another flashcard program

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Japanese Writing Practice (Beginner)

Essential vocabulary in writing! Let's test your writing skills! Can you write in Japanese with confidence? It's very important to recognize the characters for reading, but it's a lot more important to be able to produce them quickly! Try the videos and see if your writing is at that level or not!

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Mastering The Art Of Japanese Essay Writing: A How-To Guide

Essay writing in Japanese can be both challenging and rewarding. Whether you’re a student striving for academic excellence or an enthusiast looking to express yourself fluently in Japanese, honing your essay-writing skills is crucial. From crafting compelling arguments to mastering the intricacies of grammar and style, there are several strategies you can employ to improve your Japanese essay writing. In this guide, we’ll explore some effective techniques to help you elevate your writing to the next level.

1. Expand your vocabulary

Building a strong vocabulary is fundamental to effective essay writing in any language, including Japanese. Make a habit of learning new words regularly and incorporating them into your writing. Utilise flashcards, language learning apps, and reading extensively to expose yourself to a wide range of vocabulary. Additionally, pay attention to kanji and their various readings, as they can significantly enhance your writing proficiency.

2. Practice writing regularly

Like any skill, Japanese essay writing requires consistent practice to improve. Set aside dedicated time each day to write essays on different topics. Start with simple subjects and gradually increase the complexity as you gain confidence. Don’t shy away from seeking feedback from native speakers or instructors to identify areas for improvement.

3. Focus on grammar and syntax

Paying attention to grammar and syntax is essential for producing coherent and polished essays. Review grammar rules regularly and practise applying them in your writing. Take note of common mistakes and strive to avoid them in your essays. Additionally, analyse well-written Japanese essays to observe how native speakers construct sentences and convey their ideas effectively.

4. Develop strong arguments

Whether you’re writing an opinion piece or an analytical essay, developing strong arguments is crucial. Take the time to brainstorm and organise your thoughts before writing. Clearly outline your main points and provide supporting evidence to strengthen your arguments. Consider using rhetorical devices and persuasive language to engage your readers and make your essay more compelling.

5. Read Japanese literature

Reading Japanese literature is not only enjoyable but also beneficial for improving your essay-writing skills. Expose yourself to a variety of literary works, including novels, essays, and articles, to familiarise yourself with different writing styles and techniques. Pay attention to how authors structure their essays, develop characters, and evoke emotions through language.

6. Edit and revise

Effective editing and revision are essential steps in the essay writing process. After completing a draft, take a break and then revisit your essay with fresh eyes. Look for grammatical errors, awkward phrasing, and inconsistencies in your writing. Consider seeking feedback from peers or mentors to gain valuable insights into areas for improvement. Revise your essay multiple times until you’re satisfied with the final result.

7. Immerse yourself in the language

Immersing yourself in the Japanese language and culture can significantly enhance your essay-writing skills. Watch popular Japanese TV shows , listen to Japanese music, and engage in conversations with native speakers whenever possible. Immerse yourself in authentic Japanese content to absorb idiomatic expressions, colloquialisms, and cultural nuances that will enrich your writing.

In conclusion, improving your Japanese essay writing skills requires dedication, practice, and a willingness to learn. By expanding your vocabulary, practising regularly, focusing on grammar and syntax, developing strong arguments, reading Japanese literature, editing, and revising your work, and immersing yourself in the language, you can make significant strides in your writing proficiency. Remember that mastery takes time and effort, so be patient with yourself and celebrate your progress along the way.

For further guidance and resources on Japanese language learning, consider exploring Japanese Explorer’s comprehensive Japanese classes. With our expert instruction and tailored curriculum, you can learn Japanese with ease and accelerate your journey toward fluency and proficiency in Japanese essay writing.

So, what are you waiting for? Enrol in a Japanese lesson in Singapore with us today!

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Appreciating japanese poetry: haiku & tanka's beauty.

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About This Page

This page introduces the variety of essays written by popular contemporary authors. Unless noted, all are in Japanese.

The author, さくらももこ, is known for writing a comic titled 『 ちびまる子ちゃん 』. The comic is based on her own childhood experiences and depicts the everyday life of a girl with a nickname of Chibi Maruko-chan. The author has been constantly writing casual and humorous essays, often recollecting her childhood memories. We have both the『 ちびまる子ちゃん 』 comic series and other essays by the author. 

To see a sample text in a new tab, please  click on the cover image or the title .

中島らも(1952-2004) started his career as a copyrigher but changed his path to become a prolific writer, publishing novels, essays, drama scripts and rakugo stories. He became popular with his "twisted sense of humour."  He is also active in the music industry when he formed his own band. He received the 13th Eiji Yoshikawa New Author Prize with his 『今夜、すべてのバーで』 and Mystery Writers of Japan Aaward with 『 ガダラの豚 』.

東海林（しょうじ）さだお

東海林さだお(1937-) is a well-known cartoonist, but he is also famous for his essays on food. His writing style is light and humorous and tends to pay particular attention toward regular food, such as bananas, miso soup, and eggd in udon noodles, rather than talk about gourmet meals. (added 5/2/2014)

Collection of Essays: 天声人語 = Vox Populi, Vox Deli (Bilingual)

A collection of essays which appear on the front page of Asahi Shinbun . Each essay is approx. 600 words. KU has collections published around 2000. Seach KU Online catalog with call number AC145 .T46 for more details. 

To see a sample text, please click on the cover image or the title .

Other Essays

Online Essay

• 村上さんのところ "Mr. Murakami's Place" -- Haruki Murakami's Advice Column Part of Haruki Murakami's official site. He answers questions sent to this site. He will also take questions in English. Questions will be accepted until Jan. 31, 2015.

Search from KU Collection

If you are looking for essays in Japanese available at KU, use this search box. If you know the author, search by last name, then first name, such as "Sakura, Momoko." Make sure to select "Author" in the search field option.:

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• Last Updated: Feb 1, 2024 11:08 AM
• URL: https://guides.lib.ku.edu/c.php?g=95189

Japanese Writing Lab #1: Basic self-introduction

In a recent post I announced I would be starting a new program on my blog called “Japanese Writing Lab” that aims to motivate people to practice writing in Japanese, provides feedback on their writing, and allows them to see posts of other Japanese learners. This article represents the first writing assignment of that program.

For this assignment, I’d like to focus on a very common, but important topic: self-introduction, known as 自己紹介 (jiko shoukai) in Japanese.

Self-introductions can range widely from formal to casual, and from very short (name only) to much longer. This time, I’d like everyone to focus on writing a basic self-introduction whose main purpose is to actually introduce yourself to me and others in the group. So while it is a writing exercise, it actually serves an important purpose as well. Try to keep it brief (a few sentences is fine) and stick more to written language as opposed to spoken language. For example, you would avoid using things like “あの。。。” which you might say if you actually spoke a self-introduction.

For those who are comfortable writing a self-introduction in Japanese, you can go ahead and get started. If you have written one recently, I suggest you try to write one again from scratch without referring to it unless you really get stuck.

Once you finish this writing assignment please post it via one of the two following methods:

• For those who have a blog (WordPress or anywhere else is fine): post it on your blog, and post a comment on this article including a link to your post. I also suggest adding a link on your post back to this article, so people who find your post can follow it to read other people’s submissions.
• For those who don’t have a blog: simply post it as a comment to this article with the text you’ve written. [Note: creating a blog is pretty easy and free on many sites, so if you have a few minutes I’d just consider just trying to create a blog]

I’ll be reading through the submitted assignments and will try to make constructive comments. I highly recommend for everyone submitting to read other people’s submissions.

For those who are not too familiar with how to write self-introductions in Japanese, here is a general template to help you get started (taken from this Japanese website). If you want to do your own research on how to write a self-introduction, that is fine as well. Feel free to omit any of the below categories, for example if you don’t want to discuss where you live.

Keep in mind that for a self-introduction in Japanese, it is usually best to use at minimum basic polite language, like ~です and ~ます, since you aren’t likely to be on very familiar terms with those you are speaking to.

General template for  basic self-introduction

僕（私) の名前は [your name here] です。

• Place where you live (住所)

住所は[place where you live]というところです。

• Hobbies (趣味)

趣味は [one or more of your hobbies]です。

仕事は「your current job」をしています。

• Positive ending

[try to think of something positive to close with]

My submission

For each assignment I will give my submission as well, to help give you ideas. Feel free to send me questions or comments about my submission.

For this assignment I’ll keep things pretty simple and mostly follow the template I gave above, but in future assignments I’ll start using more advanced language and get more creative.

僕の名前はlocksleyuです。

住所はオレゴン州のポートランドですが、先週までは南フロリダに住んでいました。

趣味は色々ありますが、最近は日本の小説を読んだりチェスをやったりしています。

仕事はソフトウェア開発をしています。

このクラスで日本語の文章力を向上できたらいいと思います。

よろしくお願いします。

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22 thoughts on “ Japanese Writing Lab #1: Basic self-introduction ”

Hi – I put together a WordPress site today so I could participate in this, and also to encourage me to write in Japanese.

Here’s my basic self introduction article: https://bokunojapanese.wordpress.com/2016/05/30/japanese-writing-lab-1-basic-self-introduction/

I tried once yesterday and once just now to post here and I am not seeing anything getting through. Are these comments moderated? Is there some other issue? I’m sick of retyping my introduction 🙁

The comments are moderated (that is the default setting of WordPress) but I check very often and approve pretty much all comments except for Spam. For some reason I didn’t see any of your comments from yesterday, only two from today.

I’ll read your other comment and respond now.

OK, this blog doesn’t seem to accept Japanese characters as comments (I just tried a third time).

I’m sorry that you are experiencing trouble. I’ll try to do my best help you out so we can get this solved (:

I have used Japanese before in comments. Let’s test now:

こんにちは [<- can you read this?] What happens when you try to write Japanese characters? Can you please make a post like this with some Japanese and some English so I can see what it looks like? Also, what browser/OS are you using? Can you try a variation of either? I am using Safari/Mac OS.

Thanks for the reply! Yeah, I’m reading that. The last three comments I have made that have included either all Japanese characters or a mix of Japanese and English have just…vanished. Like, I click “post” and the page refreshes but I don’t see my comment or even a “Your comment is pending” notification. I’m on Chrome on Mac OS, everything’s reasonably up to date.

Here’s a comment with English and hiragana only: こんにちは Thanks for helping me debug and sorry to be leaving so many comments on the blog ;_;

Here’s a comment with English, hiragana and kanji: こんいちは 漢字は難しいですが、大切です。

Everything looks great now, I can see all the characters fine (: I’m guessing that was just some temporary issue with WordPress.

You can go ahead and try to put your self-introduction now. Just make a backup copy in case it gets deleted again.

You’re not going to believe this, but it STILL isn’t posting. I was avoiding making a new blog because I thought it would be “more work” but now I’m thinking that would be simpler after all.

Thats so weird, I wonder why. Maybe if you make a longer comment it doesn’t like it?

I agree it will probably be easier at this point to create your own blog, and that will have other benefits for you in the future.

But if you still want to try and troubleshoot the original issue I can help…

The good news is that WordPress makes it really easy to set up a new blog these days. I guess in retrospect I should have done that to begin with. Thanks for your help trying to debug this issue! https://nihongonoheya.wordpress.com/2016/06/02/first-blog-post/

Great, glad you were able to make a blog so easily! Will check out your blog later today when I get more time.

Hi, I have been reading several of your articles with great interest. The first that lead me to you was your comments on ‘Hibana’ by Naoki Matayoshi. A friend of mine in Japan is reading this book and I was curious about its content. Your translation is amazing. To introduce myself I set up a site, above link, however it doesn’t really seem to be a blog as such, so I may need to change that later. Anyway it’s accepted the script ok so you should be able to read it. I hope to join in here to improve my Japanese. Thanks for your time, Sylvia

Thanks very much for the comment and feedback!

Also, I’m glad you are interested in joining my program. I checked out your site, but like you said it seems like it isn’t exactly a blog, so I am not sure if I will be able to comment. Without that, it will be hard for me to correct your writings (I found a few errors I wanted to point out).

If it’s not too much trouble, would you mind trying to create a blog on WordPress.com? It should be pretty easy and it’s free.

Hi, Thank you for your reply. I think I’ve sorted it OK. See link below, I’ve never done a blog before so this is new to me! https://kafuka97.wordpress.com/

I just copied what I wrote before, no changes. Many thanks, Sylvia

PS: I do have a website which I have sent a link to.

Hello! My name is Jheanelle, I just found your website today and I think I’ve already looked through have of it. Its amazing. I’m interested in doing the assignments but I don’t have a blog so I’ll post it in the comments section.

ジェネルと言います。今日本に住んで仕事にしています。私は英語の先生です。 色々な趣味があります。例えば、寝たり、韓国の番組を見たり、本を読んだりするのが好きです。 日本語もっと上手になりたいそしてこのブログを見つけて嬉しくなった

どうぞよろしくお願いします

Hello Jheanelle. I’m sorry for the late reply but your message was showing up in Spam on my blog for some reason.

Thanks for the submission. Right now I am sort of taking a break from the writing labs since I didn’t get too much response from my readers, but I will consider restarting them again at some point. There is a few others however I posted (up to #3 or #4, I think).

I hope your Japanese studies are going well.

One minor comment, in your sentence “今日本に住んで仕事にしています” I think maybe you could have said: “今日本で仕事をしています” or “今日本に住んでで仕事もしています”

These might sound a little better.

One more thing, I recommend watching Japanese dramas instead of Korean if you want to improve faster (:

Hello locksleyu, I just posted my self-introduction here: https://soreymikleo1421.wordpress.com/2021/05/21/japanese-writing-lab-1-basic-self-introduction/ Thank you in advance!

Thanks! I just posted a few comments.

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Transition Words and Phrases for Japanese Essays  

  June 9, 2020

By   Alexis Papa

Are you having a hard time connecting between your ideas in your Japanese essay? In this article, we have listed useful transition words and phrases that you can use to help you let your ideas flow and have an organized essay.

Japanese Phrases for Giving Examples and Emphasis

For example,

がいこく、たとえばちゅうごくへいったことがありますか。 Gaikoku, tatoeba Chuugoku e itta koto ga arimasu ka?

Have you been abroad, for instance China?

たぶんちゅうごくへいったことがあります。 Tabun Chuugoku e itta koto ga arimasu.

I have probably been to China.

Japanese Essay Phrases: General Explaining

しけんにごうかくするのために、まじめにべんきょうしなきゃ。 Shiken ni goukaku suru no tame ni, majime ni benkyou shinakya.

In order to pass the exam, I must study.

あしたあめがふるそう。だから、かさをもってきて。 Ashita ame ga furu sou. Dakara, kasa wo motte kite.

It seems that it will rain tomorrow. So, bring an umbrella.

Showing Sequence

まず、あたらしいさくぶんのがいせつをしようとおもう。 Mazu, atarashii sakubun no gaisetsu wo shiyou to omou.

First, I am going to do an outline of my new essay.

つぎに、さくぶんをかきはじめます。 Tsugi ni, sakubun wo kaki hajimemasu.

Then, I will begin writing my essay.

Adding Supporting Statements

かれはブレーキをかけ、そしてくるまはとまった。 Kare wa bureki wo kake, soshite kuruma wa tomatta.

He put on the brakes and then the car stopped.

いえはかなりにみえたし、しかもねだんがてごろだった。 Ie wa kanari ni mieta shi, shikamo nedan ga tegoro datta.

The house looked good; moreover,the (selling) price was right.

Demonstrating Contrast 

にほんごはむずかしいですが、おもしろいです。 Nihongo wa muzukashii desu ga, omoshiroi desu.

Although Japanese language is difficult, it is enjoyable.

にほんごはむずかしいです。でも、おもしろいです。 Nihongo wa muzukashii desu. Demo, omoshiroi desu.

Japanese language is difficult. Nevertheless, it is enjoyable.

にほんごはむずかしいです。しかし、おもしろいです。 Nihondo wa muzukashii desu. Shikashi, omoshiroi desu.

Japanese language is difficult. However, it is enjoyable.

にほんごはむずかしいですけれど、おもしろいです。 Nihongo wa muzakashii desu keredo, omoshiroi desu.

Japanese Essay Phrases for Summarizing

われわれはこのはなしはじつわだというけつろんにたっした。 Wareware wa kono hanashi wa jitsuwa da to iu ketsuron ni tasshita.

We have come to a conclusion that this is a true story.

Now that you have learned these Japanese transitional words and phrases, we hope that your Japanese essay writing has become easier. Leave a comment and write examples of sentences using these Japanese essay phrases!

Alexis Papa

Alexis is a Japanese language and culture enthusiast from the Philippines. She is a Japanese Studies graduate, and has worked as an ESL and Japanese instructor at a local language school. She enjoys her free time reading books and watching series.

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Tae Kim's Guide to Learning Japanese

Effective writing practice

The main advantage of writing things out is you have a lot more time and resources to compose your thoughts as opposed to the rapid exchange of interactive conversations. In addition, writing things by hand gives you muscle memory as an additional memory aid.

The most important thing to remember with your own writing as well as all other aspects of language acquisition is to quickly get corrections in order to avoid falling into bad habits. In addition, it’s vitally important that you actually implement the corrections yourself and not just throw aside a piece of paper with corrections on it.

In the past, it’s been fairly difficult to find Japanese speakers to correct your writing. Fortunately, there is now a social networking site built exclusively for this purpose with an excellent community: Lang-8 .

I won’t go into much detail of how to use the site since they have their own video for the purpose right on the front page.

Writing topics

In general, I would consider writing to be the last portion of the four parts of language acquisition: listening, speaking, reading, writing. That’s because writing itself can be considered to be an art that goes much beyond the practical necessities of communicating in a foreign language. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t jump in to writing fairly early in the learning process. The important thing is to set realistic goals and distinguish between simple writing and composition.

Therefore, I would suggest writing about topics that are conversation-like. For example, contacting a friend in order to ask how he/she is doing is not only great writing practice but also becomes an opportunity to perfect your speaking skills as well. As a general guideline, at least in the beginning, I would write about things that could likely come up in a conversation. Combine that with actually talking about it with your conversation partner for a powerful learning combination.

Below are just a sample of possible writing topics. The Complete Guide to Japanese also has writing suggestions at the end of each chapter.

• What I did last summer.
• What I do on most days.
• Why I want to learn Japanese.
• What I want to do if/when I go to Japan.
• Interesting people I know and why they’re interesting.

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StoryLearning

Learn A Language Through Stories

How To Write In Japanese – A Beginner’s Guide

Do you want to learn how to write in Japanese , but feel confused or intimidated by the script?

This post will break it all down for you, in a step-by-step guide to reading and writing skills this beautiful language.

I remember when I first started learning Japanese and how daunting the writing system seemed. I even wondered whether I could get away without learning the script altogether and just sticking with romaji (writing Japanese with the roman letters).

I’m glad I didn’t.

If you’re serious about learning Japanese, you have to get to grips with the script sooner or later. If you don’t, you won’t be able to read or write anything useful, and that’s no way to learn a language.

