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 you’re 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 you’ll 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

Learn the basics of Japanese with Layla

List of Most Basic Phrases in Japanese

Here is our complete list of the most basic phrases in Japanese:

  • Hai はい – Yes
  • Iie γ„γ„γˆ – No
  • Konnichiwa こんにけは – Hello
  • Ohayo (gozaimasu) γŠγ―γ‚ˆγ†οΌˆγ”γ–γ„γΎγ™οΌ‰- Morning (politer)
  • Konbanwa こんばんは – Good evening
  • Oyasumi (nasai) γŠγ‚„γ™γΏοΌˆγͺさい)- Good night (politer)
  • Sayonara γ•γ‚ˆγͺら – Goodbye
  • Arigatou (gozaimasu) γ‚γ‚ŠγŒγ¨γ†οΌˆγ”γ–γ„γΎγ™οΌ‰- Thanks (politer)
  • Onegaishimasu γŠγ­γŒγ„γ—γΎγ™ – Please
  • Sumimasen すみません – Excuse me
  • Gomennasai ごめんγͺさい – Sorry
  • Watashiwa X desu γ‚γŸγ—γ― X です – I am called X
  • Daijyoubu γ γ„γ˜γ‚‡γ†γΆ – It’s OK, I’m fine
  • Wo Kudasai X をください – X please
  • Soudesuka? / Soudesu そうですか・そうです – Is that so? Yes, it’s like that…
  • Samui さむい – It’s cold!
  • Atsui あ぀い – It’s hot
  • Suki/sukijyanai γ™γγƒ»γ™γγ˜γ‚ƒγͺい – I like it / I don’t like it
  • Mouyikkai もういっかい – Once again
  • Wakarimasen γ‚γ‹γ‚ŠγΎγ›γ‚“ – I don’t understand
  • Kanppai かんぱい – Cheers!
  • ~wa Dokodesuka? γ€œγ―γ€€γ©γ“γ§γ™γ‹ – Where is the ~
  • ~e ikitaidesu γ€œγΈγ€€γ„γγŸγ„γ§γ™ – I want to go to the ~
  • Ikuradesuka? いくらですか – How much is it?
  • WiFi arimasuka? WiFiγ‚γ‚ŠγΎγ™γ‹ – Do you have wifi?
  • Genkidesuka? / Genkidesu γ’γ‚“γγ§γ™γ‹οΌŸ/ げんきです – Are you OK? / I’m OK
  • Dokodesuka? どこですか – Where is…
  • (Kore) nandesuka?οΌˆγ“γ‚ŒοΌ‰γͺんですか – What is this?
  • Daredesuka? γ γ‚Œγ§γ™γ‹ – Who are you, who is that?
  • Itsudesuka? い぀ですか – When?
  • Doushite? どうして – Why?
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Basic Phrases in Japanese: Yes and No

Basic-Phrases-in-Japanese

Two of the most important things to say in any language is of course yes and no.

Hai はい – Yes
Iie γ„γ„γˆ – 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 β€˜un’ and β€˜uun’ (yes/no respectively) but it’s 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.

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: こんにけは) but why not take it one step further?

Konnichiwa こんにけは – Hello
Konbanwa こんばんは – Hello (evening)
Ohayo (gozaimasu) γŠγ―γ‚ˆγ†οΌˆγ”γ–γ„γΎγ™οΌ‰- Morning (politer)
Oyasumi (nasai) γŠγ‚„γ™γΏοΌˆγͺさい)- Good night (politer)
Sayonara γ•γ‚ˆγͺら – Goodbye

For basic greetings in Japanese, it’s important to note the time of day.

Konnichiwa literally means β€˜this day’ and konbanwa literally means β€˜this evening’.

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 you’re 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) γ‚γ‚ŠγŒγ¨γ†οΌˆγ”γ–γ„γΎγ™οΌ‰- Thanks (politer)
Onegaishimasu γŠγ­γŒγ„γ—γΎγ™ – Please
Sumimasen すみません – Excuse me
Gomennasai ごめんγͺさい – Sorry

Bumping through a crowd you might want to shout β€˜sumimasen!’

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 β€˜arigatou’ 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!

Basic-phrases-in-Japanese

Simple, yet effective in making your Japanese sound pretty decent at a beginner’s level.

Watashiwa X desu γ‚γŸγ—γ― X です – I am called X
Daijyoubu γ γ„γ˜γ‚‡γ†γΆ – It’s OK, I’m fine
Wo Kudasai X をください – X please
Samui さむい – It’s cold!
Atsui あ぀い – It’s hot
Suki/sukijyanai γ™γγƒ»γ™γγ˜γ‚ƒγͺい – I like it/I don’t like it
Mouyikkai もういっかい – Once again
Wakarimasen γ‚γ‹γ‚ŠγΎγ›γ‚“ – I don’t understand
Kanppai かんぱい – Cheers!

