the 100 most

important
japanese
words you
should know
= =
Written By: Koichi
Ebook (Edited) By: Ryan
(IceAssassin90)

The 100 Most Important Japanese

Words You Should Know
by Koichi and Ryan
Say you booked a last minute trip to
Japan. Then, soon after that, you
quickly realize that you dont speak
a word of Japanese (let alone a
hundred words). For all of you
people out there (or, for all of you
beginners of Japanese out there),
this list is for you. These 100 words
will get you through an untold
number of situations, problems, and
feelings, just by knowing these allimportant words. Im not saying
that there arent any other
important words out there (and I
hope you add to the list by
commenting below), but I do think
this list of 100 words will get you

really, really far if you are, for some

reason, only limited to learning 100
words. Enjoy!
Having trouble pronouncing these
crazy Japanese words? Try out
some of the free lessons on
TextFugu to become a Japanese
pronunciation master.
Emergency
If youre traveling to Japan, youre
going to want to know words that
have to do with emergency
situations. You dont want to be
caught off guard in a foreign
country. If youre in trouble, you
need to be able to ask for some help,
whether that help is finding a
bathroom or getting someone who
speaks English.

 (toire) = Toilet. Everyone

has to use the toilet at some point,
so if you need help finding it, this is
the word for you.
(tearai) = Bathroom. Just
like toilet, but a little more allinclusive. You can feel free to use
either of these in a pinch, though.
(tasukete) = HELP. Just
yell this out and (maybe) someone
will come to your aid if youre
lucky.

 (wakarimasen) = I
dont understand. If someone is
speaking to you in Japanese and you
dont understand them (if youre
using this list, then maybe you dont)
then you can just tell them you dont
understand what theyre saying.
Follow that up with eigo, eigo
(which youll learn in a minute) and
youll be golden.
(yamete!) = Stop
it! Maybe somebody is messing with
you and you want them to stop
(yakuza? probably not). This is what
youd want to say.
(eigo) = English. Sometimes
you just need someone who speaks
some English. Everyone in Japan
is supposed to be able to speak
English, though you might have

trouble finding the right person

depending on where you are.
(fuku) = Clothes. Dont ask I
just thought it would be terrible to
lose your clothes, and with all the
hot springs and perverts, you never
know.
(shini sou) = Seems
Like Im Going To Die. When
things get really serious, you may
need to pull out all the stops.
(keisatsu) = Police. If
something really bad happens, these
are the guys youre going to want to
ask for.
(abunai)
= Dangerous. Youll see this on
signs and stuff too. If someone says
abunai to you, you should
probably watch your step.

 (kiken) = Peril,
Hazard. Basically, this is a fancier
abunai. Youll see this on signs as
well.
Asking
Asking broad general questions,
then using body language to tell
people the rest is a really fun way to
get by in a country where you dont
speak the language!

 (doushita?) = What
Happened? Then again, you
probably wont understand what the
person responds with, but its
always nice to ask.
(doushite?) =
Why? You never know
(nani) =
What? Unbelievable!
(jikan) = Time. Just ask this
with an quizzical tone and people
will get the drift.
(shitsumon) =
Question. Have a question? Let
someone know. Couple this with
eigo! eigo! and maybe someone
who can speak some English will
come to answer your shitsumon.

 (dare) = Who. Great in case

you need to find someone.
(itsu) = When. Pretty
important if youre trying to time
something.
People
Sometimes you need something that
has to do with a someone. You can
get by without too much here.

 (sensei) = Teacher. If youre

a student in Japan, this one comes
in handy.
(kaishain) =
Employee. Good if youre looking
for an organizations employee to
ask a question, perhaps.
(hito) = Person. For when you
need to point out a person in
general.
Locations
Finding your way around can be
pretty important. Here are some
words that will help you do that and
keep you from getting lost.

 (hoteru) = Hotel. Youll

need to be able to find this if youre
traveling in Japan.
(doko) = Where. Dont know
where something is? Ask where it is
with this word.
(kuukou) = Airport. Dont
miss your flight!
(eki) = Station. Gotta catch
that train!
(nihon) = Japan. Good to
know where you are.

 (daigaku) = College. Great

for college students studying in
Japan, or people who like colleges in
general.
(honya) = Bookstore. Some
bookstores are pretty sketchy, be
careful!
(takushi) =
Taxi. Expensive, but you can find
them everywhere.
(uchi/ie) = Home. Theres no
place like it.
Food
Oh food, how I love thee. Cant live
without it, either.

 (onaka suita) /
(hara hetta) =
Hungry. Two ways to say this one.
First one is more neutral, second is
more casual.
(tabemasu) = To
Eat. Do you eat this? Yes I eat this.
(tabemasen) = To
Not Eat. Do you eat this? No I
dont.
(nomimasu) = To
Drink. Glug Glug.