The good news is that it isn’t as hard as you think. And I’ve teamed up with my friend Luca Toma (who’s also a Japanese coach ) to bring you this comprehensive guide to reading and writing Japanese.

By the way, if you want to learn Japanese fast (including how to write in Japanese) and have fun while doing it, my top recommendation is  Japanese Uncovered  which teaches you through StoryLearning®. 

With  Japanese Uncovered  you’ll use my unique StoryLearning® method to learn Japanese naturally through story… not rules. It’s as fun as it is effective.

If you’re ready to get started,  click here for a 7-day FREE trial.

If you have a friend who’s learning how to write in Japanese, you might like to share it with them. Now, let’s get stuck in…

Table of Contents

One Language, Two Systems, Three Scripts

If you are a complete beginner, Japanese writing may appear just like Chinese.

But if you look at it more carefully you'll notice that it doesn’t just contain complex Chinese characters… there are lots of simpler ones too.

Take a look.

それでも、 日本人 の 食生活 も 急速 に 変化 してきています 。 ハンバーグ や カレーライス は 子供に人気 がありますし 、都会 では 、 イタリア 料理、東南 アジア 料理、多国籍料理 などを 出 す エスニック 料理店 がどんどん 増 えています 。

Nevertheless, the eating habits of Japanese people are also rapid ly chang ing . Hamburgers and curry rice are popular with children . In cities , ethnic   restaurants serv ing Italian cuisine , Southeast Asian cuisine and multi-national cuisine keep increas ing more and more .

(Source: “Japan: Then and Now”, 2001, p. 62-63)

As you can see from this sample, within one Japanese text there are actually three different scripts intertwined. We’ve colour coded them to help you tell them apart.

(What’s really interesting is the different types of words – parts of speech – represented by each colour – it tells you a lot about what you use each of the three scripts for.)

Can you see the contrast between complex characters (orange) and simpler ones (blue and green)?

The complex characters are called kanji (漢字 lit. Chinese characters) and were borrowed from Chinese. They are what’s called a ‘logographic system' in which each symbol corresponds to a block of meaning (食 ‘to eat', 南 ‘south', 国 ‘country').

Each kanji also has its own pronunciation, which has to be learnt – you can’t “read” an unknown kanji like you could an unknown word in English.

Luckily, the other two sets of characters are simpler!

Those in blue above are called hiragana and those in green are called katakana . Katakana and hiragana are both examples of ‘syllabic systems', and unlike the kanji , each character corresponds to single sound. For example, そ= so, れ= re; イ= i, タ = ta.

Hiragana and katakana are a godsend for learners because the Japanese pronunciation isn’t a problem. If you see it, you can say it!

So, at this point, you’re probably wondering:

“What’s the point of using three different types of script? How could that have come about?”

In fact, all these scripts have a very specific role to play in a piece of Japanese writing, and you’ll find that they all work together in harmony in representing the Japanese language in a written form.

So let’s check them out in more detail.

First up, the two syllabic systems: hiragana and katakana (known collectively as kana ).

The ‘Kana' – One Symbol, One Sound

Both hiragana and katakana have a fixed number of symbols: 46 characters in each, to be precise.

Each of these corresponds to a combination of the 5 Japanese vowels (a, i, u, e o) and the 9 consonants (k, s, t, n, h, m, y, r, w).

(Source: Wikipedia Commons )

Hiragana  (the blue characters in our sample text) are recognizable for their roundish shape and you’ll find them being used for three functions in Japanese writing:

1. Particles (used to indicate the grammatical function of a word)

は     wa     topic marker

が     ga      subject marker

を     wo      direct object marker

2. To change the meaning of verbs, adverbs or adjectives, which generally have a root written in kanji. (“Inflectional endings”)

急速 に     kyuusoku ni        rapid ly

増 えています       fu ete imasu     are increas ing

3. Native Japanese words not covered by the other two scripts

それでも     soredemo     nevertheless

どんどん     dondon     more and more

Katakana  (the green characters in our sample text) are recognisable for their straight lines and sharp corners. They are generally reserved for:

1. Loanwords from other languages. See what you can spot!

ハンバーグ     hanbaagu     hamburger

カレーライス     karee raisu     curry rice

エスニック     esunikku     ethnic

2. Transcribing foreign names

イタリア     itaria     Italy

アジア     ajia     Asia

They are also used for emphasis (the equivalent of italics or underlining in English), and for scientific terms (plants, animals, minerals, etc.).

So where did hiragana and katakana come from?

In fact, they were both derived from kanji which had a particular pronunciation; Hiragana took from the Chinese cursive script  (安 an →あ a), whereas katakana developed from single components of the regular Chinese script (阿 a →ア a ).

So that covers the origins the two kana scripts in Japanese, and how we use them.

Now let’s get on to the fun stuff… kanji !

The Kanji – One Symbol, One Meaning

Kanji  – the most formidable hurdle for learners of Japanese!

We said earlier that kanji is a logographic system, in which each symbol corresponds to a “block of meaning”.

食     eating

生     life, birth

活     vivid, lively

“Block of meaning” is the best phrase, because one kanji is not necessarily a “word” on its own.

You might have to combine one kanji with another in order to make an actual word, and also to express more complex concepts:

生 + 活   =   生活     lifestyle

食 + 生活   =  食生活     eating habits

If that sounds complicated, remember that you see the same principle in other languages.

Think about the word “telephone” in English – you can break it down into two main components derived from Greek:

“tele” (far)  +  “phone” (sound)  = telephone

Neither of them are words in their own right.

So there are lots and lots of kanji , but in order to make more sense of them we can start by categorising them.

There are several categories of kanji , starting with the “pictographs” (象形文字 shōkei moji), which look like the objects they represent:

(Source: Wikipedia Commons )

In fact, there aren’t too many of these pictographs.

Around 90% of the kanji in fact come from six other categories, in which several basic elements (called “radicals”) are combined to form new concepts.

For example:

人 (“man” as a radical)   +   木 (tree)    =  休 (to rest)

These are known as 形声文字 keisei moji or “radical-phonetic compounds”.

You can think of these characters as being made up of two parts:

• A radical that tells you what category of word it is: animals, plants, metals, etc.)
• A second component that completes the character and give it its pronunciation (a sort of Japanese approximation from Chinese).

So that’s the story behind the kanji , but what are they used for in Japanese writing?

Typically, they are used to represent concrete concepts.

When you look at a piece of Japanese writing, you’ll see kanji being used for nouns, and in the stem of verbs, adjectives and adverbs.

Here are some of them from our sample text at the start of the article:

日本人     Japanese people 多国籍料理     multinational cuisine 東南     Southeast

Now, here’s the big question!

Once you’ve learnt to read or write a kanji , how do you pronounce it?

If you took the character from the original Chinese, it would usually only have one pronunciation.

However, by the time these characters leave China and reach Japan, they usually have two or sometimes even more pronunciations.

How or why does this happen?

Let's look at an example.

To say “mountain”, the Chinese use the pictograph 山 which depicts a mountain with three peaks. The pronunciation of this character in Chinese is shān (in the first tone).

Now, in Japanese the word for “mountain” is yama .

So in this case, the Japanese decided to borrow the character山from Chinese, but to pronounce it differently: yama .

However, this isn’t the end of the story!

The Japanese did decide to borrow the pronunciation from the original Chinese, but only to use it when that character is used in compound words.

So, in this case, when the character 山 is part of a compound word, it is pronounced as san/zan – clearly an approximation to the original Chinese pronunciation.

Here’s the kanji on its own:

山は…      Yama wa …     The mountain….

And here’s the kanji when it appears in compound words:

火山は…     Ka zan wa     The volcano…

富士山は…     Fuji san wa …     Mount Fuji….

To recap, every kanji has at least two pronunciations.

The first one (the so-called訓読み kun'yomi or “meaning reading”) has an original Japanese pronunciation, and is used with one kanji on it’s own.

The second one (called音読み  on'yomi or “sound-based reading”) is used in compound words, and comes from the original Chinese.

Makes sense, right? 😉

In Japan, there’s an official number of kanji that are classified for “daily use” (常用漢字 joy ō kanji ) by the Japanese Ministry of Education – currently 2,136.

(Although remember that the number of actual words that you can form using these characters is much higher.)

So now… if you wanted to actually learn all these kanji , how should you go about it?

To answer this question, Luca’s going to give us an insight into how he did it.  

How I Learnt Kanji

I started to learn kanji more than 10 years ago at a time when you couldn't find all the great resources that are available nowadays. I only had paper kanji dictionary and simple lists from my textbook.

What I did have, however, was the memory of a fantastic teacher.

I studied Chinese for two years in college, and this teacher taught us characters in two helpful ways:

• He would analyse them in terms of their radicals and other components
• He kept us motivated and interested in the process by using fascinating stories based on etymology (the origin of the characters)

Once I’d learnt to recognise the 214 radicals which make up all characters – the building blocks of Chinese characters – it was then much easier to go on and learn the characters and the words themselves.

It’s back to the earlier analogy of dividing the word “telephone” into tele and phone .

But here’s the thing – knowing the characters alone isn’t enough. There are too many, and they’re all very similar to one another.

If you want to get really good at the language, and really know how to read and how to write in Japanese, you need a higher-order strategy.

The number one strategy that I used to reach a near-native ability in reading and writing in Japanese was to learn the kanji within the context of dialogues or other texts.

I never studied them as individual characters or words.

Now, I could give you a few dozen ninja tricks for how to learn Japanese kanji. But the one secret that blows everything else out of the water and guarantees real success in the long-term, is extensive reading and massive exposure.

This is the foundation of the StoryLearning® method , where you immerse yourself in language through story.

In the meantime, there are a lot of resources both online and offline to learn kanji , each of which is based on a particular method or approach (from flashcards to mnemonic and so on).

The decision of which approach to use can be made easier by understanding the way you learn best.

Do you have a photographic memory or prefer working with images? Do you prefer to listen to audio? Or perhaps you prefer to write things by hands?

You can and should try more than one method, in order to figure out which works best for you.

( Note : You should get a copy of this excellent guide by John Fotheringham, which has all the resources you’ll ever need to learn kanji )

FAQs About How To Write In Japanese

What is the correct way to write in Japanese?

Japanese is made of three written systems; thus, the correct way to write in Japanese is to use hiragana, katakana, and kanji together. Beginners can start with hiragana and add katakana and kanji as they learn more.

What is the ABC's in Japanese?

Japanese is made of 46 characters (compared to English’s 26). They are: あ, い, う, え, お, か, き, く, け, こ, さ, し, す, せ, そ, た, ち, つ, て, と, な, に, ぬ, ね, の, は, ひ, ふ, へ, ほ, ま, み, む, め, も, や, ゆ, よ, ら, り, る, れ, ろ, わ, を, ん

How is Japanese text written?

Japanese text is written in a combination of hiragana, katakana, and kanji. Hiragana are phonetic “letters” used to spell words. Katakana are phonetic characters used specifically for foreign or loan words. Kanji are more complex characters that represent an entire word or idea.

How do you type in Japanese text?

You can type in Japanese by installing a Japanese keyboard/IME (which is short for “input method editor,” indicating that it is a program that can change how you input things into the computer) onto your mobile device or computer.

On Windows, this will be located in Settings > Time and Language > Region and Language > Add a Language, for example. 

Once the IME is installed, using it is generally as simple as clicking on it and selecting “Japanese” instead of English.

Is it worth it to learn to write in Japanese?

Learning to write in Japanese is absolutely worth it! Writing is one of the fastest ways to improve your reading comprehension, grammar, and vocabulary. It also helps you to engage with others more easily when speaking is not an option.

Summary Of How To Write In Japanese

So you’ve made it to the end of this guide on how to write in Japanese!

See – I told you it wasn’t that bad! Let’s recap what we’ve covered.

Ordinary written Japanese employs a mixture of three scripts:

• Kanji, or Chinese characters, of which there are officially 2,136 in daily use (more in practice)
• 2 syllabic alphabets called hiragana and katakana, containing 42 symbols each

In special cases, such as children’s books or simplified materials for language learners, you might find everything written using only hiragana or katakana .

But apart from those materials, everything in Japanese is written by employing the three scripts together. And it’s the kanji which represent the cultural and linguistic challenge in the Japanese language.

If you want to become proficient in the language and know how to write in Japanese you have to learn all three!

Although it seems like a daunting task, remember that there are many people before you who have found themselves right at the beginning of their journey in learning how to write in Japanese.

And every journey begins with a single step.

So what are you waiting for?

The best place to start is to enrol in  Japanese Uncovered . The course includes a series of lessons that teach you hiragana, katakana and kanji. It also includes an exciting Japanese story which comes in different formats (romaji, hiragana, kana and kanji) so you can practice reading Japanese, no matter what level you're at right now.

– – –

It’s been a pleasure for me to work on this article with Luca Toma, and I’ve learnt a lot in the process.

Now he didn’t ask me to write this, but if you’re serious about learning Japanese, you should consider hiring Luca as a coach. The reasons are many, and you can find out more on his website: JapaneseCoaching.it

Do you know anyone learning Japanese? Why not send them this article, or click here to send a tweet .

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Home » Articles » How to Write in Japanese — A Beginner’s Guide to Japanese Writing

Full disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. ?

written by Caitlin Sacasas

Language: Japanese

Reading time: 13 minutes

Published: Apr 2, 2021

Updated: Oct 18, 2021

How to Write in Japanese — A Beginner’s Guide to Japanese Writing

Does the Japanese writing system intimidate you?

For most people, this seems like the hardest part of learning Japanese. How to write in Japanese is a bit more complex than some other languages. But there are ways to make it easier so you can master it!

Here at Fluent in 3 Months , we encourage actually speaking over intensive studying, reading, and listening. But writing is an active form of learning too, and crucial for Japanese. Japanese culture is deeply ingrained in its writing systems. If you can’t read or write it, you’ll struggle as you go along in your studies.

Some of the best Japanese textbooks expect you to master these writing systems… fast . For instance, the popular college textbook Genki , published by the Japan Times, expects you to master the basics in as little as a week. After that, they start to phase out the romanized versions of the word.

It’s also easy to mispronounce words when they’re romanized into English instead of the original writing system. If you have any experience learning how to write in Korean , then you know that romanization can vary and the way it reads isn’t often how it’s spoken.

Despite having three writing systems, there are benefits to it. Kanji, the “most difficult,” actually makes memorizing vocabulary easier!

So, learning to write in Japanese will go a long way in your language studies and help you to speak Japanese fast .

Why Does Japanese Have Three Writing Systems? A Brief Explainer

Japanese has three writing systems: hiragana, katakana, and kanji. The first two are collectively called kana and are the basics of writing in Japanese.

Writing Kana

If you think about English, we have two writing systems — print and cursive. Both print and cursive write out the same letters, but they look “sharp” and “curvy.” The same is true for kana. Hiragana is “curvy” and katakana is “sharp,” but they both represent the same Japanese alphabet (which is actually called a syllabary). They both represent sounds, or syllables, rather than single letters (except for vowels and “n”, hiragana ん or katakana ン). Hiragana and katakana serve two different purposes.

Hiragana is the most common, and the first taught to Japanese children. If this is all you learn, you would be understood (although you’d come across child-like). Hiragana is used for grammar functions, like changing conjugation or marking the subject of a sentence. Because of this, hiragana helps break up a sentence when combined with kanji. It makes it easier to tell where a word begins and ends, especially since Japanese doesn’t use spaces. It’s also used for furigana, which are small hiragana written next to kanji to help with the reading. You see furigana often in manga , Japanese comics, for younger audiences who haven’t yet learned to read all the kanji. (Or learners like us!)

Katakana serves to mark foreign words. When words from other languages are imported into Japanese, they’re often written in Japanese as close as possible to the original word. (Like how you can romanize Japanese into English, called romaji). For example, パン ( pan ) comes from Spanish, and means “bread.” Or from English, “smartphone” is スマートフォン ( suma-tofon ) or shortened, slang form スマホ ( sumaho ). Katakana can also be used to stylistically write a Japanese name, to write your own foreign name in Japanese, or to add emphasis to a word when writing.

Writing Kanji

Then there’s kanji. Kanji was imported from Chinese, and each character means a word, instead of a syllable or letter. 犬, read inu , means “dog.” And 食, read ta or shoku , means “food” or “to eat.” They combine with hiragana or other kanji to complete their meaning and define how you pronounce them.

So if you wanted to say “I’m eating,” you would say 食べます ( tabemasu ), where -bemasu completes the verb and puts it in grammatical tense using hiragana. If you wanted to say “Japanese food,” it would be 日本食 ( nipponshoku ), where it’s connected to other kanji.

If you didn’t have these three forms, it would make reading Japanese very difficult. The sentences would run together and it would be confusing. Like in this famous Japanese tongue twister: にわにはにわにわとりがいる, or romanized niwa ni wa niwa niwatori ga iru . But in kanji, it looks like 庭には二羽鶏がいる. The meaning? “There are chickens in the garden.” Thanks to the different writing systems, we know that the first niwa means garden, the second ni wa are the grammatical particles, the third niwa is to say there are at least two, and niwatori is “chickens.”

Japanese Pronunciation

Japanese has fewer sounds than English, and except for “r,” most of them are in the English language. So you should find most of the sounds easy to pick up!

Japanese has the same 5 vowels, but only 16 consonants. For the most part, all syllables consist of only a vowel, or a consonant plus a vowel. But there is the single “n,” and “sh,” “ts,” and “ch” sounds, as well as consonant + -ya/-yu/-yo sounds. I’ll explain this more in a minute.

Although Japanese has the same 5 vowel sounds, they only have one sound . Unlike English, there is no “long A” and “short A” sound. This makes it easy when reading kana because the sound never changes . So, once you learn how to write kana, you will always know how to pronounce it.

Here’s how the 5 vowels sound in Japanese:

• あ / ア: “ah” as in “latte”
• い / イ: “ee” as in “bee”
• う / ウ: “oo” as in “tooth”
• え / エ: “eh” as in “echo”
• お / オ: “oh” as in “open”

Even when combined with consonants, the sound of the vowel stays the same. Look at these examples:

• か / カ: “kah” as in “copy”
• ち / チ: “chi” as in “cheap”
• む / ム: “mu” as in “move”
• せ / セ: “se” as in “set”
• の / ノ: “no” as in “note”

Take a look at the entire syllabary chart:

Based on learning how to pronounce the vowels, can you pronounce the rest of the syllables? The hardest ones will be the R-row of sounds, “tsu,” “fu,” and “n.”

For “r” it sounds between an “r” and an “l” sound in English. Almost like the Spanish, actually. First, try saying “la, la, la.” Your tongue should push off of the back of your teeth to make this sound. Now say “rah, rah, rah.” Notice how your tongue pulls back to touch your back teeth. Now, say “dah, dah, dah.” That placement of your tongue to make the “d” sound is actually where you make the Japanese “r” sound. You gently push off of this spot on the roof of your mouth as you pull back your tongue like an English “r.”

“Tsu” blends together “t” and “s” in a way we don’t quite have in English. You push off the “t” sound, and should almost sound like the “s” is drawn out. The sound “fu” is so soft, and like a breath of air coming out. Think like a sigh, “phew.” It doesn’t sound like “who,” but a soft “f.” As for our lone consonant, “n” can sound like “n” or “m,” depending on the word.

