Basic Japanese Language Vocabulary with Audio Files

When you are learning Japanese, it is essential to hear the words spoken. These audio words and phrases are grouped by topic and you can use them to learn to speak Japanese.

Hiragana Pronunciation with Audio Files

The following tables contains the 46 basic sounds found in Japanese. Click the link to listen the pronunciation of each hiragana character.

あ (a)	い (i)	う (u)	え (e)	お (o)
か (ka)	き (ki)	く (ku)	け (ke)	こ (ko)
さ (sa)	し (shi)	す (su)	せ (se)	そ (so)
た (ta)	ち (chi)	つ (tsu)	て (te)	と (to)
な (na)	に (ni)	ぬ (nu)	ね (ne)	の (no)
は (ha)	ひ (hi)	ふ (fu)	へ (he)	ほ (ho)
ま (ma)	み (mi)	む (mu)	め (me)	も (mo)
や (ya)		ゆ (yu)		よ (yo)
ら (ra)	り (ri)	る (ru)	れ (re)	ろ (ro)
わ (wa)				を (o)
ん (n)

Katakana Pronunciation with Audio Files

 Here are the 46 basic Japanese sounds. Click the link to listen the pronunciation.

ア (a)	イ (i)	ウ (u)	エ (e)	オ (o)
カ (ka)	キ (ki)	ク (ku)	ケ (ke)	コ (ko)
サ (sa)	シ (shi)	ス (su)	セ (se)	ソ (so)
タ (ta)	チ (chi)	ツ (tsu)	テ (te)	ト (to)
ナ (na)	ニ (ni)	ヌ (nu)	ネ (ne)	ノ (no)
ハ (ha)	ヒ (hi)	フ (fu)	ヘ (he)	ホ (ho)
マ (ma)	ミ (mi)	ム (mu)	メ (me)	モ (mo)
ヤ (ya)		ユ (yu)		ヨ (yo)
ラ (ra)	リ (ri)	ル (ru)	レ (re)	ロ (ro)
ワ (wa)				ヲ (o)
ン (n)

Verbs

Learning verbs when learning a new language is obviously very important. In the table below I have created a list of some of the most important verbs that someone new to Japanese should know.  If you are not familiar with Japanese verbs at all, follow this link to learn about verb groups and conjugations. If you would like to hear the pronunciation of each verb, click the link and small audio file will play for you.

Group 1 Verbs

Dictionary Form (Basic Form)	English	Formal Form	The ~ te Form
aruku 歩く	to walk	arukimasu 歩きます	aruite 歩いて
asobu 遊ぶ	to play	asobimasu 遊びます	asonde 遊んで
au 会う	to meet	aimasu 会います	atte 会って
hairu 入る	to enter	hairimasu 入ります	haitte 入って
hajimaru 始まる	to begin	hajimarimasu 始まります	hajimatte 始まって
iku 行く	to go	ikimasu 行きます	itte 行って
kaeru 帰る	to return	kaerimasu 帰ります	kaette 帰って
kakaru かかる	to take	kakarimasu かかります	kakatte かかって
kaku 書く	to write	kakimasu 書きます	kaite 書いて
kau 買う	to buy	kaimasu 買います	katte 買って
kiku 聞く	to listen	kikimasu 聞きます	kiite 聞いて
matsu 待つ	to wait	machimasu 待ちます	matte 待って
motsu 持つ	to have	mochimasu 持ちます	motte 持って
narau 習う	to learn	naraimasu 習います	naratte 習って
nomu 飲む	to drink	nomimasu 飲みます	nonde 飲んで
okuru 送る	to send	okurimasu 送ります	okutte 送って
omou 思う	to think	omoimasu 思います	omotte 思って
oyogu 泳ぐ	to swim	oyogimasu 泳ぎます	oyoide 泳いで
shiru 知る	to know	shirimasu 知ります	shitte 知って
suwaru 座る	to sit	suwarimasu 座ります	suwatte 座って
tatsu 立つ	to stand	tachimasu 立ちます	tatte 立って
tomaru 止まる	to stop	tomarimasu 止まります	tomatte 止まって
tsuku 着く	to arrive	tsukimasu 着きます	tsuite 着いて
uru 売る	to sell	urimasu 売ります	utte 売って
utau 歌う	to sing	utaimasu 歌います	utatte 歌って
wakaru 分かる	to understand	wakarimasu 分かります	wakatte 分かって
warau 笑う	to laugh	waraimasu 笑います	waratte 笑って
yomu 読む	to read	yomimasu 読みます	yonde 読んで

