Learn Japanese Fast - Master Essential Words and Phrases for Quick Fluency

200 flashcards · Beginner · Language Learning

The highest-frequency Japanese a beginner needs first — greetings, pronouns, core verbs and adjectives, question words, numbers, time words, everyday nouns, and ready-to-use sentences, each with natural Japanese, romaji pronunciation, an example, and native-speaker audio.

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こんにちは

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Greetings & Politeness

Hello / Good afternoon

こんにちは

Pronunciation

konnichiwa

What you'll learn

Essential greetings and polite phrases
The most frequent Japanese verbs in dictionary form
Common adjectives for describing things and situations
Question words and numbers for everyday use
Time words, days, and high-frequency everyday nouns
Fifteen ready-to-use sentences with correct pronunciation from native audio

What's inside: all 200 cards

Every card in this set, free to read. Pro adds native audio on each one and a review schedule that brings it back before you forget it.

Greetings & Politeness · 20

こんにちは/ konnichiwa /: Hello / Good afternoon
おはようございます/ ohayō gozaimasu /: Good morning (polite)
こんばんは/ konbanwa /: Good evening
ありがとうございます/ arigatō gozaimasu /: Thank you (polite)
すみません/ sumimasen /: Excuse me / Sorry
はい/ hai /: Yes
いいえ/ iie /: No
お願いします/ onegai shimasu /: Please
はじめまして/ hajimemashite /: Nice to meet you
よろしくお願いします/ yoroshiku onegai shimasu /: Pleased to meet you / Please treat me well
さようなら/ sayōnara /: Goodbye (formal, or for a long parting)
またね/ mata ne /: See you (casual)
おやすみなさい/ oyasuminasai /: Good night (said before sleeping)
いただきます/ itadakimasu /: Said before eating, thanking everyone for the meal
ごちそうさまでした/ gochisōsama deshita /: Said after eating, thanking the cook
どういたしまして/ dō itashimashite /: You're welcome
ごめんなさい/ gomen nasai /: I'm sorry (a genuine apology)
失礼します/ shitsurei shimasu /: Excuse me (on entering or leaving a room)
お疲れさまです/ otsukaresama desu /: Thanks for your hard work (said to colleagues)
いってきます/ ittekimasu /: I'm off (said when leaving home)

Pronouns & People · 16

私/ watashi /: I / me
あなた/ anata /: You
彼/ kare /: He
彼女/ kanojo /: She
私たち/ watashitachi /: We
友達/ tomodachi /: Friend
先生/ sensei /: Teacher
家族/ kazoku /: Family
母/ haha /: My mother (used when speaking about her to others)
父/ chichi /: My father (used when speaking about him to others)
子供/ kodomo /: Child
人/ hito /: Person
学生/ gakusei /: Student
医者/ isha /: Doctor
店員/ ten'in /: Shop assistant / clerk
皆さん/ minasan /: Everyone (polite, addressing a group)

Common Verbs · 32

食べる/ taberu /: To eat
飲む/ nomu /: To drink
行く/ iku /: To go
来る/ kuru /: To come
見る/ miru /: To see / to watch
聞く/ kiku /: To listen / to ask
話す/ hanasu /: To speak / to talk
読む/ yomu /: To read
書く/ kaku /: To write
する/ suru /: To do
買う/ kau /: To buy
わかる/ wakaru /: To understand
寝る/ neru /: To sleep
起きる/ okiru /: To wake up / to get up
働く/ hataraku /: To work
休む/ yasumu /: To rest / to take time off
待つ/ matsu /: To wait
会う/ au /: To meet
帰る/ kaeru /: To return / to go home
入る/ hairu /: To enter / to go in
出る/ deru /: To leave / to go out
座る/ suwaru /: To sit down
立つ/ tatsu /: To stand up
歩く/ aruku /: To walk
走る/ hashiru /: To run
使う/ tsukau /: To use
作る/ tsukuru /: To make
教える/ oshieru /: To teach / to tell someone something
習う/ narau /: To learn (from a teacher)
思う/ omou /: To think / to feel
知る/ shiru /: To know / to find out
持つ/ motsu /: To hold / to carry / to have

Common Adjectives · 24

大きい/ ōkii /: Big / large
小さい/ chiisai /: Small
高い/ takai /: High / expensive / tall
安い/ yasui /: Cheap / inexpensive
新しい/ atarashii /: New
古い/ furui /: Old (of things)
いい/ ii /: Good
難しい/ muzukashii /: Difficult
暑い/ atsui /: Hot (weather)
寒い/ samui /: Cold (weather)
忙しい/ isogashii /: Busy
楽しい/ tanoshii /: Fun / enjoyable
面白い/ omoshiroi /: Interesting / funny
美味しい/ oishii /: Delicious
悪い/ warui /: Bad
長い/ nagai /: Long
短い/ mijikai /: Short
早い/ hayai /: Early / fast
遅い/ osoi /: Late / slow
近い/ chikai /: Near / close
遠い/ tōi /: Far
静か/ shizuka /: Quiet (a na-adjective: 静かな部屋)
元気/ genki /: Well / healthy / energetic (a na-adjective)
簡単/ kantan /: Easy / simple (a na-adjective)