Special Japanese Character Readings and How to Write Them

There are a few Japanese characters that combine with others to create more sounds. You’ll often see dakuten , which are double accent marks above the character on the right side ( ﾞ), and handakuten , which is a small circle on the right side ( ﾟ).

Here’s how dakuten affect the characters:

And handakuten are only used with the H-row characters, changing it from “h” to “p.” So か ( ka ) becomes が ( ga ), and ひ ( hi ) becomes either び ( bi ) or ぴ ( pi ).

A sokuon adds a small っ between two characters to double the consonant that follows it and make a “stop” in the word. In the saying いらっしゃいませ ( irasshaimase , “Welcome!”), the “rahs-shai” has a slight glottal pause where the “tsu” emphasizes the double “s.”

One of the special readings that tend to be mispronounced are the yoon characters. These characters add a small “y” row character to the other rows to blend the sounds together. These look like ちゃ ( cha ), きょ ( kyo ), and しゅ ( shu ). They’re added to the “i” column of kana characters.

An example of a common mispronunciation is “Tokyo.” It’s often said “Toh-key-yo,” but it’s actually only two syllables: “Toh-kyo.” The k and y are blended; there is no “ee” sound in the middle.

How to Read, Write, and Pronounce Kanji Characters

Here’s where things get tricky. Kanji, since it represents a whole word or idea, and combines with hiragana… It almost always has more than one way to read and pronounce it. And when it comes to writing them, they have a lot more to them.

Let’s start by breaking down the kanji a bit, shall we?

Most kanji consist of radicals, the basic elements or building blocks. For instance, 日 (“sun” or “day”) is a radical. So is 言 (“words” or “to say”) and 心 (“heart”). So when we see the kanji 曜, we see that “day” has been squished in this complex kanji. This kanji means “day of the week.” It’s in every weekday’s name: 月曜日 ( getsuyoubi , “Monday”), 火曜日 ( kayoubi , “Tuesday”), 水曜日 ( suiyoubi , “Wednesday”), etc.

When the kanji for “words” is mixed into another kanji, it usually has something to do with conversation or language. 日本語 ( nihongo ) is the word for “Japanese” and the final kanji 語 includes 言. And as for 心, it’s often in kanji related to expressing emotions and feelings, like 怒る ( okoru , “angry”) and 思う ( omou , “to think”).

In this way, some kanji make a lot of sense when we break them down like this. A good example is 妹 ( imouto ), the kanji for “little sister.” It’s made up of two radicals: 女, “woman,” and 未, “not yet.” She’s “not yet a woman,” because she’s your kid sister.

So why learn radicals? Because radicals make it easier to memorize, read, and write the kanji. By learning radicals, you can break the kanji down using mnemonics (like “not yet a woman” to remember imouto ). If you know each “part,” you’ll remember how to write it. 妹 has 7 strokes to it, but only 2 radicals. So instead of memorizing tons of tiny lines, memorize the parts.

As for pronouncing them, this is largely a memorization game. But here’s a pro-tip. Each kanji has “common” readings — often only one or two. Memorize how to read the kanji with common words that use them, and you’ll know how to read that kanji more often than not.

Japanese Writing: Stroke Order

So, I mentioned stroke order with kanji. But what is that? Stroke order is the proper sequence you use to write Japanese characters.

The rule of stroke order is you go from top to bottom, left to right.

This can still be confusing with some complex kanji, but again, radicals play a part here. You would break down each radical top left-most stroke to bottom right stroke, then move on to the next radical. A helpful resource is Jisho.org , which shows you how to properly write all the characters. Check out how to write the kanji for “kanji” as a perfect example of breaking down radicals.

When it comes to kana, stroke order still matters. Even though they’re simpler, proper stroke order makes your characters easier to read. And some characters rely on stroke order to tell them apart. Take シ and ツ:

[Shi and Tsu example]

If you didn’t use proper stroke order, these two katakana characters would look the same!

How to Memorize Japanese Kanji and Kana

When it comes to Japanese writing, practice makes perfect. Practice writing your sentences down in Japanese, every day. Practice filling in the kana syllabary chart for hiragana and katakana, until there are no blank boxes and you’ve got them all right.

Create mnemonics for both kanji and kana. Heisig’s method is one of the best ways to memorize how to write kanji with mnemonics. Using spaced repetition helps too, like Anki. Then you’re regularly seeing each character, and you can input your mnemonics into the note of the card so you have it as a reminder.

Another great way to practice is to write out words you already know. If you know mizu means “water,” then learn the kanji 水 and write it with the kanji every time from here on out. If you know the phrase おはようございます means “good morning,” practice writing in in kana every morning. That phrase alone gives you practice with 9 characters and two with dakuten! And try looking up loan words to practice katakana.

Tools to Help You with Japanese Writing

There are some fantastic resources out there to help you practice writing in Japanese. Here are a few to help you learn it fast:

• JapanesePod101 : Yes, JapanesePod101 is a podcast. But they often feature YouTube videos and have helpful PDFs that teach you kanji and kana! Plus, you’ll pick up all kinds of helpful cultural insights and grammar tips.
• LingQ : LingQ is chock full of reading material in Japanese, giving you plenty of exposure to kana, new kanji, and words. It uses spaced repetition to help you review.
• Skritter : Skritter is one of the best apps for Japanese writing. You can practice writing kanji on the app, and review them periodically so you don’t forget. It’s an incredible resource to keep up with your Japanese writing practice on the go.
• Scripts : From the creator of Drops, this app was designed specifically for learning languages with a different script from your own.

How to Type in Japanese

It’s actually quite simple to type in Japanese! On a PC, you can go to “Language Settings” and click “Add a preferred language.” Download Japanese — 日本語 — and make sure to move it below English. (Otherwise, it will change your laptop’s language to Japanese… Which can be an effective study tool , though!)

To start typing in Japanese, you would press the Windows key + space. Your keyboard will now be set to Japanese! You can type the romanized script, and it will show you the suggestions for kanji and kana. To easily change back and forth between Japanese and English, use the alt key + “~” key.

For Mac, you can go to “System Preferences”, then “Keyboard” and then click the “+” button to add and set Japanese. To toggle between languages, use the command key and space bar.

For mobile devices, it’s very similar. You’ll go to your settings, then language and input settings. Add the Japanese keyboard, and then you’ll be able to toggle back and forth when your typing from the keyboard!

Japanese Writing Isn’t Scary!

Japanese writing isn’t that bad. It does take practice, but it’s fun to write! It’s a beautiful script. So, don’t believe the old ideology that “three different writing systems will take thousands of hours to learn!” A different writing system shouldn’t scare you off. Each writing system has a purpose and makes sense once you start learning. They build on each other, so learning it gets easier as you go. Realistically, you could read a Japanese newspaper after only about two months of consistent studying and practice with kanji!

Caitlin Sacasas

Content Writer, Fluent in 3 Months

Caitlin is a copywriter, content strategist, and language learner. Besides languages, her passions are fitness, books, and Star Wars. Connect with her: Twitter | LinkedIn

Speaks: English, Japanese, Korean, Spanish

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FREE Websites for Japanese Reading Practice (At Every Level)

Want to get better at Japanese?

Reading is one of the best ways to improve your language skills.

It’s especially important to read a lot when you’re learning a language with a different writing system, like Japanese.

Hiragana, katakana and kanji can be overwhelming at first. But with enough reading practice, reading these characters will become natural!

Reading consolidates all that vocabulary and grammar you’ve spent all that time learning. When you come across new words in a story or article, it’s much easier to remember.

And best of all, it’s free!

So if you’re wondering how to learn Japanese effectively, I really do recommend making regular time to read.

Here’s a selection of great websites for completely free Japanese reading practice online , whatever your level:

Japanese reading practice for beginners

If you’re a beginner, you’ll probably want to stick to resources in hiragana only.

(Not sure what hiragana is? First check out my post on how to read Japanese for a quick introduction to the Japanese writing systems!)

Japan Foundation’s hiragana mini books

The simplest (and cutest!) Japanese reading practice on this list! Designed as a classroom resource to teach hiragana to complete beginners, you can start reading these mini books as soon as you have just two hiragana characters under your belt (あ and か). 

The navigation on this site is not great, but for more hiragana books, look for the grey link at the bottom of the page. There are also katakana versions here . 

Plus, once you’ve learned all your kana, you can move on to the manga and short stories here .

Tadoku literally means ‘read a lot’, and the idea behind this site is that reading a lot is the best way to learn Japanese! Tadoku provides dozens of free, simple picture books for students of Japanese.

The site is all in Japanese, but don’t panic! It’s not hard to navigate. For beginner Japanese reading material, look for those marked with the blue ‘L0’ towards the top of the page. Click on a book cover that catches your attention. On the next page, click on the grey box labelled ‘READ FOR FREE’ (in English). Enjoy!

Another truly wonderful site based on the concept of tadoku (reading a lot). This is a great site for free Japanese reading practice at every level.

The texts are categorised based on JLPT levels (N5 being the easiest, N1 the most advanced). There is also an N6 level, which is the easiest and suitable for beginners who’ve just learned hiragana.

There are a couple of things I love about this site. Firstly, plenty of pictures to keep it interesting and help your comprehension! Secondly, it uses kanji (with furigana or pronunciation guides in hiragana) even from the very basic levels.

This means you will gradually get accustomed to seeing kanji, and it hopefully won’t be such a big step up when you start learning them!

Kindly shared by reader SakuraSpeaks.

Hukumusume is a site full of traditional Japanese children’s stories.

It’s is an absolutely huge site and it is written for Japanese children (not language students), so it can be a bit confusing to navigate. I recommend that beginners start with this page which has four stories written in hiragana with English translations.

Once you’ve read those, you can explore the rest of the stories here . Most of them don’t have English translations, but they are written in very simple Japanese so you can have a go at translating them yourself!

This page lists the stories by Japanese school year. Start with １ねんせい (1 st grade, which uses hiragana only) and work up to 6 th grade as you learn more kanji!

Many of the stories also have audio or video tracks.

Crunchy Nihongo’s hiragana stories

Here’s a very simple site for Japanese reading practice in hiragana only. Scroll to the bottom of the linked page and you will find links to several Japanese fairy tales, written in very simple Japanese. There is the option to show or hide romaji and English translation line by line.

EhonNavi is an amazing site that lets you read hundreds of different Japanese children’s picture books, all for free! Unlike the above sites, there are lots of modern books (not just traditional tales). You can browse books by age, from 0 up to 12. Yes, there are even books for babies with just one of two words per page, making this a great resource even for complete beginners!

The only downside is that you have to register. The whole site is in Japanese, so it’s a bit difficult for beginners. Here you can find fantastic instructions with screenshots to help you get set up.

CosCom News

It’s unusual to find reading materials for beginners that aren’t children’s books, but I managed it! This site publishes very short news articles in simple Japanese. You can click the buttons at the top to switch between romaji, hiragana, and full Japanese (with kanji). 

You can also download a pdf of the article if you want to write notes. Key vocabulary is listed in English below.

The ‘Tenki Yohoo’ (weather forecast) and ‘Short News’ sections contain very short articles for beginners. The ‘Japan News and World News’ section has slightly longer articles. Only the most recent article in each section is available for free. You can also pay for membership to read the archives.

Easy Japanese Stories

The author of this site is a high school Japanese teacher who writes simple stories as Japanese reading practice for their students. There are some made up stories and also some traditional Japanese children’s stories, rewritten in simple Japanese. The stories contain some kanji with furigana (pronunciation guide in hiragana). Each story comes with a vocab list, a sound recording and a downloadable pdf. Thank you Matthew for sharing!

Another source for Japanese children’s picture books online. This site is not so user-friendly, but I included it as an extra resource in case you have problems with the above sites.

Just click on an image to go to the book. Then click the yellow ‘next’ button at the top to turn the pages.

One problem with this site is that the writing is an image file, so you can’t copy and paste words to look in a dictionary. You can increase the text size from the homepage.

Intermediate Japanese reading practice

At the intermediate level, you will be able to understand longer sentences and more difficult words. You know hiragana and katakana, and can also read some kanji.

You need some reading resources that introduce these features of the language, but you still need a bit of help understanding new words.

We have just the thing for you! Here are some sites for Japanese reading practice for intermediate students:

Hirogaru is a cute site for Japanese learners. It has short texts and videos on lots of different topics. In particular, it has a lot of articles on traditional Japanese culture, such as calligraphy, tea ceremony and martial arts. There are vocabulary lists (with English translations) of key words for each topic.

Matcha is a cool Japanese travel and culture magazine. It’s available in 10 different languages, including an easy Japanese version! (My link will take you directly to the ‘easy Japanese’ site.) It does use kanji but always with furigana (pronunciation guides) above.

Most of the articles are available in English too. You can read the English version afterwards to check your understanding (use the drop down bar at the bottom of the page to change the language). Be careful though, because the translations aren’t always the same word-for-word.

Watanoc is a ‘free web magazine in simple Japanese’. The name comes from ‘wa’ (Japanese) ‘tanoshii’ (fun). It has a lot of articles of different lengths and different levels, so it’s suitable from beginners to intermediate. The topics include food, culture, events and funny news. After each title, it tells you the approximate JLPT reading level (N5 is the easiest). Also, if you hover your mouse over a word, it will pop up with an explanation in English! Highly recommended for upper beginners and lower intermediate.

NHK News Web Easy

NHK is Japan’s national news service. On this site, you can read NHK’s top news stories each day in simple Japanese. It’s aimed at Japanese elementary school children, as well as foreigners learning Japanese.

The site has furigana on the kanji, and Japanese dictionary definitions that pop up when you hover over a word. Many of the stories have videos too.

You can toggle furigana on and off using the blue button at the top of each article labelled 感じの読み方を消す. And, if you’re feeling up for a challenge, you can view the original NHK version of the article by clicking the blue button at the bottom labelled 普通のニュウスを読む.

The site has several new stories each day. If you enjoy reading about current affairs, this is a good site for you.

Short news articles, school lessons, games and bulletin boards in simple Japanese, aimed at elementary school kids. There is no furigana on the kanji so this might be a bit advanced for some users.

Hiragana Times

Hiragana Times is a magazine that publishes articles about Japan in simple Japanese with furigana, alongside an English translation. You have to subscribe for full access, but you can read selected sample articles on the main website here . You can toggle furigana, romaji and English on and off using the ‘あ’ button to the left hand side. You can also download a free sample magazine here .

Nippon Talk

This is a blog about many aspects of everyday life in Japan. Each paragraph is written in Japanese, with translation in English underneath. A small number of posts have French translations, too. You can choose to turn the furigana on or off. Unfortunately the blog is no longer updated, but there are several years of posts to read through.

Wasabi (Fairy Stories)

A small collection of Japanese fairy stories with furigana, audio, vocabulary lists and English translations. You can play the audio at different speeds, so this is also a useful site to practise reading aloud and work on your pronunciation! The Japanese texts contain kanji and a bit more advanced than the children’s stories in the beginner section above.

Wasabi (Manga)

This is from the same site as above but I wanted to list it separately because it’s so useful. If you dream of reading Japanese manga in the original, but you need some extra help, this is a great place to start. On this page you can read Give My Regards to Black Jack, a bestselling Japanese manga about a young doctor. Alongside the original manga, there is the Japanese script with English translation and language notes.

Bunsuke’s Newsletter

Bunsuke publishes short snippets from famous Japanese writers, together with a vocab list and translation. This is an excellent way for intermediate learners to dip their toes into reading Japanese literature in the original version, without overwhelm. You might even discover some favourite works to explore further! 

Previously, Bunsuke sent out his snippets every day in an email newsletter. The daily emails are paused for now, but you can read all previous newsletters in his Substack archive. He also runs occasional interactive reading challenges.

Advanced Japanese reading practice

If you are an advanced Japanese learner, I recommend using real Japanese materials as much as possible. By this I mean books and articles written for native Japanese speakers – not for language learners.

The ultimate goal is to speak fluent Japanese, the way native speakers do. You will learn the most natural language by using real life sources.

The good news is, it’s incredibly easy to find real life Japanese resources online! You can also find resources on literally any topics.

I recommend thinking about what you read in your native language for fun. What do you read in your spare time, just because you love it ? Find the Japanese version of that! This means you’ll be more likely to stick with it. Plus, you’ll learn new words specific to your hobbies and interests.

This is also a good time to change your phone, computer, Facebook settings into Japanese and create an immersion environment .

Here are a few websites to start you off. I tried to choose a selection of websites from different genres. Remember, this list is just to give you some ideas! When you know advanced Japanese, you can read whatever you want 🙂

NHK – the Japanese national broadcaster. As well as reading the news online, you can stream radio and watch some TV shows (might be blocked depending on location)

Yomiuri Shimbun – national newspaper (conservative)

Mainichi Shimbun – national newspaper (moderate/left leaning)

Asahi Shimbun – national newspaper (left leaning)

Big list of Japanese news sites, including many regional and industry-specific publications

Aozora Bunko – free digital copies of books for which the copyright has expired

Project Gutenberg (Japanese) – another site for free out-of-copyright books

Shousetsuka ni narou – a site where budding authors publish their work online for free to get reviews

University of Virginia Japanese Text Initiative – a huge library of Japanese texts online, and you can even choose to read with furigana

Bookwalker – Bookwalker is a Japanese ebook store and app. They specialise in manga and light novels. Although you have to pay for most of the content, they have a large selection of volumes (mostly manga) that you can download for free. Just look for the section marked 無料.

Also, you can usually read several sample pages of other (paid) books on the site for free. This is good if you want to try out some Japanese reading materials in different styles or by different authors. Just look for the 試し読み button on the product page.

Note that there is an English version of the website, but this will only show you English language books. You need to navigate the website in Japanese to download Japanese books ( tutorial on how to sign up ).

Bauddha – This website publishes bilingual stories and excerpts from famous writings, political speeches and other sources. You can read the Japanese version alongside the English version. This website is actually for Japanese learners of English, not the other way around! The language level here is quite advanced because the writings are mostly literary classics.

NDL Digital Collections – digital library of the National Diet. Digital versions of books and documents of historical/national importance. You have to dig around a bit, but if you are interested in classical Japanese texts, folklore, etc, you will find some gems.

Comicwalker – free manga from the publisher Kadokawa. You can read the comics online, or there’s an app too. Look for the ones with the red ​​無料マンガ (free manga) triangle. From the same people as BookWalker above but it has some different content.

Shonen Jump – the best selling manga magazine in Japan. On their website you can read their latest manga instalments and also news articles about new releases and so on.

Sai Zen Sen – you can read some Japanese manga online for free

Comico – another site with some free Japanese manga to read online.

Animate Times – site dedicated to anime and related pop culture and media, including manga, light novels, cosplay and more. The tab on the far right of the menu bar links to free manga to read online ( 無料マン ガ .) You can also read interviews with artists and directors, news about new releases, commentary/reviews and so on.