Group 2 Verbs

kangaeru 考える	to think	kangaemasu 考えます	kangaete 考えて
miru 見る	to see	mimasu 見ます	mite 見て
neru 寝る	to sleep	nemasu 寝ます	nete 寝て
oshieru 教える	to teach	oshiemasu 教えます	oshiete 教えて
taberu 食べる	to eat	tabemasu 食べます	tabete 食べて

Group 3 Verbs

kuru 来る	to come	kimasu 来ます	kite 来て
suru する	to do	shimasu します	shite して

At the Restaurant

Click the link to hear the pronunciation.

 

ueitoresu ウェイトレス	waitress
Irasshaimase. いらっしゃいませ。	Welcome to our store. (Used as a greeting to customers in stores.)
nanmei sama 何名さま	how many people (It is very polite way of saying "how many people". "Nannin" is less formal.)
futari 二人	two people
kochira こちら	this way
Sumimasen. すみません。	Excuse me.
menyuu メニュー	menu
Onegaishimasu. お願いします。	Please do me a favor. (A convenient phrase used when making a request.)
Shou shou  omachi kudasai. 少々お待ちください。	Please wait a moment. (formal expression)
Douzo. どうぞ。	Here you are.
Doumo. どうも。	Thanks.
go-chuumon ご注文	order
boku 僕	I (informal, it is used by men only)
sushi no moriawase すしの盛り合わせ	assorted sushi
hitotsu ひとつ	one (Native Japanese number)
o-nomimono お飲み物	beverage
Ikaga desu ka. いかがですか。	Would you like ~?
biiru ビール	beer
morau もらう	to receive
Kashikomarimashita. かしこまりました。	Certainly. (Literally means, "I understand.")
nanika 何か	anything
Iie, kekkou desu. いいえ、結構です。	No, thank you.

Rooms and Furnishings

Click the link to hear the pronunciation. 

heya 部屋	room
ima 居間	living room
daidokoro 台所	kitchen
shinshitsu 寝室	bedroom
toire トイレ	bathroom
genkan 玄関	entrance
niwa 庭	garden
kabe 壁	wall
tenjou 天井	ceiling
yaneura 屋根裏	attic
yuka 床	floor
mado 窓	window

Furniture

kagu 家具	furniture
tsukue 机	desk
hondana 本棚	book shelf
isu いす	chair
tansu たんす	chest of drawers
beddo ベッド	bed
todana 戸棚	cupboard

Appliances

reizouko 冷蔵庫	refrigerator
reitouko 冷凍庫	freezer
sentakuki 洗濯機	washer
kansouki 乾燥機	dryer
oobun オーブン	oven
denshi renji 電子レンジ	microwave
suihanki 炊飯器	rice cooker
soujiki 掃除機	vacuum cleaner
terebi テレビ	TV

More Audio Phrases and Words by Topic

Animals: From bird to zebra, here's the menagerie.

Body: These words are especially useful if you need medical help.

Calendar: Months, days of the week, and seasons.

Colors: All colors are treated as nouns. Listen to the rainbow.

Dates: These follow a basic rule of the number plus nichi.

Family: Learn how to talk about your family and somebody else's family.

Foods: Basics for food, meals, and phrases related to eating.

Greetings: The basic phrases you will need.

Introducing People: Learn how to introduce people and hear the vocabulary and expressions.

Location: Don't wander about lost.

You need these phrases to get directions.

Numbers: How to count in Japanese.

On the Phone: How to speak a phone number, plus phrases you will need for a phone call in Japanese.

Tea: How to order tea and how to pronounce different types of tea.

Time: How to express the time of day and ask and answer questions about time.

Travel: Words and expressions you'll need when you're on the move.

Useful Expressions: Simple yes, no, thanks, and other basics.

Weather: How to talk about what it's doing outside.

Adjectives: from near to far, clean to dirty, you'll want to know these modifiers.

Adverbs: From always to never, together to separately.