Basic Phrases in Japanese // Learn 32 Essential Phrases (With Flashcards & FREE Quiz)
32 of The Most Important Basic Phrases in Japanese
Looking for THE most important basic phrases in Japanese? Do you want to know the top phrases to help you get by in Japan?
Or maybe youβre looking for the most important basic phrases in Japanese to kick-start your Japanese learning journey.
Either way, look no further.
This short, basic and super simple guide will give you those all-important essential basic phrases in Japanese that youβll need to get by.
Basic Phrases in Japanese || The Complete List
Basic Phrases in Japanese || Yes and No
Basic Phrases in Japanese || Greetings
Basic Phrases in Japanese || Politeness
Basic Phrases in Japanese || Other Essential Phrases
Basic Phrases in Japanese || Questions
BONUS || FREE Quiz
Basic Phrases in Japanese || FAQs
List of Most Basic Phrases in Japanese
Here is our complete list of the most basic phrases in Japanese:
- Hai γ―γ – Yes
- Iie γγγ – No
- Konnichiwa γγγ«γ‘γ― – Hello
- Ohayo (gozaimasu) γγ―γγοΌγγγγΎγοΌ- Morning (politer)
- Konbanwa γγγ°γγ― – Good evening
- Oyasumi (nasai) γγγγΏοΌγͺγγοΌ- Good night (politer)
- Sayonara γγγͺγ – Goodbye
- Arigatou (gozaimasu) γγγγ¨γοΌγγγγΎγοΌ- Thanks (politer)
- Onegaishimasu γγγγγγΎγ – Please
- Sumimasen γγΏγΎγγ – Excuse me
- Gomennasai γγγγͺγγ – Sorry
- Watashiwa X desu γγγγ― X γ§γ – I am called X
- Daijyoubu γ γγγγγΆ – Itβs OK, Iβm fine
- Wo Kudasai X γγγ γγ – X please
- Soudesuka? / Soudesu γγγ§γγγ»γγγ§γ – Is that so? Yes, itβs like thatβ¦
- Samui γγγ – Itβs cold!
- Atsui γγ€γ – Itβs hot
- Suki/sukijyanai γγγ»γγγγγͺγ – I like it / I donβt like it
- Mouyikkai γγγγ£γγ – Once again
- Wakarimasen γγγγΎγγ – I donβt understand
- Kanppai γγγ±γ – Cheers!
- ~wa Dokodesuka? γγ―γγ©γγ§γγ – Where is the ~
- ~e ikitaidesu γγΈγγγγγγ§γ – I want to go to the ~
- Ikuradesuka? γγγγ§γγ – How much is it?
- WiFi arimasuka? WiFiγγγΎγγ – Do you have wifi?
- Genkidesuka? / Genkidesu γγγγ§γγοΌ/ γγγγ§γ – Are you OK? / Iβm OK
- Dokodesuka? γ©γγ§γγ – Where isβ¦
- (Kore) nandesuka?οΌγγοΌγͺγγ§γγ – What is this?
- Daredesuka? γ γγ§γγ – Who are you, who is that?
- Itsudesuka? γγ€γ§γγ – When?
- Doushite? γ©γγγ¦ – Why?
Basic Phrases in Japanese: Yes and No
Two of the most important things to say in any language is of course yes and no.
Hai γ―γ – Yes
Iie γγγ – No
Saying yes and no in Japanese is simple.
Hai is yes, iie is no.
There are less polite ways to say both of these.
Examples include βunβ and βuunβ (yes/no respectively) but itβs best to stay polite until you get a better grasp of using honorific and casual speech.
You’ll discover formality is hugely important when speaking Japanese.
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Basic Phrases in Japanese: Greetings
Now that we’ve got yes and no out the way, let’s move onto basic phrases that include greetings.
You probably already know hello (konnichiwa: γγγ«γ‘γ―) but why not take it one step further?
Konnichiwa γγγ«γ‘γ― – Hello
Konbanwa γγγ°γγ― – Hello (evening)
Ohayo (gozaimasu) γγ―γγοΌγγγγΎγοΌ- Morning (politer)
Oyasumi (nasai) γγγγΏοΌγͺγγοΌ- Good night (politer)
Sayonara γγγͺγ – Goodbye
For basic greetings in Japanese, itβs important to note the time of day.
Konnichiwa literally means βthis dayβ and konbanwa literally means βthis eveningβ.
To make a phrase sound more polite, you can add the politeness endings such as gozaimasu – but this can be a bit of a mouthful.
If youβre a beginner, you can get away with simply saying the first part of the word.
Basic Phrases in Japanese: Politeness
Politeness is important in Japanese!
Most people who have any knowledge of Japanese culture should already know that Japan is a very polite country, so learning how to say please and thank you are vitally important basic phrases in Japanese.