Yahoo Questions – yes, Yahoo Questions has died out in the West but the Japanese version is still going strong – in fact, it’s one of the most popular forums on the Japanese internet. It’s a good way to get used to reading casual Japanese and hearing Japanese people’s viewpoints on all kinds of issues.

Oshiete! Goo – another popular forum for questions and answers.

Ameblo – a Japanese personal blogging platform similar to Blogspot or Livejournal. You can browse blogs and articles by topic.

Twitter – the biggest social media platform in Japan (after messaging app LINE). It’s a great way to get some reading practice in bite-sized chunks! You could start by following your favourite Japanese celebrities or search for your interests/interesting hashtags in Japanese. Or, check out the website Togetter , which rounds up popular threads and topics from Japanese Twitter.

Anonymous Diary – a simple bulletin board/forum where people can post anonymously. It’s a mixed bag – some posts are just random thoughts, but since it’s anonymous, there are lots of controversial takes and secret confessions too.

Girls Channel – a bulletin board, kind of like Reddit but just for girls. Good for learning internet slang and girls’ talk.

Mixi – a Japanese social network. You can read news articles and some public threads without signing up. There are communities on different topics similar to Reddit. It’s not as popular as it used to be but there is still plenty of content for free Japanese reading practise.

Magazines, lifestyle and more

Your options here are literally endless, but here are just a few sites that I enjoy personally or that have been recommended to me!

Japanese magazine lists – This site and this one  have huge lists of popular Japanese magazines with links to their websites. They are mostly fashion magazines but there are some in other categories such as business, tech and travel. Note that the amount of free content varies by site; some have a lot of free articles online whereas others just want you to buy the print magazine.

Rocket News – short funny news articles on topics such as pop culture, viral content, new releases etc. Very fun and easy to read with lots of pictures! They have an English-language sister site, Sora News , and you can sometimes find the same article on both which is useful for checking your comprehension.

Hatena Bookmarking – a social bookmarking site. Users share interesting articles from around the web.

1000moji – user-submitted short stories in 1000 characters

Pouch – Pouch describe themselves as offering ‘cute, fun, weird’ content for women! It’s a round-up of content on popular culture, cute items, trending internet stuff, random blog articles and more.

Kinarino – women’s lifestyle blog covering food, fashion, travel, interiors and more

CanCam – a popular Japanese women’s fashion magazine

Otokomae – otokomae means ‘handsome guy’, so as you might expect, this site is about men’s fashion and grooming.

Spot – curated travel blog about local travel and points of interest in Japan. Its stated goal is to collect “tourist information provided by locals”.

Tabizine – all about travel (Japan and international) and food

Lifehacker – interesting tips and tricks, and tech news

Toyo Keizai – a well-known business and finance magazine

BuzzFeed Japan – you probably know this one! Funny and interesting things from around the internet

The Rising Wasabi – satirical news site

Nippon.com – news about and from Japan. Many articles are also available in English (and other languages) so you can switch to check your comprehension.

Note – a Japanese magazine style site as recommended by our reader Erik. It covers lifestyle, education, culture, work and more. Content is user generated and very varied.

Orange Page – one of the biggest Japanese cooking sites. Love Japanese food? Why not kill two birds with one stone and learn to cook some Japanese dishes while you get your Japanese reading practise! In addition to recipes, they also publish some lifestyle articles.

VNs – VNs or Visual Novels are interactive games with lots of text. They are like a cross between novels and games. Personally I have never played one but I have heard some people swear by them to improve their Japanese reading, so I thought I’d give them a shout out here! Freem and Novel Game have lots of free Japanese VNs. Here is a blog all about learning Japanese with VNs.

Browser extensions for reading Japanese online

No doubt about it, learning to read in Japanese in slower than most other languages simply because of the Japanese writing system! I just wanted to finish off by sharing a few useful browser extensions that can help you read Japanese websites.

• Rikaikun (for Chrome) – hover over any Japanese word and a dictionary box will pop up.
• Yomichan (for Firefox) – same as above.
• Furigana Extension (for Chrome) – adds furigana (pronunciation guide) to kanji.
• Furigana (for Firefox) – same as above.

There are dozens of similar extensions out there but these are some of the top recommended!

More free resources to learn Japanese

And finally, if you enjoyed this list, please check out my other round-ups of free native materials to practise Japanese:

• Best Japanese podcasts for listening practice
• Best YouTube channels to learn Japanese
• Japanese Writing Practice: Ultimate List of Resources for Every Level
• Where to get Your Japanese Listening Practice: The Epic List of Resources!
• 10+ Effective Ways to Get Japanese Speaking Practice (Even if You Study By Yourself!)

Do you know any other good sources for free Japanese reading practice online? Please share in the comments!

JapanesePod101 is our top recommendation to learn Japanese online. We love the fun, current audio lessons and interactive online tools. Sign up for your free lifetime account and see for yourself!

Rebecca Shiraishi-Miles

Rebecca is the founder of Team Japanese. She spent two years teaching English in Ehime, Japan. Now back in the UK, she spends her time blogging, self-studying Japanese and wrangling a very genki toddler.

31 thoughts on “FREE Websites for Japanese Reading Practice (At Every Level)”

That’s wonderful! Thank you so much!

You’re welcome, Mario! I hope it’s useful for you 🙂

These are great resources! It’s hard to find good reading sources for intermediate level. If you’re interested, I’d like to reference your website on mine. I have a website for people learning any language and showing them ways to use their skills to help others, and I’m looking for good resources to share with them.

Let me know what you think! 頑張っって！！

Hi Keith! Thanks very much for your comment and sorry for the late reply! I’d be very happy for you to share my site with your readers 🙂 looks like your site is a great resource too!

I’d also recommend Nippon.com for advanced Japanese readers. No paywall, and an additional benefit is that much of the content gets translated into other languages (not always close line-for-line translations, but you can see what is being said in the Japanese). My disclaimer is that I work here and am in charge of the English-language edition.

Thank you!! Exactly what I’ve been looking for.

I would recommend https://www.kanshudo.com all the way through from beginners to very advanced Japanese learners. You can jump in at any level and it makes intelligent study recommendations to help improve your grammar, vocab and kanji. There are also lots of enjoyable games and challenges.

Kanshudo also has a very good dictionary with links to more context such as example sentences, etc.

I have gone from near beginner a few years ago, learning as a hobby (a few hours a week) to nearly reading newspapers, so highly recommended!

This is the best and most useful article I’ve ever seen in my entire life. All the information you give about the sites are so clear and detailed! Thank you so much, this is more than awesome! If I were to look for these sites, I wouldn’t have found anything … this really made my day! 🙂

Chiara, that is so nice to hear! I put a lot of effort into researching this article, so I’m glad you found it useful 🙂 thank you for your feedback!

Great post! Thank you! I already started using the advanced learner resources.

Thanks for your comment, Fumi! I hope you will enjoy the resources!

Thanks, this will be a great resource for my students. There is another site I don’t see on here though. http://www.easyjapanesestories.com

I hope that I can get more reading skill from your website. Thank you.

Thank you so much ! great material

Thank you so much! This is very helpful 🙂

One site I enjoy is https://note.com/ The reading experience is great thanks to the minimalistic design and there’s a lot of varied content.

for those who want to read manga in Japanese, I would recommend the combo: bilingualmanga.com + yomichan browser extension.

Thank you so much. You have done a great job by creating this information page. Really very useful.

This website is the most useful among all the things I’ve been searching. Thanks a lot for making it soo detailed, it is very helpful.

For those who want to learn the Japanese language through a private tutor, I recommend you visit the site of TUTOROO. They have great native Japanese tutors and speakers. TUTOROO can help you connect with them and you can even choose your own Japanese tutor from their website. You can view their tutors here: https://www.tutoroo.co/japanese-tutor Hope this helps!

some of them are currently showing error 404 . could u update the blog pls. thank u ! few of them really helped

Thanks for letting us know! Sad to see a couple of great sites have closed down. This page has been fully updated today with lots more resources! 🙂

My name is Maki and I am a writer/artist from North Carolina, USA (born and raised in Japan). My recent bilingual children’s book “What do you love to do?” was published by Mirai Publishing in Japan on 4/29/22 and is now available on amazon.co.jp ( https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/4434302612 ). My book won an award from Purple Dragonfly Book Contest in the USA.

I wrote this book to inspire children all over the world. On the back cover, I included some artwork drawn by a 11 year-old girl who loves to draw pictures to demonstrate a child “doing what she loves to do” and kids love it! If this book can help American children living in Japan, please share my amazon link information with their parents.

Thank you very much, I sincerely appreciate your consideration.

Maki Nishio Phipps

I want to learn japanese

a set of learning japanese method is useful for me.Thank you very much

You are such a life saver! I have been looking for such a page for months now and given up hope. And today it happen to be in my Pinterest proposed paged. THANK YOU SO MUCH! There ist nothing better to consolidate a new writing system in your mind than reading. Here you can finally find tonns of material. Great!

“There is nothing better to consolidate a new writing system in your mind than reading.” – I 100% agree! So glad you find it useful! 🙂

What a great website, thank you for putting this together, Im sure this is many many hours of work and for that we are all very grateful.

Your website has amazing resources! Thank you so much for sharing all these with us! YOU ARE THE BEST!

You’re welcome! Thank you for the feedback – I’m so glad it’s helpful!

I love using yomujp.com for reading practice. Especially when I was at N5/N4 level it can be hard to find reading material at that level.

Thanks for the suggestion! I will check that site out. It’s hard to find interesting resources at the beginner levels for sure!

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Learn Japanese

I want to learn Japanese!

If you follow the instructions in this over the top, step-by-step guide, you will reach your goal of Japanese fluency.

However, this journey is going to take a lot of effort and hard work on your part. Anyone who tells you learning a language is going to be easy is either misinformed or trying to sell you something. And eventually, after the honeymoon phase of learning wears off, progress feels slower. You burn out. Sh*t hits the fan. If you've ever tried learning something new, you know exactly what I'm talking about.

Instead, you need to do things the hard way (i.e. the correct way) right from the start.

Just because we're doing it right doesn't mean it has to be inefficient.

This method for learning Japanese starts at the very beginning. I assume you have zero knowledge of the Japanese language and guide you through each step. I'll cover reading, writing, speaking, and listening. And we explain what you should use, when, and why.

This should be everything you need to progress, that way you don't use all of that fresh enthusiasm you're feeling on planning how to learn, and instead spend it on actual learning.

Make like those famous shoes and just do it.

Our goal is to reach Japanese fluency as directly as possible. Unlike a teacher or a textbook, we have the freedom to be ruthless in the path we take to get there.

There are no tests or quizzes to take. You don't have to move at the speed of the slowest learner in your group. All you need to do is follow each step, do the work, and progress.

Just keep in mind that because of this, some steps may seem counterintuitive. They may even seem slow compared to other methods, but everything has been carefully selected to get you to the finish line faster and more efficiently. We'll talk more about that later.

A bit of housekeeping first: This is a living document, meaning it will be updated from time to time. Check back, subscribe to our email list , or follow us on Twitter to know when these updates happen. And, if you already have experience with Japanese, I still recommend you give it a read. There's a good chance you'll find something important to help you on your own Japanese language journey.

Table of Contents

Learn to read hiragana, basic japanese pronunciation, learning to type hiragana in japanese, understanding the concept of "kanji", beginning kanji & stockpiling kanji knowledge, learn to read katakana, learning to type katakana, learning to type kanji, 1. collecting vocabulary, 2. processing, 3. adding the words to your srs, beginning japanese grammar, a beginner's japanese textbook / program, answering your japanese language questions, order of learning, fact checking / cross referencing, do the work, sometimes, you'll just get stuck, optional: finding a japanese language tutor, suggested books and resources, intermediate level japanese, zero knowledge of japanese.

Welcome to learning Japanese! This section is for the true beginner. You know little-to-no Japanese. Maybe a "konnichiwa" here and a "baka" there. These first steps you take are especially important because they're going to set a foundation you can build off of.

The more deliberate your steps, the easier everything that follows will be.

Carefully completing this section is going to be necessary if you want to avoid the thing that takes down most learners: the intermediate wall. Instead, take your time on these foundational steps. What feels slow now is actually speed later on.

Estimated Time: 1 day to 1 week

Hiragana is Japan's version of the alphabet. It is one of three Japanese writing systems you need to learn to be able to read. The other two are katakana and kanji, but hiragana is where everything starts.

The ability to read hiragana is going to be a prerequisite for most beginner Japanese textbooks and resources. It's the first thing you learn in a traditional classroom. Surprisingly, I agree with everyone else. This is a good place to start.

Most Japanese classrooms spend an entire month learning how to read and write hiragana. That's too long! Instead of writing out each hiragana character over and over to memorize them, use the guide below and you may be reading hiragana later tonight. It uses mnemonics and worksheets that are designed to help you learn and be able to recall hiragana faster than you thought possible.

Do it: Learn How to Read Hiragana

It's important to note that this guide is going to teach you how to read hiragana and not how to write it. This has a purpose! While it is important to learn how to hand write Japanese eventually, right now it will slow you down immensely with very little payoff. Typing covers 99% of modern day writing so you will learn how to type hiragana (and katakana and kanji) instead.

This, in combination with mnemonics and worksheets, will allow you to learn how to read hiragana in a day or two instead of a month.

Remember: You're not in a class. You don't have to move at the speed of the slowest 10%. There is no speed limit .

In order to complete this section and move on, you need to get to the point where you can read all of the hiragana. Even if you're slow, as long as you can recall each character, as well as the contractions, without cheating, that's enough. You're about to get plenty of practice and your reading speed will naturally increase over time as you move on.

Note: Read "Japanese Pronunciation, Part 1" (below) before you start learning hiragana.

Estimated Time: n/a

Good pronunciation starts with hiragana. While hiragana alone won't teach you everything, it is the key to understanding how and why Japanese words sound the way they do. It will also help you get the foundation you need for a native-sounding accent. At the very least, hiragana will get you 80% of the way there.

For the remaining 20%, we wrote a guide covering the basics of Japanese pronunciation. Before you begin learning how to read hiragana, you should read up to the "Japanese Sounds and Your Mouth" section.

Once you've finished learning how to read hiragana, go though that section again, but this time read about "Important Differences" as well. This section will cover all of the sounds that don't exist in English, giving you a head start. Make sure you can pronounce all of the hiragana characters correctly before moving on.

Read: Basic Japanese Pronunciation Guide

With pronunciation, it's best to put the time and work in now, at the beginning. Don't ignore it because it's hard. When things get more difficult, it's very important that you've spent time speaking and hearing these sounds so that you can learn about all the differences and exceptions headed your way.

Okay, now go ahead and get back to learning how to read hiragana . Get to the point where you can read and recall everything, then move on to the next section.

Estimated Time: 1-2 days (or less) Prerequisite: Able to read hiragana

Now that you can read and pronounce hiragana (remember, slowly is okay!) it's time to learn how to type it on your computer or smartphone.

First, you need to install a Japanese keyboard. Luckily, you don't have to buy a special piece of hardware or computer to do this thanks to a type of software called an IME (input method editor). You can add an IME onto almost any kind of computer, phone, or operating system. Just follow the instructions in this guide to add them to your devices:

Read: How to Install a Japanese Keyboard

After you’re done installing, it’s time to learn how to actually type. Use the following guide, and only focus on the hiragana portion (since that’s all you know how to read right now):

Read: How to Type in Japanese

Assuming you are able to read hiragana, typing in hiragana is surprisingly straightforward. Once you feel confident in your typing abilities, including trickier things like contractions, small tsu, and dakuten, move on to the next section. It's time to talk about the elephant in every Japanese learner's room: kanji.

In our Japanese learning method, you're going to learn to read kanji characters very early. As soon as you can read and type hiragana it's time to start tackling kanji.

Here is our reasoning:

The most difficult thing about learning Japanese is kanji. At least, that's what people say. But trying to save it or brush it off until later isn't going to help you learn Japanese. Almost everything uses kanji, making it one of the most important aspects of learning this language. Your learning quality of life will drop drastically if you choose to ignore it.

A lot of a beginner’s time when using a textbook is spent looking up kanji and vocabulary. This takes your focus away from the grammar you're trying to learn and makes progression slow and frustrating. Learning (some) kanji and vocabulary first makes learning grammar a lot faster and, more importantly, easier. Think of it this way: you're losing a little time now to save a ton of time later.

Kanji leads to vocabulary, vocabulary aids communication, and grammar is like the glue that holds vocabulary together. Without vocabulary there's nothing for the grammar glue to stick to and everything gets messy. It makes grammar abstract and difficult to learn, when it doesn't have to be.

Like hiragana, we have a way for you to learn kanji that's way more effective than the traditional methodology (rote memorization). Thanks to that, it won't be as difficult as everyone says. It may even *gasp* be a pleasure to learn! Maybe.

This kanji-vocabulary-first route will get you to the point where you can use Japanese quickly. It feels slow at first, but soon you will rocket past your fellow Japanese learning compatriots. You'll also be able to get over that "intermediate wall" easier and quicker than if you were to use a traditional method. This lowers your chances of burnout and giving up all together.

If you're on board with this philosophy, you need to start at the very beginning: understanding what kanji is and how it's used. For that, we have another guide for you to read:

Read: On’yomi vs. Kun’yomi: What’s the Difference?

Once you understand how Japanese kanji readings work, you’ll be ready to learn some actual kanji.

Estimated Time: 1-3 months

Important note about this section: You should start to learn katakana (the next section) at the same time as this step. "Beginning Kanji & Stockpiling Kanji Knowledge" will take 1-3 months. In fact, you can complete all of the steps up to "The Beginner of Japanese" while you work on this one!

Okay, so it's time to actually learn kanji. Let's define what "learn kanji" means before you get started. That way you know what is expected of you.

When I say "learn kanji" I mean learn the kanji’s most important (English) meaning(s), and their most important (Japanese) reading(s). As you know from reading about on'yomi and kun'yomi, some kanji have a lot of readings. And, unfortunately, English meanings are just translations and can't always match the Japanese meaning one-to-one. That means there can be many correct English meanings for a single kanji that you'll need to deal with. We'll narrow those down so you only learn the most important meanings and readings first—the ones used 80-90% of the time. The remaining meanings and readings will come via vocabulary and other practice.

As you learn kanji you will also learn vocabulary that use those kanji. Not only will this help solidify those kanji concepts in your mind, but it will also be where you learn the remaining kanji readings. Plus, as you know, this vocabulary will be used to give you something to glue together with grammar later.

By the end of this guide, your goal is to know around 2,000 of the most important kanji as well as 6-7000 vocabulary words that use them. With this groundwork you should be able to read almost anything—or at least have the tools to easily decipher the rest on your own.

Your goal should be to learn 20-30 kanji and ~100 vocabulary words that use those kanji (and only those kanji) each week. If that seems like a lot, don't worry: there is a method for memorization that will speed things up considerably. Please read up on the Radicals Mnemonic Method. As a bonus, you will learn some important foundational knowledge about how kanji works in here as well.

Read: Learn kanji with the radicals mnemonic method

In this guide you will learn how to narrow down kanji meanings and readings to the most important ones. You will learn how to use radicals and mnemonics and how to create an effective routine.