Question Words · 12

何/ nani /: What
誰/ dare /: Who
どこ/ doko /: Where
いつ/ itsu /: When
どうして/ dōshite /: Why
どう/ dō /: How / how about
いくら/ ikura /: How much (price)
どれ/ dore /: Which one (choosing among three or more)
どちら/ dochira /: Which of two / which way (also a polite 'where')
何時/ nanji /: What time
いくつ/ ikutsu /: How many / how old
なぜ/ naze /: Why (more formal than どうして)

Numbers · 16

一/ ichi /: One (1)
二/ ni /: Two (2)
三/ san /: Three (3)
十/ jū /: Ten (10)
百/ hyaku /: Hundred (100)
四/ yon /: Four (4); also read shi, though yon is safer
五/ go /: Five (5)
六/ roku /: Six (6)
七/ nana /: Seven (7); also read shichi
八/ hachi /: Eight (8)
九/ kyū /: Nine (9); also read ku
二十/ nijū /: Twenty (20)
五十/ gojū /: Fifty (50)
千/ sen /: Thousand (1,000)
万/ man /: Ten thousand (10,000); 一万 is ichiman
半分/ hanbun /: Half

Time & Days · 20

今日/ kyō /: Today
明日/ ashita /: Tomorrow
昨日/ kinō /: Yesterday
今/ ima /: Now
朝/ asa /: Morning
夜/ yoru /: Night
時間/ jikan /: Time / hour
週末/ shūmatsu /: Weekend
昼/ hiru /: Noon / daytime
午前/ gozen /: A.M. / before noon
午後/ gogo /: P.M. / afternoon
今週/ konshū /: This week
来週/ raishū /: Next week
先週/ senshū /: Last week
月曜日/ getsuyōbi /: Monday
金曜日/ kin'yōbi /: Friday
土曜日/ doyōbi /: Saturday
日曜日/ nichiyōbi /: Sunday
毎日/ mainichi /: Every day
分/ fun /: Minute (counter; read pun after some numbers)

Everyday Nouns · 30

水/ mizu /: Water
お金/ okane /: Money
家/ ie /: House / home
車/ kuruma /: Car
電話/ denwa /: Telephone
本/ hon /: Book
名前/ namae /: Name
店/ mise /: Shop / store
食べ物/ tabemono /: Food
お茶/ ocha /: Tea
コーヒー/ kōhī /: Coffee
ご飯/ gohan /: Cooked rice / a meal
パン/ pan /: Bread
駅/ eki /: Station
空港/ kūkō /: Airport
病院/ byōin /: Hospital
銀行/ ginkō /: Bank
ホテル/ hoteru /: Hotel
部屋/ heya /: Room
道/ michi /: Road / way
切符/ kippu /: Ticket (for trains and buses)
荷物/ nimotsu /: Luggage / baggage
財布/ saifu /: Wallet
鍵/ kagi /: Key
傘/ kasa /: Umbrella
服/ fuku /: Clothes
天気/ tenki /: Weather
仕事/ shigoto /: Work / job
会社/ kaisha /: Company
電車/ densha /: Train

Useful Sentences · 30

お名前は何ですか。/ o-namae wa nan desu ka /: What is your name?
私は学生です。/ watashi wa gakusei desu /: I am a student.
これは何ですか。/ kore wa nan desu ka /: What is this?
英語がわかりますか。/ eigo ga wakarimasu ka /: Do you understand English?
日本語が少しわかります。/ nihongo ga sukoshi wakarimasu /: I understand a little Japanese.
もう一度お願いします。/ mō ichido onegai shimasu /: One more time, please.
ゆっくり話してください。/ yukkuri hanashite kudasai /: Please speak slowly.
助けてください。/ tasukete kudasai /: Please help me.
お腹が空きました。/ onaka ga sukimashita /: I'm hungry.
少し待ってください。/ sukoshi matte kudasai /: Please wait a moment.
お元気ですか。/ o-genki desu ka /: How are you?
今、何時ですか。/ ima nanji desu ka /: What time is it now?
トイレはどこですか。/ toire wa doko desu ka /: Where is the bathroom?
また明日会いましょう。/ mata ashita aimashō /: Let's meet again tomorrow.
少し疲れました。/ sukoshi tsukaremashita /: I'm a little tired.
これをください。/ kore o kudasai /: This one, please.
いくらですか。/ ikura desu ka /: How much is it?
駅はどこですか。/ eki wa doko desu ka /: Where is the station?
日本語を勉強しています。/ nihongo o benkyō shite imasu /: I am studying Japanese.
写真を撮ってもいいですか。/ shashin o totte mo ii desu ka /: May I take a photo?
メニューをお願いします。/ menyū o onegai shimasu /: The menu, please.
おすすめは何ですか。/ osusume wa nan desu ka /: What do you recommend?
カードで払えますか。/ kādo de haraemasu ka /: Can I pay by card?
予約をしたいです。/ yoyaku o shitai desu /: I would like to make a reservation.
気をつけてください。/ ki o tsukete kudasai /: Please take care.
大丈夫です。/ daijōbu desu /: It's fine. / I'm okay.
わかりません。/ wakarimasen /: I don't understand.
病院へ行きたいです。/ byōin e ikitai desu /: I want to go to the hospital.
電車は何時に来ますか。/ densha wa nanji ni kimasu ka /: What time does the train come?
これは何と言いますか。/ kore wa nan to iimasu ka /: What is this called?

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