Arigatou (gozaimasu) γγγγ¨γοΌγγγγΎγοΌ- Thanks (politer)
Onegaishimasu γγγγγγΎγ – Please
Sumimasen γγΏγΎγγ – Excuse me
Gomennasai γγγγͺγγ – Sorry
Bumping through a crowd you might want to shout βsumimasen!β
Also to get attention at a restaurant.
Please and thank yous are said a lot, but thank you much much more. So make sure to get βarigatouβ down!
Basic Phrases in Japanese: Other Essential Phrases
Next up we have some key basic phrases in Japanese to get you through the day, these are some of the most common phrases we’d use in Japanese!
Simple, yet effective in making your Japanese sound pretty decent at a beginnerβs level.
Watashiwa X desu γγγγ― X γ§γ – I am called X
Daijyoubu γ γγγγγΆ – Itβs OK, Iβm fine
Wo Kudasai X γγγ γγ – X please
Samui γγγ – Itβs cold!
Atsui γγ€γ – Itβs hot
Suki/sukijyanai γγγ»γγγγγͺγ – I like it/I donβt like it
Mouyikkai γγγγ£γγ – Once again
Wakarimasen γγγγΎγγ – I donβt understand
Kanppai γγγ±γ – Cheers!
Wo kudasai can be used when youβre pointing at something in a shop and asking for it.
Samui and Astui can be used when youβre strolling the parks of Kyoto in the winter or summer
Lastly youβll hear kanppai a lot at your local izakaya (Japanese pub)!
It sounds similar to the Chinese version that is ganbei εΉ²ζ― and also looks similar in characters also δΉΎζ― (note the 2nd character is the same as the Chinese equivalent).
Basic Phrases in Japanese: Questions
Lastly we have the all important questions in Japanese!
You might fear getting an answer in complicated Japaneseβ¦ but thatβs just all the more motivation you need to keep on learning Japanese!
It’s always worth a try, you may even end up understanding more than you think and surprising yourself!
First up let’s look at Japanese question words:
Dokodesuka? γ©γγ§γγ – Where isβ¦
(Kore) nandesuka?οΌγγοΌγͺγγ§γγ – What is this?
Daredesuka? γ γγ§γγ – Who are you, who is that?
Itsudesuka? γγ€γ§γγ – When?
Doushite? γ©γγγ¦ – Why?
One important thing to note is that everything is pretty much backwards in Japanese grammar.
So when in English you place a question word or phrase at the start of a sentence, it goes at the end in Japanese. So if youβre looking for the train station, youβd ask;
βEki wa doko desuka?β γγγ―γ©γγ§γγοΌ
Eki = Train station
Wa = (Topic particle marker)
Doko = Where
Desu = Is
Ka = ?
So now we’ve had a look at the question words, let’s have a look at a few more useful question phrases that use them:
~wa Dokodesuka? γγ―γγ©γγ§γγ – Where is the ~
~e ikitaidesu γγΈγγγγγγ§γ – I want to go to the ~
Ikuradesuka? γγγγ§γγ – How much is it?
WiFi arimasuka? WiFiγγγΎγγ – Do you have wifi?
Soudesuka? / Soudesu γγγ§γγγ»γγγ§γ – Is that so? Yes, itβs like thatβ¦
Genkidesuka? / Genkidesu γγγγ§γγοΌ/ γγγγ§γ – Are you OK? / Iβm OK
So thatβs it for the most important basic phrases in Japanese!
Whilst these are just beginner phrases in Japanese, theyβre used a lot of the time in day to day chat as you can imagine.
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BONUS FREEBIE // Quiz
Now you’ve learnt the most basic phrases in Japanese, how many can you remember.
Have a try with our 20 question quick fire quiz and see how many you remembered.
Questions are all multiple choice and the answers are instant. What are you waiting for!
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Basic Phrases in Japanese || FAQs
What is hello in Japanese?
Hello in Japanese is konnichiwa γγγ«γ‘γ―
What is thanks in Japanese?
Thanks in Japanese is arigatou γγγγ¨γ
If you want to make it even more polite then you can add (gozaimasu γγγγΎγοΌat the end to make the entire phrase arigatou (gozaimasu); γγγγ¨γοΌγγγγΎγ).
What is please in Japanese?
Please in Japanese is onegaishimasu γγγγγγΎγ .
What is goodbye in Japanese?
Goodbye in Japanese is sayonara γγγͺγ .
What is yes in Japanese?
Yes in Japanese is hai γ―γΒ
What is no in Japanese?
No in Japanese is iie γγγ
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17 comments
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Love the addition of the quiz!
Great to hear you liked it Emily!
These are very useful, thanks for sharing for Japanese learners
Happy to hear! Thanks for commenting π
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γ©γγγγγΎγγ¦ Rayne!
Excellent article and so useful for beginners like me!
Thanks for the lovely comment π
Started to learn Japanese, thanks for the content
Good luck with your journey Meg. Don't forget to claim you free 7 day Flexi Classes trial here to get you going - https://flexiclasses.com/flexi-registration
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