You should be able to use these techniques to create a weekly study plan on your own for free, as long as you put in the work. But, if you would like all of the above (and then some) in one, complete package, we recommend the kanji learning program, WaniKani .

We'll be referencing it going forward, but just know that creating your own content and schedule is totally fine and doable. You'll just need to make sure you maintain your pace to keep up. Or, for some of you, make sure you slow down so you don't burn out!

Once you begin learning vocabulary in WaniKani (or your own system) read the Basic Japanese Pronunciation Guide from the Pronouncing Vocabulary section all the way through to the end. You will learn about long and short vowel sounds, double consonants, dropping sounds (all common stumbling blocks for beginners), and more. You will also learn about pitch accent. Although it may be difficult now, just knowing pitch accent exists and how it works in Japanese will give you a leg up.

Okay! Make sure you get started now. Do the work, don't just plan to do it! Sitting down and starting is the hardest part.

Estimated Time: 2 days to 2 weeks Prerequisite: Able to read hiragana

Learning katakana is about the same as learning hiragana, with a few Shyamalanian twists. We have yet another mnemonic-based guide for you, and chances are you'll be able to read katakana within the next few days if you're willing to put in the work.

You should get to the point where you can read all of the katakana, however slowly, by the time you start unlocking vocabulary in WaniKani (or by the time you start vocabulary in your own kanji method). Although katakana words won't show up a lot right from the start, there are enough to make it worthwhile. It's also a good way to spend your extra time while the number of kanji you're learning is still quite low.

Do it: Learn to Read Katakana

Note: Katakana tends to give learners more trouble than hiragana. This is because it seems to be used less than hiragana and kanji, especially at the beginning stages. Later on, katakana will appear more frequently, but for now simply being able to read katakana is enough. There will be plenty of opportunities to get better at it—just know that reading katakana may not come as quickly as it did with hiragana. And that's okay. Hiragana and kanji are just more useful right now, so spend your limited time and energy there.

Once you can read each katakana character—no matter how slowly—move on to the next section about typing katakana.

Estimated Time: 1-2 hours Prerequisites: Able to type hiragana, able to read katakana

Katakana is similar to hiragana in many ways, and thanks to this, learning how to type it should be fairly easy. There are a few differences to figure out, but you will be able to apply your hiragana knowledge to it and progress quickly. Jump to the katakana section of our typing guide and get started.

Read: How to Type Katakana

Note: Make sure you keep working on your kanji! If you’re using WaniKani, just do your reviews as they become available. It's important to make this a habit. Because WaniKani is a spaced repetition system there must be spaces between reviews. Longer and longer ones, in fact (though it will depend on how well you're doing). Do your reviews on time and you’ll get through this initial "slow" phase in a week or two. That's a drop in the bucket compared to your entire Japanese-learning career, so try to be patient. The waiting time is critical to testing your ability to recall information.

Estimated Time: 1-2 hours Prerequisite: Able to read 20-30 kanji

Before starting this step, make sure you can read a handful of kanji. Twenty or thirty will do just fine. If you're using WaniKani, this is when you start unlocking vocabulary or are around level 2.

Okay, are you done?

Typing in kanji is a little more complicated than typing in hiragana or katakana, but it still follows similar rules. Learn how to type in kanji using the kanji section of our guide then read to the end. There are some additional tips and tricks in there (punctuation, symbols, etc.) that may come in handy.

Read: How to type kanji

Now you know how to type everything there is to type in Japanese (that is, unless you count kaomoji )! If you can type in English, typing in Japanese is surprisingly easy. With practice, you'll be able to type it as naturally as you type in your native language.

To continue using this typing knowledge, you'll need to know more kanji and vocabulary. Once you get there though, you'll be ready for "The Beginner of Japanese" section!

Before moving on, you should reach level 10 on WaniKani (or around 300 kanji and 1,000 vocabulary words using your own method).

This is an important time in terms of pronunciation too. Make sure you consciously mimic the vocabulary audio. Think about pitch accent as you do it. This work will prepare you for sentences later.

With this kanji knowledge (and good pronunciation, to boot!), grammar is going to come quickly to you. You won't be spending your grammar study time looking up every other word. Instead, you'll be able to focus solely on grammar, and you'll know the contents of 80% of every sentence you see for the first time. When you say these sentences out loud, you won't be tripping over your tongue because you'll already be intimately familiar with Japanese sounds and pronunciation. The time you put into kanji, vocabulary, and pronunciation will begin to pay off.

Put your head down, trust in this, and do the work each day.

Go on, get to it, and come back here when you're done.

The Beginner of Japanese

Being a beginner of anything is great. Everything is new, everything feels like real, tangible progress, and even if you're bad at something, you can't really tell because you don't know enough yet anyway.

Enjoy it while it lasts.

At this point, you have a strong base of kanji and vocabulary. If you are using WaniKani , you should be at level 10 or above. If you are doing kanji on your own, or using another resource, you should know the most common meaning and reading of around 300 kanji and 1,000 vocabulary words. If you are using a resource that only teaches you the meaning of a kanji (and not how to read it), that doesn't count . You need to be able to do the whole thing, not just the easiest 20%.

With this assumption about your knowledge in place, we're going to go through some options for how you can learn Japanese grammar. This includes using a textbook as well as creating your own grammar program from scratch. We offer some of our own material as well. Most likely, you'll end up doing a hybrid of the above. No matter what you choose, your foundation of kanji, vocabulary, and pronunciation will make everything much easier. Without it, even the best Japanese textbook will be a frustrating experience.

Using a Spaced Repetition System For Vocabulary

Estimated Time: 2-4 hours + ongoing

You will learn a lot of vocabulary purely from your kanji studies. As long as you have a good kanji system in place, you shouldn't worry too much. However, you will definitely need to learn all of the words that do not use kanji too. In the beginning, this will largely be grammatical things, and words that don't use kanji, from your textbook. Later it will be vocabulary you pick up from signs, manga, and other real life sources.

It's time to learn how and when to introduce vocabulary words from outside your kanji studies into your study routine. The most important thing is to have a good system in place.

You need to be able to record and store these words so that you can study them later. You also need a good system to handle and process these words. It's a waste if you record them once and never look at them again.

At your currently level, most of the new words you encounter will probably be hiragana or katakana-only words. Once you start reading more and more Japanese, the number of new words you encounter will increase, so being able to keep track and add these to your routine becomes even more important. For now though, your goal is to develop a habit of collecting, processing, and studying vocabulary that is unfamiliar to you. This should become second nature.

Most likely, you will find most of the vocabulary that you want to learn in your Japanese textbook (we'll cover that really soon!). As I mentioned earlier, these might be words that don't have kanji, or maybe they're words that you didn't learn in WaniKani. There are a lot of words out there and no one resource will teach you all of them.

Once you've found some words that you want to learn you need to collect them. How you do this doesn't matter as much as actually doing it. Put them in a spreadsheet, a tool like Evernote or OneNote, or just write them down on a piece of paper. Make sure wherever you put these new words is easily accessible and make a trigger for yourself that essentially says " if I see a vocabulary word I want to learn, then I add it to my list."

There are plenty of list-apps and pieces of paper out there, so it's going to be difficult for me to say what you should use. I'm partial to Evernote and have my own processes built up there. And Airtable is a great spreadsheet app for people who don't think in math. But maybe you like physical pocket-sized notebooks, to-do lists, your smartphone camera (with a special folder for future processing), or something else.

Whatever you use, make sure it's easy for you . Figure out what makes sense and make it work. If this step doesn't happen, everything else will fall apart.

The next step is processing. I'd recommend you create a habit where every day, week, or month (it depends on how much new vocabulary you want to introduce to your routine) you go through this list and put them into your SRS of choice. What is an SRS? I'm glad you asked.

If you've been using WaniKani, you've been using a "Spaced Repetition System" (a.k.a. SRS) this whole time! But you'll want to use something else for the vocabulary you find out in the wild. For this, we wrote a guide. In it you'll learn how to collect vocabulary and add them to your SRS.

Read: Spaced Repetition and Japanese: The Definitive Guide

One additional piece of reading I'd recommend is this article on Keyword Mnemonics. For the non-kanji vocabulary you want to learn this is a surprisingly simple (and effective) mnemonic method which will allow you to learn more vocabulary in one sitting, and be able to recall it for longer.

Read: Keyword Mnemonic Method for Learning Japanese Vocabulary

As I said earlier, you won't be working with a ton of vocabulary at the start. For now, let your kanji studies give you most of your vocabulary. Then, when stray street vocabulary does start coming up, send it through the vocabulary process you've built.

Make this a habit.

Habit generally means 3-6 weeks of doing something regularly. And you should start now, because in six weeks you'll be needing to utilize this habit a lot more.

Estimated Time: It's a mystery

It’s (finally!) time to start learning grammar. If you followed this guide to the letter, you’re probably 2-4+ months into your Japanese studies. If it's more than that, don't worry about it. We all go at our own speeds and the important thing is that you kept moving forward. You should know around 300 kanji and 1,000 Japanese vocabulary words, and your pronunciation should be getting better, or at least you're being conscious about improving it. Now it’s time to kick Japanese grammar's butt.

Let's start by internalizing a philosophy. Carry this with you for the rest of your life:

When learning something new, you should already know 80% of it.

This means that each new thing you learn should be a 20% (or smaller) incremental step. A +1 from where you are, rather than a +20 or +100.

Most people go into a textbook with zero knowledge and wind up spending a large chunk of their time looking up words they don't know. How much of a sentence is vocabulary? Depending on the length, it's easy to answer "more than 80%."

So when you're learning grammar with a textbook, coming into it with prior vocabulary knowledge brings you to that 80%. Leaving you just the grammar, which you can then point your laser-like focus towards. Instead of constantly flipping to the index to look up a word or kanji and deal with context switching when you finally get back to the lesson, all you have to worry about is learning the grammar and nothing else.

That's the +1 we're talking about.

Let's assume for a moment that your Japanese vocabulary knowledge doesn't get you to 80% (or more). If that's the case, there are a few possible reasons:

You don't know enough vocabulary: If you don't know a lot of the words in a sentence before studying with it, then you don't understand 80% of the sentence before you start. In this case, go back to your kanji/vocabulary studies for a while and reconsider the level of the resource you're using. Another solution would be to pull the vocabulary from the resource, study them with your SRS method, and then come back once you've learned them.

You don't know enough grammar: Imagine you're looking at a sentence that contains three separate grammar points. If you're being taught one of the three, but you don't know the other two, you're dipping way below that ideal 80%.

The sentence is very short: If a phrase only has three parts (ex. "[vocabulary] + [particle] + [vocabulary]"), and you don't know one of them, you're going to be at 66%. In cases like this, you can make an exception. Knowing 66% of a three piece phrase, or 75% of a four piece phrase is acceptable. This will be very common in the beginning.

That's the philosophy we're working off of going forward, so double-check that you have that base of kanji and vocab before continuing with this guide. Your failure rate increases dramatically if this foundation is weak!

It's time to take our philosophy and apply it to a beginner textbook. All the things that would have normally tripped you up (the things teachers and textbooks have a tough time explaining, due to the curse of knowledge ) should now be less difficult to deal with. And with kanji and vocabulary already in your tool belt, learning grammar should be much more interesting. You won't be spending 90% of your time and energy on looking up kanji and vocabulary you don't know. Instead, you'll just be doing it.

With this base knowledge, choosing a specific textbook or program to follow becomes less important, but there are still many "good" textbooks and many "bad" textbooks out there. Most will teach you the same content one way or another, so pick one that you feel fits your learning style.

To help you with this choice, we wrote a guide:

Read: The Best Japanese Textbooks for Beginners

Whatever you end up choosing, get started right away. It's so easy for people to get trapped in a "preparation loop" where they spend all of their time planning and getting ready, only to stop before any actual work gets done.

At this point you will focus on working through your textbook of choice. Try to progress through the entire thing from beginning to end. Doing this will create a strong foundation of Japanese inside of you, something you can use to base other knowledge off of.

Once all of the basic, foundational grammar is in place you'll be able to really accelerate and work toward fluency.

It will take around 2-6 months to get through most beginner Japanese textbooks. Though, this does depend on how much time you have to spend on your studies and what grammar method you choose. You can even go through a couple different textbooks at the same time, if you want. What one textbook doesn't teach well, another probably does. That being said, if you don't feel like you understand a concept, or you want to know more, there's plenty of ways to get your questions answered. I recommend not skipping questions—instead, follow your curiosity! Learning is supposed to be fun, though school may have "taught" you otherwise.

Read the next section as you start your textbook studies. You'll eventually run into something you don't know that your textbook doesn't explain. You might as well be ready for it.

As you're going through your textbook, you're going to run into things you don't understand. Or, you'll find you don't know 80% anymore. It's not necessarily a failure of your textbook, it's just that many of them were designed for teachers to use in a classroom. They expect someone to be there to answer questions for you. Or, there just isn't enough paper in the world to cover everything.

Not to worry. When you run into something you don't understand you can look it up. No matter what kind of question you're asking or answer you're searching for, we wrote up a guide that will tell you how to find anything Japanese language related:

Read: How to Answer your Japanese Language Questions

Note: You should continue to use WaniKani (or whatever kanji learning method you chose) as you continue on. You should keep going until you finish, and/or you reach the end of this guide. It is important to keep your kanji-vocabulary knowledge ahead of your grammar knowledge at all times. If you don't, that 80% ratio will tick down until your studies no longer feel sustainable or fun.

Alternative: Learning Japanese Grammar On Your Own

By gathering all that kanji and vocabulary knowledge you’re making it possible to learn grammar on your own. Learning grammar is easy comparatively. That being said, if you decide not to use a Japanese textbook as your main resource, there are some things you'll want to consider:

This is a topic we'll be writing a big guide on. But, it's quite complicated so I haven't gotten around to it yet. We'll fill in this section with that guide in the near future, but for now don't use my slowness as an excuse. Just get started. If you do, ordering will, for the most part, naturally fall into place if you follow the "know 80% of all new things" philosophy.

Don't just trust any ol' thing you read on the internet. The same goes for textbooks and teachers, too. When you learn a new piece of Japanese grammar, make sure to read explanations from multiple sources. Some will be complicated with hard linguistic language while others will be overly simplified. And a few here and there will be just right! Making a habit out of using multiple explanations and resources for one thing will feel like it's slowing you down at first, but it's much faster overall. We'll list some really good reference books at the end of the Beginning Japanese section, so make sure to take a look.

If you're studying Japanese grammar on your own, it's even more important to do the work . It's not hard to study and use what you've learned. It's hard to sit down and start . Even more so than a class or textbook, you'll need to make sure you actually sit down and make progress. Measurable progress, preferably, though you'll have to figure out just how to measure it.

With a textbook, you can just say, "I could answer all the questions," or, "I made it through twelve pages this week." Doing grammar on your own makes it harder to see and feel yourself moving forward. You are, but it's a bit hidden.

If this is happening a lot—and no amount of research gets you through it—you might want to consider finding a professional to help. Speaking of professionals…

This may be the time to consider finding a Japanese language tutor, especially if you feel like you're not able to answer your questions about Japanese on your own. With a foundation of kanji and vocabulary already in place, you will be able to focus on the things that a tutor can help you with the most: speaking, listening, and answering questions.

Keep in mind that focusing on kanji and vocabulary with a tutor tends to be a poor use of this time. Most teachers don't have any idea how to teach kanji (it's just, "go learn these kanji and vocab by next week") and many tutors try to promote rote memorization because that's how they learned as a child.

When using a tutor it's important to focus on things only a tutor will be able to help you with. Those include their ability to speak, think, and explain nuances that haven't been written about or studied (yet).

You're not required to get a tutor or a teacher at this point, but if you were really looking forward to this part, now is the appropriate time to do it. Everything from here on out won't rely on your having access to a teacher, tutor, or native speaker, so you can still progress without needing to complete this step.

As you're moving along, there's always going to be more to learn. Don't be afraid to stop moving forward to indulge your curiosity. These "slowdowns" will speed you up as you strengthen past knowledge and make connections between them.

For times like this, reference books are quite good. If you're only going to buy one, I'd recommend the "Basic" book from the Dictionary of Japanese Grammar series . It is the best Japanese language reference book out there, in my opinion.

Other than that, look through the "Reference Books" section of our Beginner Japanese Textbooks, Reference Books, and Dictionaries article. There are quite a few good ones!

Read: The Best Japanese Reference Books & Dictionaries

Note: With any skill, it's important that you focus on the things you're worst at. "Raise the floor, not the ceiling," so to speak. If you do that, you'll find everything else gets elevated, and you'll be less frustrated overall. You'll have more data to reference in your brain as more unknown ideas and concepts pop up. For example, if you're bad at verbs, pick up The Handbook of Japanese Verbs and just read through it. It might take you an afternoon, but every verb you see from that day on won't be a detriment to your progress. Instead, it will positively affect all other aspects of your Japanese.

Raise the floor, because no matter how high your ceiling, you'll still be down on the ground.

The "intermediate" level of Japanese is by far the worst. Most of the people who ultimately give up on learning do it here (assuming they made it past the first few weeks).

Available resources begin to dry up, in both number and quality, and learners get stuck or plateau. Without guidance, it can feel like progressing is an impossible task.

This is the intermediate wall.

The thing that makes the intermediate level the hardest, though, is what got you here: your competence.

The beginner section was your unconscious incompetence stage. That is, you didn't realize you were incompetent, so you never felt discouraged, overly embarrassed, or stupid. But now you know a thing or two, and it's just enough to know you're not actually amazing at this thing called the Japanese language. It hurts and it's because you are now consciously incompetent, which is no fun at all.

Thankfully, a lot of the pain most learners feel at this stage comes from poor learning or teaching methods from the beginner stages. Things that you, hopefully, avoided. And although everyone will experience conscious incompetence to some degree, some people can get through it quickly and some get trapped here for years. Most, unfortunately, can't make it through at all and give up.

Be the type of person that gets through this stage quickly.

The other side of this wall is extremely fun and rewarding, so don't give up and don't let your conscious incompetence get you down.

Here's how you do it:

Recognize this stage exists and know that you're supposed to feel these uncomfortable feelings. This helps a surprising amount. You don't have to feel dumb because you know that everyone goes through this exact same situation. It's all a part of the process and if other people made it out, you can too.

You've already been preparing for this moment. This guide has prepped you to get through this fairly quickly. You're at an advantage! Most people wallow in the conscious incompetence stage for a long time because they lack two things: kanji and vocabulary. But by this point, you know more kanji and vocabulary than any intermediate level Japanese language student ought to. This is why you spent so much time on WaniKani (or one of its alternatives). It slows you down in the beginning so that you can blast through this wall.

With all that in mind, it’s time to start on some intermediate material. Make sure you are good on 100% of the previous sections before moving on. This is, by far, the most difficult portion of your Japanese education. You must have a good foundation to jump off of. When you're ready, you can start browsing our Japanese articles and Grammar pages . Good luck! 💪🏻

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147 Japanese Culture Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

Looking for interesting topics on Japan? Find them here! This list contains plenty of Japanese culture topics relating to the country’s traditions, art, and social phenomena. Check them out!

