Basic Japanese Words for Beginners
Basic Japanese words that everyone starts with: はい (hai — yes), いいえ (iie — no), ありがとう (arigatō — thank you), すみません (sumimasen — excuse me), お願いします (onegai shimas — please). These five are enough to politely get through most everyday situations in Japan.
A thousand words begins with one. Don't chase the whole dictionary — pick a handful of words you can say tomorrow: 'yes', 'thank you', 'water'. A word lived in speech stays. A word read in a list slips away by morning like water through your fingers.
The Most Essential Words to Start With
| Category | Word | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yes / No | はい / いいえ | hai / iie | yes / no |
| Thank you | ありがとう | arigatō | thank you |
| Excuse me | すみません | sumimasen | excuse me |
| Water | みず (水) | mizu | water |
| Food | たべもの (食べ物) | tabemono | food |
| To eat (verb) | たべる (食べる) | taberu | to eat |
| To drink (verb) | のむ (飲む) | nomu | to drink |
| To go (verb) | いく (行く) | iku | to go |
| Good | いい | ii | good / fine |
| Person | ひと (人) | hito | person |
How Many Words Should a Beginner Learn?
For first conversations, 50–100 of the most frequent words and polite phrases are enough. For the N5 level, you need about 600–800 words. What matters is not volume but frequency: 100 common words cover most everyday speech, while a hundred rare ones cover almost nothing.
How many words are needed for everyday conversation
The first thousand words cover about 80% of daily speech, and that's achievable in six months at a relaxed pace. The N5 level requires 600–800 words — so the everyday minimum and the exam minimum almost coincide.
How to Remember Words Without Forgetting Them?
- Learn words in short phrases, not as a bare list — context holds memory.
- Use spaced repetition (SRS): return to a word just before you forget it.
- Group by topics: food, transport, time — related things are easier to remember.
- Listen and say words aloud — sound anchors a word more firmly than reading with your eyes.
Which words to learn first
Not the prettiest, but the most frequent: pronouns, numbers, days, food, transport, and a dozen verbs. A useful test — can you use this word today? If not, it can wait.
Where to Get Words and Reinforce Them
The most convenient way to learn vocabulary is with audio and automatic repetitions, so the system reminds you of words at the right moment. In Japanese Zen, there is a dictionary with pronunciation and repetitions that schedule words for review exactly when they start to fade.
FAQ
- Which Japanese words should I learn first?
- Polite phrases (thank you, excuse me, yes/no) and the most common everyday words: water, food, go, eat, good. With these, you can start communicating right away.
- How many words do I need for basic communication?
- About 50–100 frequent words are enough for simple daily life. For the N5 level, about 600–800. Frequency matters more than the total size of your vocabulary.
- Should I learn words with kanji right away?
- At the start, kana writing is enough. Add kanji to already familiar words later — that way the character attaches to a known word and is easier to remember.
- Why do words get forgotten quickly?
- Because they are learned as a list and not reviewed in time. Spaced repetition (SRS) solves this: it brings back a word exactly when memory starts to lose it.
Updated: 2026-06-25