Japanese Basics: Numbers, Days, Greetings & More
Learn Japanese basics with simple tables: question words, greetings, numbers, days of the week, months and everyday words, with romaji and readings.
The essentials every beginner needs, in simple tables: question words, greetings, numbers, days of the week, months and everyday words. Tap any linked word to open its dictionary entry with example sentences.
Question words
Greetings
| Japanese | Romaji | English |
|---|---|---|
| おはようございます | ohayou gozaimasu | Good morning |
| こんにちは | konnichiwa | Hello / Good afternoon |
| こんばんは | konbanwa | Good evening |
| おやすみなさい | oyasuminasai | Good night |
| さようなら | sayounara | Goodbye |
| ありがとう | arigatou | Thank you |
| ありがとうございます | arigatou gozaimasu | Thank you (polite) |
| ごめんなさい | gomen nasai | Sorry |
Numbers
Some numbers have two readings. 4 can be yon or shi, 7 can be nana or shichi, and 9 can be kyuu or ku. The readings below are the ones you'll hear most when counting.
| Japanese | Reading | Romaji | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 一 | いち | ichi | 1 |
| 二 | に | ni | 2 |
| 三 | さん | san | 3 |
| 四 | よん | yon | 4 |
| 五 | ご | go | 5 |
| 六 | ろく | roku | 6 |
| 七 | なな | nana | 7 |
| 八 | はち | hachi | 8 |
| 九 | きゅう | kyuu | 9 |
| 十 | じゅう | juu | 10 |
| 十一 | じゅういち | juuichi | 11 |
| 十二 | じゅうに | juuni | 12 |
| 二十 | にじゅう | nijuu | 20 |
| 百 | ひゃく | hyaku | 100 |
| 千 | せん | sen | 1000 |
Days of the week
| Japanese | Reading | Romaji | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 月曜日 | げつようび | getsuyoubi | Monday |
| 火曜日 | かようび | kayoubi | Tuesday |
| 水曜日 | すいようび | suiyoubi | Wednesday |
| 木曜日 | もくようび | mokuyoubi | Thursday |
| 金曜日 | きんようび | kinyoubi | Friday |
| 土曜日 | どようび | doyoubi | Saturday |
| 日曜日 | にちようび | nichiyoubi | Sunday |
Months
Months are simply the number plus 月 (gatsu). Watch out for April (shigatsu), July (shichigatsu) and September (kugatsu), which use the less common number readings.
| Japanese | Reading | Romaji | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1月 | いちがつ | ichigatsu | January |
| 2月 | にがつ | nigatsu | February |
| 3月 | さんがつ | sangatsu | March |
| 4月 | しがつ | shigatsu | April |
| 5月 | ごがつ | gogatsu | May |
| 6月 | ろくがつ | rokugatsu | June |
| 7月 | しちがつ | shichigatsu | July |
| 8月 | はちがつ | hachigatsu | August |
| 9月 | くがつ | kugatsu | September |
| 10月 | じゅうがつ | juugatsu | October |
| 11月 | じゅういちがつ | juuichigatsu | November |
| 12月 | じゅうにがつ | juunigatsu | December |
Everyday words
| Japanese | Reading | Romaji | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 家族 | かぞく | kazoku | Family |
| 友達 | ともだち | tomodachi | Friend |
| 食べ物 | たべもの | tabemono | Food |
| 水 | みず | mizu | Water |
| 学校 | がっこう | gakkou | School |
| 仕事 | しごと | shigoto | Work / Job |
| 本 | ほん | hon | Book |
| 電車 | でんしゃ | densha | Train |
| 車 | くるま | kuruma | Car |
| 店 | みせ | mise | Shop / Store |
Example sentences
- こんにちは！今日は月曜日です。Konnichiwa! Kyou wa getsuyoubi desu.Hello! Today is Monday.
- 私の誕生日は三月五日です。Watashi no tanjoubi wa sangatsu itsuka desu.My birthday is March 5th.
- りんごを三つください。Ringo o mittsu kudasai.Three apples, please.
- これは本です。Kore wa hon desu.This is a book.
- 水をください。Mizu o kudasai.Water, please.
- 私の友達は学校に行きます。Watashi no tomodachi wa gakkou ni ikimasu.My friend goes to school.
Got the basics? Next, study the hiragana chart and katakana chart, then learn hiragana and katakana with flashcards, or browse the JLPT N5 vocabulary list.