🔝 Top 10 Japanese Culture Topics to Write About

🔎 culture-related japan research topics, ✅ japanese topics for presentations, 🏆 best japanese culture topic ideas & essay examples, 👍 good japanese culture essay topics, 💡 interesting japanese culture topics to write about, 📌 simple & easy japanese culture essay titles, ❓ research questions about japanese culture.

• The Cultural Impact of Anime
• The Mystique and Roles of Geisha
• Traditional Japanese Arts and Crafts
• Tea Ceremony in Japanese Culture
• The Beauty of Japanese Gardens
• The Art of Japanese Floral Arrangement
• Festivals and Matsuri in Japanese Culture
• The Code of Bushido and Its Influence on Society
• Pop Culture Phenomena of J-Pop and Kawaii
• Sushi, Ramen, and Other Culinary Delights of Japan
• Environmental Sustainability in Japan
• Shintoism and Its Influence on Japanese Society
• Modernization and Transformation of Japan
• Challenges Related to Japan’s Aging Population
• Japanese Video Games and Their Global Appeal
• The Aftermath of the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster
• The Role of Women in Modern Japanese Society
• Ways of Preserving and Revitalizing Traditional Japanese Arts
• The “Japanese Miracle” of Economic Growth and Technological Advancements
• Achievements, Critiques, and Reforms in the Japanese Education System
• Cherry Blossom Season in Japan
• Symbolism of the Iconic Mount Fuji
• The Legacy of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
• Japan’s Ancient Temples and Urban Landscapes
• How Zen Buddhism Impacts Japanese Aesthetics
• The Beauty and Significance of Origami and Calligraphy
• Japanese Bullet Train and Other Transportation Advancements
• Traditional Japanese Performing Arts: Noh, Kabuki, and Gagaku
• Modern Japanese Literature: Haruki Murakami and Yukio Mishima
• Japanese Business Etiquette, Work Ethics, and Corporate Practices
• Ramen Culture as a Vital Part of the Traditions in Japan Studying the history of the transformation of ramen culture and the role it plays in modern Japanese popular culture helps to explore the uniqueness of the phenomenon and understand the origins of its immense popularity.
• Japanese Animations’ Effects on the Japanese Economy and Their Cultural Influence on Foreign Countries These artists incorporate the characteristic anime stylizations, gags and methodology in their piece of work to produce animations that are a bit similar to Japanese anime. The growing interest among foreign artists in anime is […]
• Culture Comparison Between China and Japan In Japan, it can be proved by the fact that the name Japan is written in the Chinese Kanji and not the Japanese Katakana or Hiragana.
• Hip-Hop and the Japanese Culture The prevalence of soul dancing in Japan in the earlier years also formed the basis for the wide acceptance of the hip-hop culture into the Japanese culture because soul dancing was common in the streets […]
• Japanese Popular Culture: Anime, Video Games, and the Film Industry This report will investigate the growth and influence of Japanese pop culture through anime, video games, and the film industry. The game was created by a Japanese studio and is built on the concept of […]
• Disneyland in American, Japanese, European Cultures Due to the popularity of the American culture, Disneyland’s representation of American culture that spreading a positive attitude about life has a significant impact on Disneyland in Asian countries, especially in Japan.
• The Influence of Heavy Metal on Japanese Culture In Japan, the association involving the realm of heavy metal music and personal distinctions has been surveyed in a number of studies.
• Western Pop Culture and Street Fashion of Japanese Youth The research of the topic needs to be preceded by the explanation of the key subjects and notions used in the current paper.
• Japan After Globalization: Culture and Ethnocentrism The isolated territorial position of the country, geographical and climatic features, frequent earthquakes, and typhoons had a significant influence on the culture and mentality of the Japanese people.
• Japanese Culture and Identity in the Modern Era I strongly believe that Japanese popular culture might lose its identity due to influence from other cultures, which may lead to a slight modification of the culture.
• Language and Culture: The Honorifics (Speech or System) of Japanese and Korean In Japan, honorific use is determined by the category of the addressee, that is, he/ she might be superior to the addresser, and this corresponds directly to the verb in use.
• Japanese Anime and Doujin Culture In the 1980’s the anime spread to other parts of the world including the western world where it has continued to grow in popularity.
• Globalization and Japanese Cultures This map is in that book and this course because of demonstrating the movement of goods and people across the world from Afrique to Patagonia and Nouvelle-Guinee.
• Researching of the Culture of Japan As for me, I thought that the Arabic language is complicated but after I heard Japanese, I understood it was really hard to learn and speak it.
• Relationships in Japanese History and Culture The preparation of the obento is not easy, it demands some special skills, and, of course, deep knowledge of the traditions.
• Chinese Han Dynasty: Comparing to the Japanese Culture Changing the focus to that one of the daily lives of ordinary citizens, the art of the Chinese culture during the Han Dynasty era allowed introducing a significant amount of diversity into the artistic realm.
• The Japanese Culture and Ecological Interests Many Japanese practices have been adopted in the western world due to the popularity of the culture. Among the many cultural practices of Japan, karate is the most practiced one outside the state.
• Violence and War in Japanese Popular Culture 50 years after the end of the war, the effects of the war have continued to influence the Japanese culture and have also affected its relations with other countries.
• Conflict Management in Japanese Culture Japan and its culture truly represent the cultural compromise that determines the development of the entire Japanese spiritual tradition.
• Comparing the USA, China, Japan and the United Kingdom Cultures This diversity is evident in their music, fashion, cuisine, visual arts, cinema and literature and due to the propagation of the same through the media; the American culture has today become the pedestal through which […]
• Culture and Customs of Japan After WWII It must be admitted, however, in the interests of truth, that the traditional mode of living and ways of thinking, both good and bad, are deeply rooted in the life of the Japanese people of […]
• Comparing Japanese and Chinese Cultures The main difference between the Chinese and Japanese concept of loyalty is that the Chinese people emphasize their loyalty to their family as a top priority.
• Japanese and Southeast Asia Cultures The activities of the warrior were based on the principle of bushido. Human civilization is the main characteristic of the culture in the continent of Asia.
• Japanese Colonialism Impact on the Korean Culture For instance, Faker and Ryang consider the effects that the Japanese culture has had on the Korean one, while Schmidt and Lim deal with the ways in which Korea accepted colonialism and how the country […]
• American vs. Japanese Cultures as Adaptive Systems Since the analysis of these cultures will be done from the perspective of the cultural theory, the paper will also examine how each culture influences the development of people, identity, and personality within it.
• Zen Buddhism Religion in Japanese Culture The uniqueness of Zen is in rejecting the importance of doctrines and emphasizing the role of the spiritual growth of the person through the practice of meditation.
• Daoism Philosophy in the Cultures of the Koreans, Japanese and Chinese Besides, the treatise explores the orientations of the Daoist tradition and the concepts of sages, deities, hell and heaven, and Confucian discourse.
• General Aspects of Japanese Corporate Culture Analysing the corporate culture in Japan, the essay will classify the companies into two: the large and small companies The Japanese culture of management stands out clearly in large corporations.
• Japanese Culture Analysis: Values and Traditions For a manager working with a person from the Japanese culture, understanding how the cultural dimensions apply to the culture will help the manager to work well with the other individuals.
• Diversity Management and Japanese Culture This is because it requires a comprehensive understanding of the cultural values of both the native country and also that of the foreign country in which you are supposed to carry out your business activities.
• Influence of Japanese Culture in Hawaii From the census, it is clear that the culture and the cuisine Hawaii, which are known today, were created by the history of the migration of Japanese to Hawaii when they settled there to work […]
• An Aspect of Politics and Culture of Meiji in Japan In mid 1880’s there was a financial crisis in Japan due to the huge expenses on industrialization. The Sino-Japanese war between 1894and 1895 was due to divergence of interests in Korea involving China and Japan.
• Whaling in Japan: Justifiable by Culture? The gap in reasoning when it comes to utilizing the concept of “scientific research” as a means of justifying the hunting of various whale species by Japanese whalers is the obvious fact that you do […]
• Analysis of “Yuri” Manga as a Peculiarity of Japanese Popular Culture Conclusions of the analysis indicate that yuri manga is not limited to lesbian culture, moreover, it is a significant element of Japanese popular culture.
• Japanese Fascist Ideology and Culture In a fascist authority, the issue of taking control over the people is of great significance and fascist leaders know that for them to control the naivety of the people well then they have to […]
• Process of Modernization and How It Affected the Cultures of China and Japan Among such countries, China and Japan were voted as the most affected nations by modernization process because of the emergent of simple and advanced technologies. This changed gradually with the spread of industrial revolution in […]
• Traditional Culture No Longer Is Prevalent in Japanese Society However with the phasing of the government policies in to the adoption of the 1870s epoch, it was aimed to enhance the exports of lacquerware to Western countries.
• Cross-Cultural Management: Japanese Culture and Its Workplace Practices This is one of the strategies that can be adopted. This is one of the pitfalls that should be avoided.
• Cultural Evaluation of Japan: Beliefs and Behavior Generally, the culture of Japan is characterized by collectiveness where individualism is not usually a key concept in various practices in different sectors of the economy such as the education system, health care, and politics.
• Influence of the Consumption Phenomenon on Japan’s Social Culture The present society in Japan is founded on the concepts of bettering the welfare of people. Another vital aspect that is worth noting is that the Japanese society is exceptional in because of the presence […]
• Political Economy and Culture in Japan A strong work ethic and management culture in the commerce and manufacturing industry has ensured the prosperity of the Japanese economy. A good example of the interaction of political economics and culture is the case […]
• Issues of Japanese Cultural Identity The other way the anime productions deal with the issues of the Japanese and their cultural identity is by presenting the aspects and ideas that define the people of Japan.
• The Japanese Culture of Ukiyo-E and Ikebana Two areas of the Japanese culture that Mori talks about is Ukiyo-e and Ikebana which are Japanese words that are common to the pre-Meiji artistic works of the Japanese people.
• Japanese Culture vs. Chinese Culture: The Loss of Patriotism
• Anime and Its Effects on Japanese Culture
• Impact of Buddhism on the Japanese Culture
• Chinese and Japanese Culture Comparison and Analysis
• Cultural Globalisation Through Japanese Culture
• Did the Samurai Have a Significant Impact on Japanese Culture?
• Differences Between Korean and Japanese Culture
• Eating Disorders and Self-Harm in Japanese Culture
• Gender Roles in the Japanese Culture
• Hip-Hop Impact on the Japanese Culture
• How Does Sushi Reflect Japanese Culture?
• Overview of Japanese Culture and Communication Features
• Japanese Culture Views on Homosexuality
• How Japanese Culture Has Become So Popular
• Japanese Culture and Its Relation to Buddhism
• How Japanese Culture Affects the Economy
• The Parallels Between Japanese Culture and Military Conflict History
• The Relationships Between Japanese Culture and Politics
• How Reliance Will Get Fit Into the Japanese Culture
• Linking Japanese and South African Culture
• Japanese Culture and the Misconceptions Associated With It
• American Culture and Japanese Culture: Comparative Analysis
• Japanese Culture and Western Influence on It
• The Role of Sexuality in the Japanese Culture
• Japanese Culture: Art, History, and Society
• Japanese Culture and Role of Women in It
• Communication Guide Between America Business Culture and Japanese Culture
• Japanese Culture Factors Influenced the Disclosure of Financial Information
• The Link Between Religions and Japanese Culture
• Japanese Culture: From Ancient to Modern Times
• Social and Geographical Aspects of the Japanese Culture
• Japanese Culture Places High Value on Privacy
• The Gender Problems in the Japanese Culture
• Japanese Culture: Producing Japan in the World
• Key Similarities and Differences Between the Japanese and the American Cultures
• Japanese Culture That Reflects Through Their Writing and Art Forms
• Motivation and Organizational Japanese Culture
• The Odd and Fascinating Japanese Culture
• Tracing Back the Japanese Culture to 10,000 BC
• Understanding the Japanese Culture Through the Warrior Codes of Bushido
• What Is the Influence of Anime on Japanese Culture?
• Are Chinese and Japanese Cultures Similar?
• How Is Cultural Globalization Through Japanese Culture?
• Did the Samurai Have a Significant Impact on Japanese Culture and Historical?
• What Are the Differences Between Korean and Japanese Cultures?
• Are Eating Disorders and Self-Harm Inherent in Japanese Culture?
• What Is the Cultural Assessment of Japanese Culture?
• What Are the Gender Roles in Japanese Culture?
• How Has Japanese Culture Become So Popular?
• How Dose Japanese Culture Affects the Economy Cultural?
• What Is the Attitude Towards Homosexuality in Japanese Culture?
• What Are the Features of Communication in Japanese Culture?
• How Reliance Will Get Fit Into the Japanese Culture?
• How Does Japanese Culture Affect Japanese Business?
• What Are Some Misconceptions About Japanese Culture?
• What Is the Place of Women in Japanese Culture?
• What Do You Need to Know About Japanese Culture Before Going to Japan?
• How Did Japanese Culture Change From Ancient Times to Modern Times?
• How Is Japan’s Culture Reflected in Their Writing and Art Forms?
• What Are the Differences Between American and Japanese Cultures?
• How Is Sexuality Interpreted in Japanese Culture?
• How Does Japanese Culture Spread Abroad?
• What Is the Place of Religion in Japanese Culture?
• What Are the Socio-Geographical Aspects of Japanese Culture?
• What Is the Place of Food in Japanese Culture?
• How Can Japanese Culture Be Understood Through the Warrior Codes of Bushido?
• What Is the Uniqueness of Japanese Culture?
• How Does the West Respond to Japanese Culture?
• What Is the Role of Buddhism in Japanese Culture?
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174 Basic Japanese Words and Phrases to Survive Everyday Life in Japan

With these 174 essential Japanese words and phrases, you’ll be prepared for any situation.

The Japanese language might take years to master, but what if you need to get through a conversation right now? Start by learning these Japanese daily vocabulary and the rest will follow.

Just click on a word or phrase to hear its native pronunciation.

Greetings and Starters

Basic conversation, japanese pronouns, saying “yes” and “no”, saying “i don’t understand”, saying “please”, saying “thank you” and “you’re welcome”, saying “sorry” and “excuse me”, saying “goodbye”, basic question words, travel vocabulary, phrases for dining at a restaurant, shopping in japanese, phrases for home, phrases for casual conversations, japanese slang, and one more thing....

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)

1. ohayou gozaimasu ( おはようございます ) — Good morning

The casual version of this greeting is ohayou ( おはよう ). In a workplace, someone greeting a colleague for the first time that day might use this phrase even if the clock reads 7 p.m.

2. konnichiwa ( こんにちは ) — Hello / Good afternoon 

Konnichiwa can be used any time of day as a general greeting, but it’s most commonly used between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m.

3. konbanwa ( こんばんは ) — Good evening

From 5 p.m. onwards, you use konbanwa to greet people. Note that, in this case, は is read as “wa” rather than “ha.”

4. hisashiburi ( 久しぶり ) — It’s been a while

Use this for someone you haven’t seen in a long time.

5. o genki desu ka? ( お元気ですか？ ) — How are you?

This is a polite way to ask someone how they are.

6. genki desu ( 元気です ) — I’m fine

Likewise, this is the most polite response to o genkidesu ka ?

7. o namae wa nan desu ka? ( お名前は何ですか？ ) — What’s your name?

This is a polite way to ask someone for their name. The more informal version is O namae wa? ( おなまえは? ) — Your name is…?

8. … desu ( …です ) — I am … / It is …

Think of desu as roughly equivalent to the English word “to be.” Unlike “to be,” desu stays the same regardless of the subject.

For example: 

• Tomu desu ( トムです ) — I’m Tom
• Atsui desu ( 暑い です ) —  It’s hot/I’m hot
• Osoi desu ( 遅いです ) — You’re late!

You can append this word to adjectives like:

• samui ( 寒い ) — cold 
• ureshii ( 嬉しい ) — happy
• nemui ( 眠い ) — sleepy

Notice in the native Japanese pronunciation that the su is hardly audible. So, when you say desu , it sounds more like “dess” than “de-soo.”

9. watashi wa … desu ( 私は…です ) — I am …

This is the politest way to introduce yourself. For example:

Watashi wa Pouru desu. 私はポールです。 I am Paul.

Be careful not to overuse watashi wa beyond introductions, though. In most cases, “your name/subject + -desu ” will suffice if it’s clear from the context who or what you’re referring to.

10. … karakimashita ( … から来ました ) — I’m from … 

Simply use this to describe what country you’re from. Here’s a list of some countries in Japanese:

• Igirisu ( イギリス ) — United Kingdom
• Doitsu ( ドイツ ) — Germany
• Chuugoku ( 中国 ) — China
• Kankoku ( 韓国 ) — Korea

Many others are almost identical in Japanese, such as:

• Kanada ( カナダ ) — Canada
• Furansu ( フランス ) — France 
• Supein ( スペイン ) — Spain
• Amerika ( アメリカ ) — United States of America
• Ousutoraria ( オーストラリア ) — Australia

If you don’t know how to say your country’s name, say it in English—chances are, people will understand where you mean.

11. suki desu ( 好きです ) — I like it

You can say what you like by adding … ga suki desu ( が好きです ). For example:

Okashi ga suki desu. お菓子 が好きです 。   I like sweets.

12. ii desu yo ( いいですよ ) — It’s good

You’ll also often hear ii yo ( いいよ ), especially from women/girls.

13. suki dewa arimasen ( 好きではありません ) — I don’t like it

The less formal version would be suki dewa nai ( 好きではない ).

14. dame desu ( ダメです ) — It’s no good 

In more casual conversation, you can also say just:

• dame ( だめ )
• dame da ( だめだ )

15. takusan ( たくさん ) — A lot

Takusan is similar to ooi ( 多い ). The main difference is that takusan can function as a noun, adjective or adverb , while ooi is only an adjective. For example:

Kooen ni hana ga takusan arimasu. 公園に花が たくさん あります。   There are lots of flowers in the park .

16. sukoshi ( 少し ) — A little

Here’s an example of it in use:

Koohii ni satou wo sukoshi onegaishimasu. コーヒーに砂糖を すこし お願いします。   A little sugar in my coffee, please.  

17. ima nanji desu ka? ( 今何時ですか？ ) — What time is it? 

In casual situations, saying ima nanji? ( 今何時？ ) will work just fine. You’re probably already noticing that desu can be changed or even dropped in casual situations.

18. … ji desu ( …時です ) — It’s … o’clock

This, plus a number, is all you need to tell the time ! For example:

Ichi ji desu. 一 時です 。   It’s 1 o’clock. 

19. nihongo de hanashimashou ( 日本語で話しましょう ) — Let’s talk in Japanese

Once you kick off a convo with this phrase, make sure you’re ready to do a lot of talking!

By the way, when you see or hear a verb paired with the suffix -mashou (- ましょう ), it suggests that someone is trying to get you to do the verb prior to -mashou .

