Languages › Japanese Basic Japanese Language Vocabulary with Audio Files Listen to Japanese Pronunciation Share Flipboard Email Print Languages History & Culture Essential Japanese Vocabulary Japanese Grammar By Namiko Abe Japanese Language Expert B.A., Kwansei Gakuin University Namiko Abe is a Japanese language teacher and translator, as well as a Japanese calligraphy expert. She has been a freelance writer for nearly 20 years. our editorial process Namiko Abe Updated March 17, 2017 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. Cite this Article Format mla apa chicago Your Citation Abe, Namiko. "Basic Japanese Language Vocabulary with Audio Files." ThoughtCo, Jan. 29, 2020, thoughtco.com/basic-japanese-language-vocabulary-with-audio-files-4079670. Abe, Namiko. (2020, January 29). Basic Japanese Language Vocabulary with Audio Files. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/basic-japanese-language-vocabulary-with-audio-files-4079670 Abe, Namiko. "Basic Japanese Language Vocabulary with Audio Files." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/basic-japanese-language-vocabulary-with-audio-files-4079670 (accessed January 26, 2021). copy citation