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Japanese vocabulary

4,522 words from real stories, organized by topic and frequency. Hear the pronunciation, read examples and find pictures for concrete words. Practice any list for free, without an account.

4,522words to discover
7,009meanings in context
201stories to explore

Japanese vocabulary lists by topic

Choose a topic to see its words and their meanings. Listen to any word, then practice the whole list.

Family & relationships

FlashcardsMeaning quiz
  • 孫まご · magograndchild
  • 友達ともだち · tomodachifriend
  • 娘むすめ · musumedaughter
  • 家族かぞく · kazokufamily
  • 母はは · hahamother
  • 父ちち · chichifather

The 100 most common Japanese words

Ranked by how often each word appears across 201 Japanese stories. Start here: these words make up a large share of everything you read.

  1. 1のの · nolinks two nouns, usually meaning “of” or “’s”
  2. 2するする · surudo
  3. 3にに · niat/in
  4. 4てて · temarks quoted words
  5. 5はわ · watopic marker
  6. 6がが · gasubject marker
  7. 7をを · omarks the direct object
  8. 8見るみる · mirulook at
  9. 9いるいる · irube present
  10. 10なな · naattributive linker before a noun
  11. 11ないない · nainot be
  12. 12なるなる · narubecome
  13. 13でで · deat/in (marks where an action occurs)
  14. 14かか · kaquestion marker
  15. 15言ういう · iusay
  16. 16しし · shiand; also (adding a reason or fact)
  17. 17とと · tomarks quoted or thought content
  18. 18はははは · hahamother
  19. 19ですです · desube (polite copula)
  20. 20来るくる · kurucome
  21. 21できるできる · dekirube able to
  22. 22だだ · dabe
  23. 23あるある · aruexist
  24. 24よよ · yosentence-final particle emphasizing or asserting the statement
  25. 25もも · moalso / too
  26. 26下した · shitaunderneath
  27. 27出るでる · derugo out
  28. 28ねね · neright?
  29. 29いいいい · iimay
  30. 30たなたな · tanashelf
  31. 31んん · nhuh?
  32. 32思うおもう · omouthink
  33. 33やるやる · yarudo it
  34. 34からから · karafrom
  35. 35行くいく · ikugo
  36. 36考えるかんがえる · kangaeruconsider
  37. 37ささ · sasuffix forming a noun for a quality or degree
  38. 38ことこと · kotothing
  39. 39知るしる · shiruknow
  40. 40似るにる · niruresemble
  41. 41わかるわかる · wakaruunderstand
  42. 42やや · yaand others
  43. 43人ひと · hitoperson
  44. 44入るはいる · hairuenter
  45. 45いたいた · itabe present
  46. 46しているしている · shiteirube doing
  47. 47さかさか · sakaslope
  48. 481いち · ichione
  49. 491いち · ichi1
  50. 50持つもつ · motsuhold or carry
  51. 51入れるいれる · ireruput into
  52. 52食べるたべる · taberueat
  53. 53くれるくれる · kurerugive to me/us
  54. 54聞くきく · kikuask
  55. 55していたしていた · shiteitawas doing
  56. 56わわ · wasentence-final particle expressing soft assertion or emotion, often feminine
  57. 57日ひ · hiday
  58. 582に · nitwo
  59. 592に · nitwo
  60. 60だろうだろう · darōwonder
  61. 61使うつかう · tsukauuse something
  62. 62ってって · ttecolloquial quotation marker
  63. 63そうそう · sōso
  64. 64このこの · konothis (before a noun)
  65. 65感じるかんじる · kanjirufeel
  66. 66いますいます · imasube present (for living things)
  67. 67けれどもけれども · keredomobut
  68. 68出すだす · dasutake out
  69. 69ばば · baconditional marker: “if/when”
  70. 70たらたら · taraif / when
  71. 71過ぎるすぎる · sugirutoo; excessively
  72. 72ましたました · mashitapolite past-tense ending
  73. 73やだやだ · yadano way
  74. 74歩くあるく · arukuwalk
  75. 75これこれ · korethis
  76. 76ようよう · yōway
  77. 77じゃじゃ · jais not
  78. 783さん · santhree
  79. 793さん · santhree
  80. 80言えるいえる · ierube unable to say
  81. 81見えるみえる · mierube visible
  82. 82ようにように · yō nias if
  83. 83書くかく · kakuwrite
  84. 84良いよい · yoii'm glad
  85. 85年ねん · nenyear
  86. 86そうだそうだ · sōdalook
  87. 87話すはなす · hanasuspeak
  88. 88そのその · sonothat
  89. 89何なに · nanisomething
  90. 90ようなような · yōnaas if; seeming to
  91. 91だけだけ · dakeonly
  92. 92時とき · tokiwhen
  93. 93までまで · madeto
  94. 94的てき · teki“-like” suffix
  95. 95そうですそうです · sō desulooks/seems [adjective]
  96. 96ならなら · naraif it is X
  97. 97者もの · monowho
  98. 98じゃんじゃん · janright?
  99. 99掛けるかける · kakerumake a phone call
  100. 100月つき · tsukimonth
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4,522 words · Illustrated discoveries

Illustration for ある

ある · aru

exist · is not present · certain · take place

148 stories
Illustration for 見る

みる · miru

look at · look · look/see · watch

122 stories
Illustration for なる

なる · naru

become · be a concern · come to; start to · be decided

108 stories
Illustration for 少し

すこし · sukoshi

little · slightly · little by little

103 stories
Illustration for 一

いち · ichi

one · number one

101 stories
Illustration for 人

ひと · hito

person · counter for people · person who performs an action · person from a group or place

97 stories
1 / 754
From a word to a whole world

You’ve met the words.
Now follow the story.

Every example in this library comes from an Inklingo story. Read at your level, listen to the narration, and tap a word whenever you need its meaning.

  1. Pick a story that interests you.
  2. Tap unfamiliar words as you read.
  3. Save the ones you want to remember.

A little guidance before you start

What are the most common Japanese words?

The most common Japanese words are short, everyday words such as の, する, に, て, は, が, を, 見る. The list above ranks them by how often they appear in our stories. Learn the first 100 and you will recognize a large share of the words in any text. The 100 most common Japanese words

How many Japanese words do I need to know?

A few hundred frequent words are enough to follow simple texts and conversations. Around 1,000 to 2,000 cover most everyday reading, and the rest comes naturally as you read. Learn frequent words first, then the topic words for the situations you care about.

What’s the best way to learn Japanese vocabulary?

Start with a small set of useful words. Recall their meanings in an exercise, then read their story examples. Save words you want to revisit and return to them over several short sessions.

Can I practice without an account?

Yes. Browse the library and use all five exercises freely. Create a free account when you want to keep a word in your Word Bank and review it later on the web or in the app.

Why does a word have several meanings?

The right translation depends on the sentence. Open any word to compare its meanings, pictures, and original examples instead of memorizing a single translation.

Are these words for beginners?

You can filter by the reading level of the stories where each word appears, starting at A0 or A1. That tells you about the story’s difficulty; it is not a certified level for the word itself.

Learn the meaning, not just the translation.
A word can express different ideas in different stories. This library brings its meanings, images, and examples together. The level filter refers to the source story’s reading level, not a certified level for the word. Translations are available in 26 languages. Free practice progress stays in this browser. Save words to your account to keep them in your Word Bank.

Read Japanese vocabulary in context

These are the same word senses used by Japanese story tap-to-translate. Search kanji, observed kana forms, or translations. Story levels describe the source text; they are not JLPT word classifications.