 (nomimasen) = To
Not Drink. I dont drink beer,
sorry.
(mizu) = Water. I drink water,
instead, because thats how I roll.
(nomimono) =
Drink. Not the verb, but the noun.
Please get me a drink.
(tabemono) = Food. Need
food? Any food?
(oishii) = Good
Tasting. If something tastes nice
(or if you want to be nice), youd say
this.
(mazui) = Bad Tasting. I
probably wouldnt ever say this, but
just in case you need to let someone
know

 (resutoran) =
Restaurant. Now you need to
figure out which one.
(konbini) =
Convenience Store. Great place
to buy small things and food.
Convenience Store food in Japan is
pretty awesome.
(suupaa) = Super
Market. If you need something a
convenience store cant give you.

Being Polite
You dont want to piss people off
when youre in their country. Bad
things happen if you do

(arigatougozaimasu) = Thank
You. Do I even need to tell
you why you should learn this? I
hope not.
(sumimasen) =
Excuse Me. The streets can be

busy, its nice to say excuse me

when you walk through people.
(gomennasai) =
Sorry. If you bump into a Yakuza
gang member, you might want to
whip this one out.

Greetings
Hopefully you meet some nice
people in your travels. Say hello
(and then goodbye!) to them.

(ohayougozaimasu) = Good
Morning. A greeting for morning.

 (konnichiwa) =
Good Afternoon. You can use this
around noonish on to the evening.
(konbanwa) = Good
Evening. Like the other ones, but
for evenings.
(dewamata) = See You
Later.
(mata ashita) = See
You Tomorrow.
(sayounara) = Good
bye. Probably wont see them for a
while :(
(oyasuminasai)
= Good Night. Time for sleepy
time.
Basic Verbs

Verbs will get you a long ways. You

dont have to know much else as
long as you know verbs, because
verbs help you to get things done.
(ikimasu) = To Go.
(kaerimasu) = To
Return (home).
(tabemasu) = To
Eat. Nom nom nom.
(shimasu) = To Do. This
is the best verb ever.
(mimasu) = To See. What
is it you want to see?
(kaimasu) = To
Buy. For all of you who like
shopping.
(machimasu) = To
Wait.

 (kakimasu) = To
Write. Have people write the
directions down!
(tomarimasu) = To
Stop.
(oshiemasu) = To
Teach. If youre a teacher in Japan.
(hanashimasu) To
Speak.
Basic Adjectives
Adjectives, while not as awesome as
verbs, are also very useful. They
help you describe things.
(atarashii) = New.
(ureshii) = Happy.

 (daijoubu) = Okay. As in
Im okay!
(sugoi) = Amazing. For
the sight seeing.
(takai) = Expensive /
Tall. Just depends on the context.
(ookii) = Big, Large.
(chiisai) = Small.
(chikai) = Near. How close is
it?
(tooi) = Far. How far is it?
(warui) = Bad.
(ii) = Good.
(Omoshiroi) =
Interesting.
(tanoshii) = Fun.

 (atsui) = Hot.
(samui) = Cold.
(jouzu) = Good At.
(heta) = Bad At.
(aka) = Red.
(ao) = Blue.
(kuro) = Black.
(midori) = Green.
(kiiro) = Yellow.
(shiro) = White.
(baka) = Stupid! I bet you
knew this one already.

Numbers

(ichi) = One.
(ni) = Two.
(san) = Three.
(shi/yon) = Four. Such an
unlucky number!
(go) = Five. Good way to
remember the first five numbers:
Itchy knee! Son, She go! Imagine
that playing out
(roku) = Six.

 (shichi) = Seven. Also kinda

unlucky.
(hachi) = Eight.
(ku) = Nine.
(juu) = Ten.
(hyaku) = 100.
(sen) = 1,000.
(man) = 10,000.
(en) = Yen. Not really a number,
but goes nicely with the numbers, I
think.
Whats Missing?
Okay, okay. Hold your space horse
space cowboy. I know that this list
isnt every important word. That
would be impossible, and really

depend on the person. But, nows

your chance to let me know
what youwould have added to this
list as a most important word. List
the word and the meaning down in
the comments to help other people
out too! That way your comment
does some good, not evil.

To hear all of these words and for

more by Koichi, Enter this URL:
http://www.tofugu.com/2010/10
/01/the-100-most-importantjapanese-words/
For More Japanese learning sites:
http://www.tofugu.com/learnjapanese/

Hello Everybody, Thank you

so much 4 downloading this
(and Reading it), but if u liked
this eBook, plz try my other
ones (cause it means a lot),
if u do, then thank you so so
so much, and Thanks again.
-IceAssassin90 (Ryan)-