| Ano | Excuse me... (hesitant - kind of like "Um...") |
| Arigatou | Thanks! (pronounced "ah-ree-gah-toh") |
| Arigatou Gozaimasu | Thank you plenty! (even more polite) |
| Boku wa ... | My name is/I am ... (suggested to be used only in a boy's name) |
| Chigaimasu | No it isn't/You are wrong (usually when used to end a word, the "su" is pronounced with a silent "u", so shimasu is pronouced as shimas) |
| Chigau yo | Mistake or false |
| Chotto | Wait a little/for a moment |
| Choto matte ne | Just a minute |
| Daijoubu | It's ok |
| Damedamedame | Nonono |
| Demo | But/However ... |
| Demo, naze da? | But, why? |
| Doko? | Where? |
| Doko-ni ikimasu ka? | Where are you going? |
| Doko wa ...? | Where is ...? |
| Domo Arigatou | Thanks a lot! (more polite) |
| Domo arigato gozaimasu | (Many) thanks/Thank you very very much! (the most polite of them all) |
| Doozo | Please, here you are (When offering something) |
| Dozo yoroshiku onegaishimasu | Please to meet you |
| Genki desu ka? | How are you? |
| Genki kai? | How's it going? |
| Gomenasai | I'm sorry! |
| Gomen ne | Forgive me, sorry |
| Gomen yo! | Excuuuuuse me! |
| Hai | Yes |
| Hai, genki desu | I am fine |
| Hajimemashite | Pleased to meet you/How do you do? |
| Heiki, heiki | That's alright |
| Hontou da? | Really? |
| Iie | No (pronounced "ee-eh") |
| Ja mata | Going, then (informal goodbye) |
| Kakkoii ne? | Isn't it cool? |
| Kampeki da | It's perfect |
| Kirei, ne? | Aren't they beautiful? |
| Koka ha | This is |
| Kokoi | Cool (pronounced "koh-kohy") |
| Konban-wa | Good evening |
| Konnichi-wa | Hello |
| Kotchi | Over here |
| Kudasai | Please |
| Matta ne | See you later |
| Matte kudasai | Please wait |
| Nan da? | What the? |
| Nani? | What? |
| Nani desu ka? | What's this/that? (usage note: the u's are not usually pronounced, or are said softly) |
| Nani kore? | What is this? (pronounced "nah-nee koh-ray") |
| Naze? | Why? (pronounced "nah-zay") |
| Ne? | Isn't that right? |
| O-genki desu ka? | How are you? |
| Oi minna! | Hey everybody! |
| Okaasan, itte kimasu. | Mom, we're leaving. |
| Okaen nasai | Welcome back |
| O-kuni wa? | What country (are you from?) |
| Ohayo gozaimasu | Good morning |
| Omoshiroi | Interesting |
| Ona ta wa? | For me? |
| Onegai-shimasu | Please (When asking for a favor) |
| Ora o nameru na yo! | Don't mess with me! |
| Sumimasen | I'm sorry/excuse me (Beware! This is kinda heavy, use sparingly) |
| Sonna bakana | Impossible |
| Tadaima | I'm back |
| Taihen da | Terrible |
| Watashi no namae wa <name> desu | My name is <name>. |
| Watashi wa ... | My name is/I am ... (suggested to be used only in a girl's name) |
| Yakusoku yo | Promise |
| Yosh | Okay |
| Watashi mo <country>-jin desu. | I am <nationality>. Some examples are: Nihon-jin (Japanese) Kanada-jin (Canadian) Amerika-jin (American) Eekoku or Eego-jin (English) |
| <Place>-ni ikimasu. | I have been to <place>. Some examples are: eiga (movies) kouen (park) sampo (a walk) umi (sea or beach) hanami (flower-viewing) ensoku (excursion) doraibu (drive) pikunikku (picnic) toshokan (library) mise (shops) doobutsuen (zoo) machi (town) |
| 0 | rei / zero |
| 1 | ichi |
| 2 | ni |
| 3 | san |
| 4 | yon / shi |
| 5 | go |
| 6 | roku |
| 7 | nan / shichi |
| 8 | hachi |
| 9 | kyu / ku |
| 10 | ju |
| 11 | ju ichi |
| 12 | ju ni ...etc... |
| 20 | ni-ju |
| 30 | san-ju ...etc... |
| 100 | hyaku |
| 200 | ni-hyaku |
| 300 | san-byaku |
| 400 | yon-hyaku |
| 500 | go-hyaku |
| 600 | rop-pyaku |
| 700 | nana-hyaku |
| 800 | hap-pyaku |
| 900 | kyu-hyaku |
| 1,000 | sen |
| 2,000 | ni-sen |
| 3,000 | san-zen (this an exception-zen) ...etc... |
| 10,000 | ichi-man |
| 100,000 | ju-man |
| 1,000,000 | hyaku-man |
| 10,000,000 | sen-man |
| 100,000,000 | ichi-oku ...etc... |
| 0.76 | rei ten nana roku |
| 3/4 | yon-bun no san |
| kore | this (thing here/person speaking is physically touching object) |
| sore | that (thing near you) |
| are | that (thing over there)[Pretty difficult to explain the concept of this since the english language only has one word for "sore" and "are" - "that"] |
| kono~ | this~ (here) |
| sono~ | that~ (near you) |
| ano~ | that~ (over there) |