The 100 Most Common Japanese Words // Official List
Most Common Japanese Words (TOP 100)
Welcome to the official list of the 100 most common Japanese words.
By searching for common Japanese words on Google you’ll find many lists of Japanese vocabulary, all divided in categories such as particles, adverbs, nouns etc.
However we wanted to do things a bit differently and research what are the most common Japanese words STATISTICALLY.
This list comes from Wiktionary, where they sourced ALL words from the Japanese Wikipedia and had them investigated by an analyser software made specifically for the Japanese language.
This system then ranked 20,000 of these words starting from the most frequently used.
You can check more details about this analysis process and full list of 20,000 words here.
We decided to provide you here with the TOP 100 words of this list, with some more details such as pronunciation and translation, which are not available on the official list.
Let’s get started:
Most Common Japanese Words | 1-10
Most Common Japanese Words | 11-20
Most Common Japanese Words | 21-30
Most Common Japanese Words | 31-40
Most Common Japanese Words | 41-50
Most Common Japanese Words | 51-60
Most Common Japanese Words | 61-70
Most Common Japanese Words | 71-80
Most Common Japanese Words | 81-90
Most Common Japanese Words | 91-100
BONUS | Japanese Words Quiz
Japanese Words List | 1-10
Right before we start, here are a few resources about the three Japanese scripts in case you need to freshen up on your reading skills:
If you’ve already started learning Japanese, you will find it not the least bit surprising that 7 out of the TOP 10 most common Japanese words are made of grammar particles and markers.
| Rank | Japanese | Romaji | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | の | no | Possessive Particle |
| 2 | に | ni | In |
| 3 | する | suru | To do |
| 4 | は | wa | Topic marker |
| 5 | を | o | Direct object of action marker |
| 6 | が | ga | Sentence subject marker |
| 7 | と | to | And |
| 8 | 年 | touji | Year |
| 9 | で | de | At |
| 10 | だ | da | To be |
Japanese Words List | 11-20
| Rank | Japanese | Romaji | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | 月 | tsuki | Month |
| 12 | も | mo | Also |
| 13 | から | kara | From / Because |
| 14 | 日 | hi | Day |
| 15 | 成る | naru | To become |
| 16 | こと | koto | Matter |
| 17 | 有る | aru | To exist |
| 18 | よる | yoru | To be due to |
| 19 | や | ya | And/or |
| 20 | など | nado | Etc |
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There are so many different Kanji in Japanese, but which ones should you focus on learning first? Today we teach you the 10 most common Kanji in Japanese!
Japanese Words List | 21-30
| Rank | Japanese | Romaji | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | 言う | iu | To say |
| 22 | 日本 | nihon | Japan |
| 23 | 為 | tame | For |
| 24 | この | kono | This |
| 25 | 人 | hito | Person |
| 26 | その | sono | That |
| 27 | まで | made | Up to |
| 28 | もの | mono | Object |
| 29 | へ | e | Direction/Goal marker |
| 30 | 又 | mata | Again |
Japanese Words List | 31-40
| Rank | Japanese | Romaji | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 31 | これ | kore | This |
| 32 | 行う | okonau | To carry out |
| 33 | よう | you | For the use of |
| 34 | 出来る | dekiru | To be able to |
| 35 | 駅 | eki | Train station |
| 36 | 国 | kuni | Country |
| 37 | より | yori | Than |
| 38 | 大学 | daigaku | University |
| 39 | 現在 | genzai | Current (Time) |
| 40 | 後 | ato | Behind |
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Most Common Japanese Words | 41-50
| Rank | Japanese | Romaji | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 41 | か | ka | Question marker |
| 42 | 線 | sen | Line |
| 43 | ぬ | nu | Not |
| 44 | 放送 | housou | Broadcast |
| 45 | 号 | gou | Number |
| 46 | 軍 | gun | Army |
| 47 | 無い | nai | None |
| 48 | 部 | bu | Department |
| 49 | 持つ | motsu | To have |
| 50 | 所 | tokoro | Place |
Most Common Japanese Words | 51-60
We’re half way there. How many did you know so far?