Basic-phrases-in-Japanese


Wo kudasai can be used when you’re pointing at something in a shop and asking for it.

Samui and Astui can be used when you’re strolling the parks of Kyoto in the winter or summer

Lastly you’ll hear kanppai a lot at your local izakaya (Japanese pub)!

It sounds similar to the Chinese version that is ganbei 干杯 and also looks similar in characters also 乾杯 (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 Japanese… but that’s 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? どこですか – Where is…
(Kore) nandesuka?οΌˆγ“γ‚ŒοΌ‰γͺんですか – What is this?
Daredesuka? γ γ‚Œγ§γ™γ‹ – Who are you, who is that?
Itsudesuka? い぀ですか – When?
Doushite? どうして – 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 you’re looking for the train station, you’d ask;

β€œEki wa doko desuka?” γˆγγ―γ©γ“γ§γ™γ‹οΌŸ

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? γ€œγ―γ€€γ©γ“γ§γ™γ‹ – Where is the ~
~e ikitaidesu γ€œγΈγ€€γ„γγŸγ„γ§γ™ – I want to go to the ~
Ikuradesuka? いくらですか – How much is it?
WiFi arimasuka? WiFiγ‚γ‚ŠγΎγ™γ‹ – Do you have wifi?
Soudesuka? / Soudesu そうですか・そうです – Is that so? Yes, it’s like that…
Genkidesuka? / Genkidesu γ’γ‚“γγ§γ™γ‹οΌŸ/ げんきです – Are you OK? / I’m OK

So that’s it for the most important basic phrases in Japanese!

Whilst these are just beginner phrases in Japanese, they’re used a lot of the time in day to day chat as you can imagine.

Learn the basics of Japanese

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!

Welcome to your Basic Phrases Quiz! Let's get going...

First Name
Email
How do you say "It's OK I'm fine" in Japanese?

How do you say "Why" in Japanese?

How do you say "Goodbye" in Japanese?

What does はい mean?

How do you say "I like it" in Japanese?

What does どうして mean?

What does かんぱい mean?

How do you say "Please" in Japanese?

What does こんばんは mean?

How do you say "Excuse Me" in Japanese?

How do you say "Hello" in Japanese?

How do you say "Yes" in Japanese?

What does さむい mean?

How do you say "I don't understand" in Japanese?

What does γ„γ„γˆ mean?

What does あ぀い mean?

How do you say "No" in Japanese?

What does い぀ですか mean?

What does こんにけは mean?

What does いくらですか mean?


Love learning languages? Then you’ll want to check out these as well

Basic Phrases in Japanese || FAQs

What is hello in Japanese?

Hello in Japanese is konnichiwa こんにけは

What is thanks in Japanese?

Thanks in Japanese is arigatou γ‚γ‚ŠγŒγ¨γ†

If you want to make it even more polite then you can add (gozaimasu ございます)at the end to make the entire phrase arigatou (gozaimasu); γ‚γ‚ŠγŒγ¨γ†οΌˆγ”γ–γ„γΎγ™).

What is please in Japanese?

Please in Japanese is onegaishimasu γŠγ­γŒγ„γ—γΎγ™ .

What is goodbye in Japanese?

Goodbye in Japanese is sayonara γ•γ‚ˆγͺら .

What is yes in Japanese?

Yes in Japanese is hai はい 

What is no in Japanese?

No in Japanese is iie γ„γ„γˆ

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17 comments

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  1. γ‚γ‚ŠγŒγ¨

    1. Max Hobbs

      γ©γ†γ„γŸγ—γΎγ—γ¦

  2. すき πŸ˜„

    1. Max Hobbs

      πŸ˜„

  3. γ‚γ‚ŠγŒγ¨γ†γ”γ–γ„γΎγ—γŸ

    1. Max Hobbs

      γ„γˆγ„γˆ

  4. Emily
    Reply

    Love the addition of the quiz!

    1. LTL Team HQ

      Great to hear you liked it Emily!

  5. These are very useful, thanks for sharing for Japanese learners

    1. LTL Team HQ

      Happy to hear! Thanks for commenting πŸ™‚

  6. Rayne
    Reply

    γ‚γ‚ŠγŒγ¨γ†γ”γ–γ„γΎγ™

    1. Max Hobbs

      γ©γ†γ„γŸγ—γΎγ—γ¦ Rayne!

  7. welearnjapanese
    Reply

    Excellent article and so useful for beginners like me!

    1. Max Hobbs

      Thanks for the lovely comment πŸ™‚

  8. Started to learn Japanese, thanks for the content

  9. common japanese phrases – Relevant Archive
    Reply

    […] List of Most Basic Phrases in Japanese. Here is our complete list of the most basic phrases in Japan… […]