20. yoroshiku onegaishimasu ( よろしくお願いします ) — Nice to meet you

Yoroshiku onegaishimasu doesn’t have a direct English translation, but it can often be interpreted as “Please (do this favor for me),” “I am counting on you” or “I leave it to you.” You’ll often hear this from people making requests, starting a new relationship or asking for someone’s cooperation.

Japanese has a wide variety of pronouns you can use, helping you make your sentences more direct when you’re referring to yourself , your friend or your friend’s boyfriend.

21. watashi ( 私 ) — I (all genders)

Watashi is the go-to in polite situations. It’s sometimes pronounced watakushi ( わたくし ) for extra formality, and some female speakers may shorten it to atashi ( あたし ) in casual settings. No matter the pronunciation, though, they all use the character 私 in writing.

22. boku ( 僕 ) — I (usually male)

Boku is mostly used by men and boys when they’re among friends. Nowadays, some girls use boku as well, which gives off an air of tomboyish-ness.

23. ore ( 俺 ) — I (male)

While boku is sometimes used by girls, ore is an exclusively male pronoun. It gives off a bit of a rough image, so it’s only used among close friends in casual situations.

24. jibun ( 自分 ) — Myself / Yourself / Themselves

Jibun is used to refer to a sense of self. It can also take a variety of forms, like:

• jibun no ( 自分の ) — one’s own (something)
• jibun de ( 自分で ) — by yourself

Also, it’s a more polite way of referring to someone else.

25. anata ( あなた ) — You

Anata translates to “you,” but it’s not used in the same way it is in English . Most of the time, Japanese omits “you” altogether, favoring a person’s name instead. This form can be used as a term of endearment between couples.

26. kimi ( 君 ) — You

Kimi is largely used to talk to someone of lower status than yourself, such as a boss talking to their employees. It’s also used to add some pizzazz to writing, such as in the hit movie “Kimi no na wa” ( 君の名は ) — Your Name.

27. kare ( 彼 ) — He / him

While the Japanese language does favor using a person’s name over second- or third-person pronouns, using kare is perfectly okay. Plus, kare can also refer to someone’s boyfriend.

28. kanojo ( 彼女 ) — She / her

This is the feminine counterpart of kare. Like kare, k anojo can also be used to refer to a girlfriend.

29. tachi ( …たち ) — “… and company” (pluralizes pronouns)

To turn a pronoun into a plural, just add -tachi . For example:

• watashi tachi ( 私たち ) — We 
• kimi tachi ( 君たち ) — You (plural)
• kanojo tachi ( 彼女たち ) —   A group of women
• Sasuke tachi ( サスケたち ) — Sasuke and his friends

30. kore ( これ ) — This

This is used to refer to something close to the speaker.

31. sore ( それ ) — That

This one is used to refer to something close to the listener.

32. are ( あれ ) — That (over there)

This is used to refer to something far from both the speaker and the listener.

33. hai ( はい ) — Yes

Even if you only have a passing familiarity with Japanese, chances are you’ve heard this monosyllabic affirmation before. Aside from hai , another way to say “yes” in Japanese is with non-verbal cues like nodding your head up and down or giving a thumbs up.

34. sou desu ka ( そうですか ) — Is that right?

Saying this while nodding is a polite way to show that you’re paying attention when someone tells you something new. You can also use:

• sokka ( そっか )
• soudane ( そうだね )
• soune ( そうね )

These are less formal, but generally acceptable and certainly not rude.

35. sou desu ( そうです ) — That’s right 

You can also say hai, sou desu ( はい ,そうです ) — Yes, that’s right. However, the hai is implied and you can leave it off. In casual contexts, you can also just say sou ( そう ).

36. un ( うん ) / aa ( ああ ) / ee ( ええ )

The Japanese use aizuchi ( 相槌 ), which are simple words or gestures that  indicate you’re listening.

They don’t have direct English translations, but you could say they’re similar to saying “uh-huh” or “mm-hm” in English.

37. mochiron ( もちろん ) — Of course

This is not the “of course” you use to emphasize a point, but rather the one in “Of course, I’ll do that favor you’re asking me!”

38. ii desu yo ( いいですよ ) — Okay

This literally means “That’s good!” As such, it can be used to show your approval of something.

39. iie ( いいえ ) — no

This is the no-nonsense way to say “no.” However, Japanese culture prefers less direct approaches .

There are also several nonverbal ways to express “no.” Rubbing the back of the neck, making an “X” with both arms or even taking in a deep breath all mean “no.”

40. uun ( ううん )

This is a sound that indicates you don’t quite agree with what the person is saying.

41. iya ( いやー )

Whether this interjection means “no” depends on the context. If you suggest dinner and someone responds with iya… , they’re probably trying to politely turn you down with a non-committal “Well, you see…”

42. chotto… ( ちょっと… ) — A little…

If you use chotto, remember to trail off at the end, as you’re basically saying, “It’s a little…” For instance, if someone asks what you’re doing tomorrow afternoon with the aim to meet up, you can respond with “Chotto…” to mean that tomorrow afternoon’s not an ideal time for you.

In business settings, two simple phrases to convey “no” without saying “no” are:

• muzukashii desu ( 難しいです ) — It’s difficult
• kangaete okimasu ( 考えておきます ) — I’ll think about it

While not outright saying “no,” they express a refusal to the listener without sounding impolite.

43. wakarimasen ( 分かりません ) — I don’t understand

If you’re around friends, you can use the casual variant,  wakaranai ( 分からない ).

44. mou ichido itte kudasai ( もう一度言ってください ) — Please say that again

If someone is speaking in Japanese far too quickly for you, you can use this phrase to politely tell them to repeat themselves. You can also say:

• yukkuri onegai shimasu ( ゆっくりお願いします ) — Slowly, please
• kikoemasen deshita ( 聞こえませんでした ) — I didn’t hear that

45. kudasai ( ください ) — Please (requesting)

The word kudasai is used when making requests, as in these examples:

Isoide kudasai. 急いで ください 。   Please hurry.

Koohii o kudasai? コーヒーを ください ? Can I please have a coffee?

46. douzo ( どうぞ ) — Please (offering)

Using  douzo is like saying, “Please go ahead.” You can use it when ushering someone through the door before you, or offering a coworker some delicious snacks, for example.

47. arigatou gozaimasu ( ありがとうございます ) — Thank you 

The friendlier, more casual way to say thanks is  arigatou ( ありがとう ) . You’ll also see its abbreviation,  ari ( あり ) ,  pretty often on  Japanese message boards .

48. doumo ( どうも ) — Thank you

If you’re close friends with the person you’re thanking, you could also say doumo . In fact, you’ll sometimes see these combinations, which are used in very formal contexts:

• doumo arigatou gozaimasu ( どうもありがとうございます )
• doumo arigatou ( どうもありがとう )

Most of the time, though, just arigatou gozaimasu will suffice.

49. otsukaresama desu ( お疲れ様です ) — Thank you for your efforts

This expression is often said as a parting sentiment when you, or someone else, finishes their work. You can think of it as saying, “That’s a wrap for the day.”

50. iroiro arigatou gozaimashita ( 色々ありがとうございました ) — Thank you for everything

Iroiro ( 色々 ) literally means “various things.” So, this is the expression to use if you’re thanking someone for doing a lot of things for you or if you’re not sure exactly what to thank them for.

51. mondai nai desu ( 問題ないです ) — No problem

Mondai ( 問題 ) means “problem,” and the addition of nai  ( ない ) negates the problem. Therefore, you’re saying that the favor you performed didn’t trouble you at all.

52. douitashimashite ( どういたしまして ) — You’re welcome

Although this is technically the correct response to “Thank you,” it’s rarely used these days in casual Japanese conversation. But it’s still worth knowing if you want to respond to someone’s gratitude in a formal context.

53. shitsurei shimasu ( 失礼します ) — Excuse me (for my rudeness)

Another expression commonly heard in the office, shitsurei shimasu is used when you’re leaving a room. It’s similar to saying, “Sorry to have bothered you.” You can also end a formal or polite phone call with this phrase.

If you watch Japanese media often, you’ll also hear shitsurei shimasu when someone is entering a room.

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54. sumimasen ( すみません ) — Excuse me, I’m sorry 

Sumimasen is often used to say “Excuse me” (like if you need help getting directions ) and “Sorry” (like when you accidentally nudge someone). It can also be said as a “thank you” when you’ve troubled someone—think “Thanks for letting me put you out.”

55. gomen nasai ( ごめんなさい ) — I’m sorry

In casual situations and among family members and friends, gomen nasai replaces sumimasen when saying sorry.

56. gomen: ごめん — I’m sorry

Gomen is even less formal than gomen nasai , and is reserved for people you’re truly close to.

57. jaa, mata! ( じゃあ、また！ ) — See you later!

You can replace  mata with dewa mata ( ではまた ) for a slightly more formal expression. There’s also:

• jaa mata ashita ne (じゃあまた明日ね) — see you tomorrow
• jaa ne ( じゃあね ) — see you
• mata ne ( またね ) — see you

58. o genki de ( お元気で ) — Take care

If “see you” is a little too casual for you, then you can say  o genki de  instead. This literally means “be healthy” and can be used to say, “Good luck!”

59. meado wo oshiete moraemasu ka? ( メアドを教えてもらえますか？ ) — Could I have your e-mail address?

If that’s a little too long to memorize, you can ask:

Meado wo oshiete? メアドを教えて？ Can I get your e-mail address? (Literally, “Teach me your email?”)

60. tegami kaku yo ( 手紙書くよ ) — I’ll write you letters

Do you prefer exchanging physical letters instead of emails? If so, keep this phrase handy for your Japanese penpals !

61. tsuitara, … shimasu ( 着いたら、… します ) — I’ll … you when I arrive

You can use this phrase as follows:

• tsuitara, denwa shimasu ( 着いたら、電話します ) — I’ll call you when I arrive
• tsuitara, meeru shimasu ( 着いたら、メールします ) — I’ll email you when I arrive

62. mata sugu ni kimasu yo: またすぐに来ますよ — I’ll be back soon

This is generally a casual phrase, as indicated by the ending yo ( よ ).

63. asobi ni kite kudasai ne ( 遊びに来てくださいね ) — Come visit me

Although asobi ( 遊び ) in this context means “to visit,” that word can also mean “to play”—adding an extra sense of warmth to this phrase.

64. watashi no ie dewa, itsudemo anata wo kangei shimasu yo! ( わたしの家ではいつでもあなたを歓迎しますよ！ ) — You’re always welcome in my home!

Knowing some of the essential Japanese question words will go a long way toward getting your questions across to Japanese speakers.

65. nani ( 何 ) — What

Nani can be used alone or in a sentence. When placed before desu, the word nani drops its -i and becomes nan. For example:

Kore wa nan desu ka? これは 何 ですか？ What is this? (Remember this phrase in particular—it’s going to come in handy in a variety of situations!)

66. doko ( どこ ) — Where

Doko is used when asking for a location, like this:

Toire wa doko desu ka? トイレは どこ ですか ? Where is the toilet?

If you don’t know the word for the place you’re looking for, another helpful option is pointing to it on a map and asking:

Doko desu ka? どこ ですか ? Where is it?

67. dare ( 誰 ) — Who

If you’re referring to a specific person, add it before dare :

Kanojo wa dare desu ka? 彼女は 誰 ですか？ Who is she?

68. itsu ( いつ ) — When

Itsu is typically used in the following structure: itsu + verb (in the -masu form) or event + question marker ka.

Itsu kaerimasu ka? いつ 帰りますか？ When are you coming back?

69. doushite ( どうして ) — Why

If you need to ask politely, say it as Doushite desu ka? ( どうしてですか？ ). If you’re with friends or family, you can use the casual form nande ( 何で ) instead.

70. naze ( なぜ ) — Why

This is pretty similar to doushite , but a bit more formal. Naze is also used to ask the reason behind something, while doushite has a nuance of “how” to it.

71. ikura ( いくら ) — How much

Just tack on the question marker desu ka? ( ですか？ ) at the end of this word, and you’ll get ikura desu ka? ( いくらですか？ )

A quick not: ikura also sounds like “salmon roe” ( イクラ ). So, if you’re using this phrase, make sure it’s clear from the context that you’re saying “How much?” and not “Is this salmon roe?”—the latter of which would be イクラですか？

72. ikutsu ( いくつ ) — How many

This is a general word to ask “how much” or “how many” of a numerical amount. For example:

Okashi wa ikutsu hoshii desu ka? お菓子は いくつ 欲しいですか？ How many snacks do you want?

It can also be used to ask someone’s age:

Oikutsu desu ka? お いくつ ですか？ How old are you?

Here, ikutsu is preceded by o ( お ), which makes your question sound more polite and palatable for older folks!

73. nan … ( 何… ) — How many

Nan is a more specific way of asking how much of something there is. It works by combining nan with a counter , such as:

• nanhon ( 何本 ) — How many long cylindrical objects?
• nannin ( 何人 ) — How many people?
• nanmai ( 何枚 ) — How many sheets?

74. dochira ( どちら ) — Which one?

Use this phrase when you’re referring to a choice between two objects.

75. dore ( どれ ) — Which one?

Use this one when you’re referring to a choice between three or more objects.

This list of Japanese daily vocabulary will give you what you need to get around Japan and, in case of an emergency, ask for help. 

Public Transport

76. sumimasen, … wa doko desu ka? ( すみません、… はどこですか？ — Excuse me, where’s the …?

This construction comes in handy for phrases like the following. Just tack on your intended destination before wa doko desu ka:

• sumimasen, chikatetsu wa doko desu ka? ( すみません、地下鉄はどこですか？ — Excuse me, where’s the subway?
• sumimasen, eki wa doko desu ka ( すみません、駅はどこですか？ ) — Excuse me, where’s the station?
• sumimasen, takushii no noriba wa dokodesu ka? ( すみません、タクシーの乗り場はどこですか？ ) — Where is the taxi platform?

77. kono densha wa … eki ni tomarimasu ka? ( この電車は… 駅に停まりますか？ ) — Does this train stop at … station?

To say that Japan has one of the most intricate train systems would be an understatement. Luckily, you can easily untangle that intricacy with this simple phrase!

78. kono basu wa … ni ikimasu ka? ( このバスは…に行きますか？ ) — Does this bus go to … ?

If you’re not sure where your public transport is stopping, you can also use this phrase. You can substitute basu with densha ( 電車 ) — train, takushi ( タクシー ) — taxi, and so on.

79. … made tsureteitte kudasai ( …まで連れて行ってください ) — Please take me to …

Use this phrase to tell the taxi driver where you want to go.

Hotel Phrases

80. yoyaku wo shitainodesuga ( 予約をしたいのですが ) — I’d like to make a reservation.

Like most hotels around the world, it’s advisable to make a booking in advance when it comes to Japanese hotels. However, if your hotel allows it, you may be able to book at the front desk.

81. yoyaku shiteimasu ( 予約しています ) — I have a reservation.

Use this phrase if you’ve already made a booking in advance.

82. chekkuauto wa nanji desu ka? ( チェックアウトは何時ですか？ ) — What time is checkout?

This one is self-explanatory. You can also replace the word chekkuauto ( チェックアウト ) with anything that you want to know the time of.

Emergencies

83. michi ni mayotte shimaimashita ( 道に迷ってしまいました ) — I’ve lost my way.

If that feels like a bit of a mouthful, you could also just say mayotte shimaimashita ( 迷ってしまいました ).

84. tasukete! ( 助けて！ ) — Help! (for emergencies)

All I’m going to say is, if you end up forgetting every other phrase that’s been listed so far, don’t forget this one. It could save your life—literally!

85. tetsudatte kuremasen ka? ( 手伝ってくれませんか？ ) —   Can you help me? (for everyday situations) 

If you’re not in a life-threatening situation, tetsudatte kuremasen ka will do.

86. … wo yondekudasai ( …を呼んでください ) — Please call the …

Use this construction when you want someone else to contact emergency services, like so:

• keisatsu wo yondekudasai ( 警察を呼んでください ) — Please call the police.
• kyuukyuusha wo yondekudasai ( 救急車を呼んでください — Please call an ambulance.

Here’s a useful note: The emergency numbers in Japan are 119 for an ambulance and 110 for the police. 

Okay, now that we’ve gotten the formalities out of the way, it’s time to talk about what’s really important: food !

Here are some of the food words you should know:

87. kome ( 米 ) — Rice (raw)

88. yasai ( 野菜 ) — Vegetables

89. kudamono ( 果物 ) — Fruit

90. miruku ( ミルク ) — Milk

91. pan ( パン ) — Bread

92. pasuta ( パスタ ) — Pasta

93. niku ( 肉 ) — Meat

94. jagaimo ( じゃがいも ) — Potatoes

95. tamago ( 卵 ) — Eggs

Saying You’re Hungry

96. onaka ga suite imasu (お腹が空いてます) — I’m hungry

This literally means your stomach has become empty. Some variations are:

• onaka ga suita (お腹が空いた) — informal
• onaka ga hetta ( お腹が減った ) — informal, often interchanged with onaka ga suita
• hara hetta ( 腹へった ) — masculine
• onaka ga pekopeko ( お腹がペコペコ ) — onomatopoeia that means your stomach is growling

97. mada tabete imasen ( まだ食べていません ) — I haven’t eaten yet

For a more casual version, go ahead and say mada tabeteinai ( まだ食べていない ) .

Before the Meal

98. menyuu, onegai shimasu ( メニュー、お願いします ) — Please bring me a menu

You can opt for the more formal version:

Menyuu, onegai dekimasu ka? メニュー 、 お願いできますか？ May I have the menu?

Also, you can substitute menyuu ( メニュー ) with:

• dezaato ( デザート ) — dessert
• nomimono ( 飲み物 ) — drinks

99. kore wa nan desu ka? ( これは何ですか？ ) — What’s this?

If the menu is entirely in Japanese, you can point to an item you want and direct this question at the waiter.

100. kore o tabete mitai desu ( これを食べてみたいです ) — I’d like to try this

If you’re a little more adventurous, just point to the item you want and run with this phrase!

101. … wo kudasai ( …をください ) — I’d like …

State whatever you’d like to order, and follow it with … wo kudasai . For example:

Koohii wo kudasai . コーヒー をください? I’d like a coffee, please.

102. … ga arimasu ka? ( …がありますか？ ) — Do you have … ?

As a reply, you’ll simply hear arimasu ( あります ).

103. … tsuki desu ka ( …付きですか？ ) — Does it come with … ?

If you want to know if certain foods are included with your order, use this to ask. For example:

Furaido poteto tsuki desu ka? フライドポテト 付きですか ？ Does it come with fries? 

104. … ga taberaremasen ( …が食べられません ) — I can’t eat …

This is a good phrase to learn for vegetarians, vegans and other people with dietary restrictions. For example, niku ( 肉 ) is “meat” and sakana  ( 魚 ) is “fish.” So if you’re on a strict veg diet, you can say:

Niku to sakana ga taberaremasen. 肉と魚 が食べられません 。 I can’t eat meat and fish.

