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 youโre 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 youโll 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 ใฏใ – Yes
- Iie ใใใ – No
- Konnichiwa ใใใซใกใฏ – Hello
- Ohayo (gozaimasu) ใใฏใใ๏ผใใใใพใ๏ผ- Morning (politer)
- Konbanwa ใใใฐใใฏ – Good evening
- Oyasumi (nasai) ใใใใฟ๏ผใชใใ๏ผ- Good night (politer)
- Sayonara ใใใชใ – Goodbye
- Arigatou (gozaimasu) ใใใใจใ๏ผใใใใพใ๏ผ- Thanks (politer)
- Onegaishimasu ใใญใใใใพใ – Please
- Sumimasen ใใฟใพใใ – Excuse me
- Gomennasai ใใใใชใใ – Sorry
- Watashiwa X desu ใใใใฏ X ใงใ – I am called X
- Daijyoubu ใ ใใใใใถ – Itโs OK, Iโm fine
- Wo Kudasai X ใใใ ใใ – X please
- Soudesuka? / Soudesu ใใใงใใใปใใใงใ – Is that so? Yes, itโs like thatโฆ
- Samui ใใใ – Itโs cold!
- Atsui ใใคใ – Itโs hot
- Suki/sukijyanai ใใใปใใใใใชใ – I like it / I donโt like it
- Mouyikkai ใใใใฃใใ – Once again
- Wakarimasen ใใใใพใใ – I donโt understand
- Kanppai ใใใฑใ – Cheers!
- ~wa Dokodesuka? ใใฏใใฉใใงใใ – Where is the ~
- ~e ikitaidesu ใใธใใใใใใงใ – I want to go to the ~
- Ikuradesuka? ใใใใงใใ – How much is it?
- WiFi arimasuka? WiFiใใใพใใ – Do you have wifi?
- Genkidesuka? / Genkidesu ใใใใงใใ๏ผ/ ใใใใงใ – Are you OK? / Iโm OK
- Dokodesuka? ใฉใใงใใ – Where isโฆ
- (Kore) nandesuka?๏ผใใ๏ผใชใใงใใ – What is this?
- Daredesuka? ใ ใใงใใ – Who are you, who is that?
- Itsudesuka? ใใคใงใใ – When?
- Doushite? ใฉใใใฆ – 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 ใฏใ – Yes
Iie ใใใ – 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 โunโ and โuunโ (yes/no respectively) but itโs 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: ใใใซใกใฏ) but why not take it one step further?
Konnichiwa ใใใซใกใฏ – Hello
Konbanwa ใใใฐใใฏ – Hello (evening)
Ohayo (gozaimasu) ใใฏใใ๏ผใใใใพใ๏ผ- Morning (politer)
Oyasumi (nasai) ใใใใฟ๏ผใชใใ๏ผ- Good night (politer)
Sayonara ใใใชใ – Goodbye
For basic greetings in Japanese, itโs important to note the time of day.
Konnichiwa literally means โthis dayโ and konbanwa literally means โthis eveningโ.
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 youโre 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) ใใใใจใ๏ผใใใใพใ๏ผ- Thanks (politer)
Onegaishimasu ใใญใใใใพใ – Please
Sumimasen ใใฟใพใใ – Excuse me
Gomennasai ใใใใชใใ – Sorry
Bumping through a crowd you might want to shout โsumimasen!โ
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 โarigatouโ 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 beginnerโs level.
Watashiwa X desu ใใใใฏ X ใงใ – I am called X
Daijyoubu ใ ใใใใใถ – Itโs OK, Iโm fine
Wo Kudasai X ใใใ ใใ – X please
Samui ใใใ – Itโs cold!
Atsui ใใคใ – Itโs hot
Suki/sukijyanai ใใใปใใใใใชใ – I like it/I donโt like it
Mouyikkai ใใใใฃใใ – Once again
Wakarimasen ใใใใพใใ – I donโt understand
Kanppai ใใใฑใ – Cheers!
Wo kudasai can be used when youโre pointing at something in a shop and asking for it.
Samui and Astui can be used when youโre strolling the parks of Kyoto in the winter or summer
Lastly youโll hear kanppai a lot at your local izakaya (Japanese pub)!
It sounds similar to the Chinese version that is ganbei ๅนฒๆฏ and also looks similar in characters also ไนพๆฏ (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 Japaneseโฆ but thatโs 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? ใฉใใงใใ – Where isโฆ
(Kore) nandesuka?๏ผใใ๏ผใชใใงใใ – What is this?
Daredesuka? ใ ใใงใใ – Who are you, who is that?
Itsudesuka? ใใคใงใใ – When?
Doushite? ใฉใใใฆ – 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 youโre looking for the train station, youโd ask;
โEki wa doko desuka?โ ใใใฏใฉใใงใใ๏ผ
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? ใใฏใใฉใใงใใ – Where is the ~
~e ikitaidesu ใใธใใใใใใงใ – I want to go to the ~
Ikuradesuka? ใใใใงใใ – How much is it?
WiFi arimasuka? WiFiใใใพใใ – Do you have wifi?
Soudesuka? / Soudesu ใใใงใใใปใใใงใ – Is that so? Yes, itโs like thatโฆ
Genkidesuka? / Genkidesu ใใใใงใใ๏ผ/ ใใใใงใ – Are you OK? / Iโm OK
So thatโs it for the most important basic phrases in Japanese!
Whilst these are just beginner phrases in Japanese, theyโre 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 ใใใซใกใฏ
What is thanks in Japanese?
Thanks in Japanese is arigatou ใใใใจใ
If you want to make it even more polite then you can add (gozaimasu ใใใใพใ๏ผat the end to make the entire phrase arigatou (gozaimasu); ใใใใจใ๏ผใใใใพใ).
What is please in Japanese?
Please in Japanese is onegaishimasu ใใญใใใใพใ .
What is goodbye in Japanese?
Goodbye in Japanese is sayonara ใใใชใ .
What is yes in Japanese?
Yes in Japanese is hai ใฏใย
What is no in Japanese?
No in Japanese is iie ใใใ
Want More From LTL?
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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 ๐
ใใใใจใใใใใพใ
ใฉใใใใใพใใฆ Rayne!
Excellent article and so useful for beginners like me!
Thanks for the lovely comment ๐
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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