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| Rank | Japanese | Romaji | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 51 | 名 | na | Name |
| 52 | 回 | kai | An instance |
| 53 | 世界 | sekai | World |
| 54 | 時 | toki | Time |
| 55 | 戦 | sen | Battle |
| 56 | 時代 | jidai | Era |
| 57 | 東京 | Tōkyō | Tokyo |
| 58 | おく | oku | To place |
| 59 | でも | demo | ..Or something |
| 60 | 呼ぶ | yobu | To call |
Most Common Japanese Words | 61-70
| Rank | Japanese | Romaji | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61 | その後 | sonoato | After that |
| 62 | 会 | kai | Meeting |
| 63 | それ | sore | That |
| 64 | 機 | ki | Machine |
| 65 | 会う | au | To meet |
| 66 | 受ける | ukeru | To receive |
| 67 | 多い | ooi | Many |
| 68 | 選手 | senshu | Player |
| 69 | 場合 | baai | Case |
| 70 | 対する | taisuru | To compare with |
Most Common Japanese Words | 71-80
| Rank | Japanese | Romaji | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 71 | しかし | shikashi | However |
| 72 | つく | tsuku | To arrive / To be attached |
| 73 | 昭和 | shōwa | Showa (name) |
| 74 | 作品 | sakuhin | Work (of art) |
| 75 | 地 | chi | Place |
| 76 | 中 | naka | Middle |
| 77 | 使用 | shiyō | Use, usage |
| 78 | 共に | tomoni | Together |
| 79 | 学校 | gakkou | School |
| 80 | 語 | go | Language |
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Most Common Japanese Words | 81-90
| Rank | Japanese | Romaji | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 81 | 彼 | kare | He |
| 82 | 行く | iku | To go |
| 83 | アメリカ | amerika | America |
| 84 | 当時 | touji | At the time |
| 85 | 番組 | bangumi | Program (Tv) |
| 86 | 車 | kuruma | Car |
| 87 | 社 | sha | Company |
| 88 | 川 | kawa | River |
| 89 | 映画 | eiga | Movie |
| 90 | 位 | kurai | Amount |
Japanese Words List | 91-100
You have made it all the way to the end of this list, congratulations!
Here are the last 10 words from this Official Most Common Japanese Words List:
| Rank | Japanese | Romaji | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 91 | 見る | miru | To watch |
| 92 | テレビ | terebi | Television |
| 93 | 系 | kei | System |
| 94 | 研究 | kenkyuu | Research |
| 95 | 町 | machi | Town |
| 96 | 東 | higashi | East |
| 97 | 存在 | sonzai | Existence |
| 98 | 活動 | katsudou | Action |
| 99 | 発売 | hatsubai | Sale |
| 100 | 他 | hoka | Other |
There we have, statistically, the 100 Most Common Japanese Words according to the Wiktionary based on the Japanese Wikipedia.
Hopefully you will have learned a few words thanks to this list, now be sure to use them in sentences wherever you can!
Check out our Japanese Grammar Bank to learn how to form sentences, use the negative form, build questions and a lot more.
Prefer to learn with a professional Japanese teacher online?
Check out Flexi Classes, our online teaching platform where you can study 24/7 by choosing when, what and with whom to study.
WANT TO STUDY IN JAPAN? 🇯🇵
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WANT MORE?
We regularly publish high-quality content for free, just for you:
- 15 Japanese Tongue Twisters
- 25 Japanese Jokes
- An Introduction to the JLPT
- Best Resources to Learn Kanji
- …and a lot more!
JAPANESE WORDS – BONUS QUIZ
Do you correctly remember the Japanese vocabulary listed on this page?
Have a go at this quiz, get immediate results and let us know your score in the comments!
BONUS CONTENT | Interested in other languages too? Check out our list of the Top 100 most common Chinese characters, most common Vietnamese words and the official 100 most common Korean words.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What is THE most common Japanese Word?
The most common Japanese word is の (no), which is a possessive particle.
Check out our lesson about this particle in our Japanese Grammar Bank.
What are the top 10 most common Japanese words?
The TOP 10 most common Japanese words are:
1 – の no | Possessive Particle
2 – に ni | In
3 – する suru | To do
4 – は wa | Topic marker
5 – を o | Direct object of action marker
6 – が ga | Sentence subject marker
7 – と to | And
8 – 年 touji | Year
9 – で de | At
10 – だ da | To be
Where to download the full list of the most common Japanese words?
The official list of most common Japanese words was created by Wiktionary and include 20,000 words.
It is based on a word-frequency analysis with words sourced from the Japanese Wikipedia.
You can check out the full list here along with more details on the analysis.
What is the JLPT?
The JLPT, or Japanese Language Proficiency Test, is a test administered by the Japan Foundation and Japan Educational Exchanges and Services which aims to measure the abilities of non-native speakers.
The test measures your listening and reading comprehension, as well as your kanji recognition and grammar and vocabulary skills.
Check out our full guide on the JLPT with test dates and registration details.
How many words do I need to know for each JLPT level?
Here are the JLPT test levels and the number of words you need know for each of them:
N5 | 100 Kanji – 800 words
N4 | 300 Kanji – 1,300 words
N3 | 650 Kanji – 3,700 words
N2 | 1,000 Kanji – 6,000 words
N1 | 2,000 Kanji – 10,000 words
We created a Complete Guide to the JLPT to help you with the process.
Do you provide Japanese lessons?
We do!
You can learn Japanese online on our Flexi Classes platform, where we offer lessons 24/7, thus catering for all time zones.
Choose your study topic and study time, all classes take place on Zoom.
You can also learn Japanese with us directly in Tokyo, Japan, where we offer group and individual classes, with the possibility of living with a Homestay family.
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