105. … arerugii ga arimasu ( …アレルギーがあります ) — I’m allergic to …

State whatever you’re allergic to and add this phrase to the end. Just to be safe rather than sorry, you can ask: … ga haitte imasu ka? ( が入っています か？ ) which means, “Are / Is there any … in it?”  For example:

Tamago ga haitte imasu ka ? 卵 が入っていますか？ Are there any eggs in it?

106. kore wa … desu ka? ( これは…ですか？ ) — Is this … ?

If you want to be more direct about whether a specific food meets your dietary requirements, you can insert one or more of the following between kore wa ( これは ) and desu ka ( ですか ):

• guruten hurii  ( グルテンフリー ) — Gluten-free
• bejitarian ( ベジタリアン ) — Vegetarian
• biigan ( ビーガン ) — Vegan
• nyuseihin hushiyou  ( 乳製品不使用 ) — Dairy-free

You can also ask about portions with the same construction and by substituting the following:

• omori ( 大盛り ) — Large portion
• nakamari ( 中盛り ) — Medium portion
• komori ( 小盛り ) — Small portion

107. kore wa nan karorīdesu ka? ( これは何カロリーですか？ ) — How many calories are in this?

Generally, Japanese food is quite healthy and doesn’t have a ton of calories, but it won’t hurt to check!

During the Meal

108. itadakimasu ( いただきます ) — Let’s dig in

This is used before digging into your meal, similar to “Bon appétit.”

109. mazui desu ( まずいです ) — It’s terrible

Ideally, you don’t want to end up in a restaurant where you have to say something like this, but sometimes it’s unavoidable!

110. okawari ( おかわり ) — Another serving, please

If you really like your food, you can let the lovely folks at the restaurant know by saying okawari. The more polite version would be okawari o kudasai ( おかわりをください ).

You can also say, depending on the context:

• hai, onegaishimasu ( はい、お願いします ) — Yes, please (when offered food)
• iie, kekkoudesu ( いいえ、結構です ) — I’m fine, thank you (when offered food)

111. onaka ga ippai desu ( お腹が一杯です ) — I’m full

112. kanpai! ( 乾杯！ ) — Cheers!

When you’re drinking with other people, it’s essential to clink your glasses together and say kanpai! You say this phrase before drinking, not after.

After the Meal

113. oishii desu! ( 美味しいです！ ) — It’s delicious!

If you’re eyeballing a slice of cake, then oishisou ( 美味しそう ), meaning “It looks delicious,” could be useful. A casual and “manly” way to say something is delicious is umai ( 旨い ) .

114. gochisousama deshita ( ごちそうさまでした ) — Thanks for the meal

Like itadakimasu, this phrase is a fixture at every meal. You say this when the meal is finished.

115. okaikei, onegai shimasu ( お会計、お願いします ) — Check, please

This is the most common way to ask for a check. You may also hear okanjou, onegai shimasu ( お勘定 、お願いします ), though not as often. Just note that the word for “check” is kaikei ( 会計 ).

116. warikan ni shite kudasai ( 割り勘 にしてください ) — Split the check, please 

If there are multiple people at the same table, this phrase will come in handy, as will betsubetsu de onegaishimasu ( 別々でお願いします ) —   We’ll pay separately, please.

Cooking Phrases

You’ll likely be cooking for yourself at some point, even if it’s just toast. Here are some useful Japanese words if you plan on cooking.

117. zairyo ( 材料 ) — Ingredients

118. ryori ( 料理 ) — Cooking

119. o bento ( お弁当 ) — Readymade meal/TV dinner

120. retoruto gohan ( レトルトご飯 ) — Instant rice (for the microwave)

121. guramu ( グラム ) — Grams

122. kiroguramu ( キログラム ) — Kilograms

With streets brimming with food stalls and vendors, the high-end boutiques lining Ginza and the ultra-cool and unique souvenir shops, there’s no way to avoid shopping while traveling through Japan .

123. kore wa nan desu ka? ( これは何ですか ) — What is this?

If you want to be more specific, you could also say kore wa nan to iu mono desu ka? ( これは何というものですか？ ) — What’s this called?

124. kore wa ikura desu ka? ( これはいくらですか？ ) — How much is this?

If it’s clear from the context what you’re referring to, you can also just say ikura desu ka? いくらですか？

125. chotto takai desu ( ちょっと高いです ) — It’s a bit expensive

If you haven’t started your adventure of learning Japanese adjectives, then here’s some essential shopping vocabulary:

• yasui ( 安い ) — Cheap, easy
• takai ( 高い ) — Expensive, high
• takakunai ( 高くない ) — Inexpensive

126. … ga ari masu ka ( ＿がありますか？ ) — Do you have…?

127. hoka no iro ga arimasu ka? ( 他の色がありますか？ ) — Do you have another color?

Some colors you may come across include:

• aka ( 赤 ) — Red
• ao ( 青 ) — Blue
• kiiro ( 黄色 ) — Yellow
• midori ( 緑 ) — Green
• kuro ( 黒 ) — Black

128. … wo kudasai ( ＿をください ) — I’d like …, please.

129. sore wo itadakimasu ( それを頂きます ) — I’ll take it

If the phrase itadakimasu sounds familiar, that’s because it’s also the one used when you’re about to dig into a tasty meal. In the same way, saying sore o itadakimasu when you’re buying something expresses that you’re thankful for what you bought.

130. kurejitto kaado wa tsukaemasu ka? ( クレジットカードは使えますか？ ) — Can I use my credit card?

If you’d like to use a traveler’s check, then replace kurejitto kaado with: toraberaazu chekku ( トラベラーズチェック ) — traveler’s check.

Your Suica and Pasmo cards , which are rechargeable cards you can use on Japanese trains, can also be used to pay for taxis or your groceries at select stores. You can ask:

Suika wa tsukaemasu ka? スイカわつかえますか？ Can I use my Suica?

131. tsutsunde itadakemasu ka? ( 包んでいただけますか？ ) — Can I have it gift-wrapped?

132. hai, onegaishimasu ( はい、お願いします ) — Yes, please 

133. īe, kekkō desu ( いいえ、結構です ) — No, thank you 

Common Phrases You’ll Hear in Japanese Shops

If you’re wondering what the shopkeepers mean when they throw these phrases at you—well, now you know!

134. irasshaimase ( いらっしゃいませ ) — Welcome

You will hear a chorus of  irasshaimase! when you enter a shop.

135. honjitsu wa (_) ga seru desu ( 本日は (_) がセールです ) — (This product) is on sale today

_ いかがですか？ is often used to invite you to take a look at specific products or try a free sample. You may also come across the term hangaku ( 半額 ) — half-price.

136. fukuro ni ire masu ka? ( 袋に入れますか？ ) — Would you like a bag?

Got a ton of items to carry home? If the Japanese shop you’re in graciously offers you this, lucky you!

137. ni nari masu (amount) ( になります ) — That’s (amount), please

138. wo okaeshi itashi masu (amount) ( をお返しいたします ) — Here’s your change (+ amount)

Shopping Words in Japanese

139. en ( 円 ) — yen 

In Japan, the currency is Japanese yen. 100 yen usually comes to around $0.90 to $1.10 USD. If you think of 100 yen as around a dollar when you go shopping, it’s a good way to keep track of your budget.

140. suupaa ( スーパー ) — supermarket 

141. konbiniensusutoa / konbini ( コンビニエンスストア / コンビニ ) — convenience store 

142. yubin kyoku ( 郵便局 ) — post office 

143. nichi yōhin ( 日用品 ) — groceries

144. kaimono kago ( 買い物かご ) — basket

145. shoppingu kato ( ショッピングカート ) — shopping cart 

146. muryō sanpuru ( 無料サンプル ) — free sample 

147. kaikei ( 会計 ) — cash register  

148. tadaima ( ただいま ) — I’m back

Everyone says this when they arrive home. If you go out, say this when you get back to let everyone know you’ve arrived home safely. If you want to, you can also say it when coming back from the bathroom; it tends to go down well.

149. okaeri nasai ( おかえりなさい ) — Welcome back

This is said in response to tadaima.  You can use this when someone else gets home, like when a parent returns from work or when a sibling gets back from cram school.

150. ofuro ni haitte mo ii desu ka? ( お風呂に入ってもいいですか？ ) — May I take a bath?

In Japan, most families take a bath every night, and if you’re staying somewhere like with a host family, you’ll be welcome to have one too if you ask.

If you’d prefer to take a shower (I did), you can just replace the word ofuru ( お風呂 ) — bath with shawaa ( シャワー ) — shower. Just make sure you don’t throw the bath water out when you’re done, as the family shares the hot water.

151. oyasumi nasai ( おやすみなさい ) — Good night

You can also leave off the -nasai  to make it less formal.

Want to sound like a native when you know minimal Japanese? There are a few common phrases you can use with friends in casual conversations.

152. ikimashou ( 行きましょう ) — Let’s go

Once you’ve decided on your plans for the day with friends, it’s time to head out by saying this phrase.

153. tabemashou ( 食べましょう ) — Let’s eat

If you decide to have lunch with friends, state tabemashou!

154. nomimashou ( 飲みましょう ) — Let’s drink

You can also suggest grabbing a drink by using this phrase.

155. yattaa! ( やったー！ ) — Yay!

This is generally an informal phrase. It’s something you use when you want to express that you’re excited, or that you’re happy about the outcome of something.

156. ureshii desu ( 嬉しいです ) — I’m happy

If you want to convey, in no uncertain terms, that you’re happy, then this is the phrase to whip out.

157. daijoubu desu ( 大丈夫です ) — I’m fine

Aside from conveying that you’re all right, this is a polite way to respectfully say “no,” such as when you’re done drinking for the night.

158. yoroshiku ne ( よろしくね ) — Nice to meet you

This is the casual version of yoroshiku onegaishimasu —a phrase that can also translate to “Please take care of me” or “I’ll leave it up to you.”

159. doushita no? ( どうしたの？ ) — What’s wrong?

Does your friend seem down? Tell them this phrase to cheer them up.

160. yabai ( やばい ) — Awful or cool

While talking, your friend may mention they have an important test or date. Use yabai and depending on the context, it can mean “Awful” or “Cool.”

161. yokatta ( よかった ) — Good, excellent, nice

This is an expression of relief, a bit like “Oh, thank goodness!”

162. ganbatte ( 頑張って ) — Do your best

This simple word means either “Good luck” or “Do your best.” In more formal situations, you’d say Ganbatte kudasai ( 頑張ってください ) . 

163. omedetou! ( おめでとう！ )  — Congrats!

The formal variant is o medetou gozaimasu ( おめでとうございます ) — Congratulations.

164. zenzen ( 全然 ) — Not at all (with neg. verb)

In a nutshell,   zenzen is the Japanese phrase of denial. It can be used either sincerely or not, such as when answering your mother when she asks, “Am I bothering you?”

165. maji de? ( マジで？ ) — Really?

You can express your surprise with this casual phrase, or its even more casual and assertive variant maji ka yo ? ( マジかよ? )

166. hontou? ( 本当？ ) — Really? / Seriously?

This word translates literally to “truth,” “reality,” “actuality” or “fact.” In question form, it comes across more like a surprised,“Are you serious?”

167. usoo! ( うそー！ ) — No way!

This is another way to express surprise, which literally means “Lie!”

168. yappari ( やっぱり ) — As expected

If you’re not surprised, you can use this word to say, “I knew it!”

When you’re making friends, you’ll hear tons of these terms going back and forth. Many slang terms are written in katakana , which marks them as being casual words.

169. ukeru ( ウケる ) — Funny, hilarious

Let’s say your friend made a great joke . By saying ukeru , you’ll let him know he struck your funny bone.

170. chou ( 超 ) — Super

This word is used to add emphasis, like the words “really” or “very.” You could say, for example, that something is chou ukeru ( 超ウケる   ) or very funny.

171. dasai ( ダサい ) — Uncool

You’ll often hear young people say dasai to refer to something that’s boring, unfashionable, etc.

172. kimoi ( キモい ) — Gross

Kimoi  is a contraction of the words kimochi ( 気持ち ) — feeling, and warui ( 悪い ) — bad. 

173. gachi ( ガチ ) — Totally, really, seriously

G achi implies that something actually took place, or was really as intense as the speaker claims.

174. hanpa nai ( 半端ない ) — Crazy, insane

Hanpa nai means that something is awesome or insane, but in a good way, like an epic roller coaster ride.

And there you have it! With these phrases and some core vocabulary , you’ll be able to make small talk with new friends, or show others that you’re sincerely interested in learning Japanese.

Just by incorporating these Japanese daily vocabulary into your conversation , you’ll soon be sure to hear nihongo ga jouzu desu ne! ( 日本語が上手ですね ) — You’re good at speaking Japanese!

If you love learning Japanese with authentic materials, then I should also tell you more about FluentU .

FluentU naturally and gradually eases you into learning Japanese language and culture. You'll learn real Japanese as it's spoken in real life.

FluentU has a broad range of contemporary videos as you'll see below:

FluentU makes these native Japanese videos approachable through interactive transcripts. Tap on any word to look it up instantly.

All definitions have multiple examples, and they're written for Japanese learners like you. Tap to add words you'd like to review to a vocab list.

And FluentU has a learn mode which turns every video into a language learning lesson. You can always swipe left or right to see more examples.

The best part? FluentU keeps track of your vocabulary, and gives you extra practice with difficult words. It'll even remind you when it’s time to review what you’ve learned. You'll have a 100% personalized experience.

Start using the FluentU website on your computer or tablet or, better yet, download the FluentU app from the iTunes or Google Play store. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)

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50+ Easy Japanese Phrases for Travelers and Beginners

Learning basic Japanese phrases can open doors to new experiences and meaningful connections when traveling or interacting with Japanese speakers. Whether you’re planning a trip or just want to pick up some useful expressions, this guide provides more than 50 simple phrases across various topics to help you communicate with confidence in a range of situations.

• Greetings and Common Polite Expressions
• Introducing Yourself
• Phrases for Traveling
• Shopping Phrases
• Eating Out: Ordering Food and Drinks
• Phrases for Emergencies
• Hotel and Accommodation Phrases

Additional Phrases

• Polite Requests and Questions

Learning easy Japanese phrases with MochiKanji

Greetings and common polite expressions.

• こんにちは (Konnichiwa) – Hello
• こんばんは (Konbanwa) – Good evening
• おはようございます (Ohayou gozaimasu) – Good morning
• おやすみなさい (Oyasumi nasai) – Good night
• ありがとうございます (Arigatou gozaimasu) – Thank you
• すみません (Sumimasen) – Excuse me / I’m sorry
• お願いします (Onegaishimasu) – Please
• どういたしまして (Dou itashimashite) – You’re welcome
• はい (Hai) – Yes
• いいえ (Iie) – No

Introducing yourself

• 私の名前は [Your Name] です (Watashi no namae wa [Your Name] desu) – My name is [Your Name]
• 初めまして (Hajimemashite) – Nice to meet you
• どこから来ましたか？ (Doko kara kimashita ka?) – Where are you from?
• [Your Country] から来ました ([Your Country] kara kimashita) – I’m from [Your Country]
• よろしくお願いします (Yoroshiku onegaishimasu) – Nice to meet you / Please take care of me

Phrases for traveling

• これは何ですか？ (Kore wa nan desu ka?) – What is this?
• いくらですか？ (Ikura desu ka?) – How much is it?
• トイレはどこですか？ (Toire wa doko desu ka?) – Where is the bathroom?
• 助けてください (Tasukete kudasai) – Please help me
• 道に迷いました (Michi ni mayoimashita) – I’m lost

Shopping phrases

• これをください (Kore o kudasai) – I’ll take this
• 試着してもいいですか？ (Shichaku shite mo ii desu ka?) – May I try this on?
• サイズはありますか？ (Saizu wa arimasu ka?) – Do you have this in a different size?
• クレジットカードで払えますか？ (Kurejitto kaado de haraemasu ka?) – Can I pay with a credit card?
• 返品できますか？ (Henpin dekimasu ka?) – Can I return this?

Eating out: Ordering food and drinks

• メニューをください (Menyuu o kudasai) – Please give me the menu
• おすすめは何ですか？ (Osusume wa nan desu ka?) – What do you recommend?
• ビールを一つください (Biiru o hitotsu kudasai) – One beer, please
• お会計お願いします (Okaikei onegaishimasu) – The check, please

Phrases for emergencies

• 火事です！ (Kaji desu!) – Fire!
• 警察を呼んでください (Keisatsu o yonde kudasai) – Call the police, please
• 救急車を呼んでください (Kyukyuusha o yonde kudasai) – Call an ambulance, please
• 私は日本語が話せません (Watashi wa Nihongo ga hanasemasen) – I can’t speak Japanese
• ここに助けが必要です (Koko ni tasuke ga hitsuyou desu) – I need help here

Hotel and accommodation phrases

• チェックインをお願いします (Chekku in o onegaishimasu) – I’d like to check in
• 予約しています (Yoyaku shiteimasu) – I have a reservation
• もっと大きい部屋はありますか？ (Motto ookii heya wa arimasu ka?) – Do you have a bigger room?
• Wi-Fiのパスワードは何ですか？ (Wi-Fi no pasuwaado wa nan desu ka?) – What is the Wi-Fi password?
• ルームサービスをお願いします (Ruumu saabisu o onegaishimasu) – Room service, please

Polite requests and questions

• もう一度言ってください (Mou ichido itte kudasai) – Please say that again
• ゆっくり話してください (Yukkuri hanashite kudasai) – Please speak slowly
• 英語は話せますか？ (Eigo wa hanasemasu ka?) – Can you speak English?
• これはどういう意味ですか？ (Kore wa dou iu imi desu ka?) – What does this mean?
• すぐに戻ります (Sugu ni modorimasu) – I’ll be back soon
• いい天気ですね (Ii tenki desu ne) – It’s nice weather, isn’t it?
• どこで会えますか？ (Doko de aemasu ka?) – Where can we meet?
• どのくらいかかりますか？ (Dono kurai kakarimasu ka?) – How long will it take?
• 私もそう思います (Watashi mo sou omoimasu) – I think so too
• それは素晴らしいですね (Sore wa subarashii desu ne) – That’s wonderful
• ちょっと待ってください (Chotto matte kudasai) – Please wait a moment
• ゆっくりどうぞ (Yukkuri douzo) – Take your time
• ここに座ってもいいですか？ (Koko ni suwatte mo ii desu ka?) – May I sit here?
• どこに行けばいいですか？ (Doko ni ikeba ii desu ka?) – Where should I go?
• これは私の携帯です (Kore wa watashi no keitai desu) – This is my phone

MochiKanji is a great tool for mastering these basic Japanese phrases. Its interactive flashcards with images and sounds make learning engaging, while the spaced repetition system, Golden Time feature optimizes review for better retention. The app’s conversation practice also helps you use common phrases in real-life contexts, ensuring you’re well-prepared for everyday situations. From greetings to travel phrases, MochiKanji makes learning Japanese easier and more enjoyable.

Learning easy Japanese phrases doesn’t just help you get around, it enhances your experience by allowing you to engage more meaningfully with the culture. Whether you’re ordering food, shopping, or greeting someone, mastering these basic expressions will help you feel more confident in Japan.

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