300 Japanese words of level A1
Below is a complete, categorized list of Japanese vocabulary at the A1 level. Learn common verbs, nouns, and adjectives with transcription, articles, and English translations.
What is A1? Beginner
A1 is the first step. You learn the most frequent words and set phrases for everyday situations — greetings, numbers, family, food and simple questions.
What you can do at A1
- ✓Introduce yourself and ask people basic questions about themselves
- ✓Understand and use familiar everyday expressions and very basic phrases
- ✓Handle simple, routine situations like shopping or ordering food
- ✓Understand basic numbers, times, and dates in simple announcements
- ✓Fill in simple forms with personal details like name, nationality, and address
Adjectives
/mada/
still / not yet
/moɕiroɴ/
of course
/kaɪɡaɪ/
overseas / abroad
/oːkii/
big / large
/tɕiːsai/
small / little
/joːi/
good
/ɡaɾɯʲi/
bad
/neɣiɕi/
new
/curaɪ/
old
/taɕiɕi/
high / expensive
/anɕi/
cheap / inexpensive
/oɔɪ/
many / much
/muzukashii/
difficult
/kantɑ̃ɴ/
easy / simple
/oꜜmoʃiroi/
interesting / funny
/kʲireː/
beautiful / clean
/sɯki/
like / favorite
/socʲcʲira/
that way (polite)
Conjunctions
Nouns
/wa.tɕa.ɕi/
I / me
/a.na.ta/
you
/ka.re/
he / him
/ka.no.ʤo/
she / her
/wa.tɕa.ɕi.ta.ɕi/
we / us
/dare/
who
/doko/
where
/soko/
there
/itsutsu/
when
/hito/
person / people
/otoko/
man / male
/onna/
woman / female
/kodomo/
child
/oya/
parent
/chichi/
father (own)
/haha/
mother (own)
/ani/
older brother
/ane/
older sister
/tomoɗatɕi/
friend
/sẽ̞ɯsɛ̝ɪ/
teacher
/ɡakɯseɪ/
student
/kaðoɡu/
family
/kaɾeɕi/
boyfriend
/aɡaɕɑɴ/
baby
/kuɴi/
country
/ie/
house / home
/ɡakko̞ː/
school
/ɛki/
station
/mise/
store / shop
/kaɪɕa/
company / office
/ɸjɔːiɴ/
hospital
/koːɛɴ/
park
/miti/
road / path
/heja/
room
/mat͡ɕi/
town / city
/kuʾəkoə/
airport
/t͡ɕoɕokɑɴ/
library
/ɡiŋkoː/
bank
/iɾaɴa/
now
/tɕikaɴ/
time / hour
/ni/
day / sun
/ɕɯː/
week
/tsɯki/
month / moon
/toɕi/
year
/kʲoː/
today
/aɕiɾa/
tomorrow
/ɕitɕoː/
yesterday
/ɕaːma/
morning
/ɲaɾa/
night / evening
/ɡoɡo/
afternoon / PM
/hoɴ/
book
/kɯɾɯma/
car
/okane/
money
/tsukue/
desk
/iɕo/
chair
/doa/
door
/madou/
window
/kami/
paper
/pen/
pen
/baggɯ/
bag
/fuku/
clothes
/kagi/
key
/kasa/
umbrella
/tokei/
watch / clock
/koto/
thing / fact (abstract)
/mono/
thing (physical)
/toki/
time / moment
/baai/
case / situation
/riyuu/
reason
/monday/
problem / question
/kɑ̃ɡɑe/
thought / idea
/kʲimoꜜtɕi/
feeling / mood
/ɕiɡoto/
work / job
/seikaɕi/
life / daily life
/iɾɨmi/
meaning
/kotoba/
word / language
/karada/
body
/te/
hand
/me/
eye
/aɕi/
foot / leg
/ka.o/
face
/atama/
head
/ku͍tɕi/
mouth
/mimi/
ear
/kokoro/
heart / mind
/senaka/
back (body part)
/gohan/
rice / meal
/niku/
meat
/noɕaɪ/
vegetables
/pan/
bread
/kudamono/
fruit
/otɕa/
tea
/oɕaɕi/
alcohol / sake
/ryoɯɾi/
cooking / dish
/tamago/
egg
/sakana/
fish
/sora/
sky
/umi/
sea / ocean
/jamɑ/
mountain
/kawa/
river
/ki/
tree
/hana/
flower
/ame/
rain
/kɑze/
wind
/taɪjɔː/
sun
/mizɯ/
water
/teɾebi/
TV / television
/pasokon/
computer / PC
/intaɴetto/
internet
/ɕaɕiɴ/
photo / picture
/oŋɡaku/
music
/eiɡa/
movie / film
/apuri/
app
/ɡeːmu/
game
/takusan/
a lot / many
/tɕoto/
a bit / just a moment
/bokɯ/
I (informal male)
/ore/
I (casual male)
/kimi/
you (informal)
/mɪnna/
everyone / all
/dʑibɯn/
oneself / myself
/kocchiʲra/
this way / here (polite)
/toɾe/
which one (of many)
/nanɑka/
something
/dareka/
someone
/onaji/
same
/oɡaɪ/
each other / mutual
/mijaɴsaɴ/
everyone (polite)
/kareɾa/
they (mixed/male)
/nandemo/
anything / whatever
/moshikashitara/
perhaps / maybe
Numerals
Other Words
/kore/
this (thing)
/soɾe/
that (thing)
/are/
that over there
/nani/
what
/soshite/
and then / so
/kaɛɾɯ/
to return home
/sukunai/
few / little
/amari/
not very (+ negative)
/kono/
this (before noun)
/sono/
that (before noun)
/ano/
that over there (adj)
/dono/
which (before noun)
/konna/
this kind of
/sonna/
that kind of
/anna/
that kind of (distant)
/donna/
what kind of
/ataɕira/
that way over there
/toɕira/
which way / which one
/iɽutsɯ/
how many / how old
/ikɯɾa/
how much (price)
/hata/
other / another
/soɾezaɾe/
each / respective
/do no kɯrai/
how much / how long
/yahari/
as expected / after all
/jaɸpari/
as expected (casual)
/sonotame/
for that reason
/dewa/
well then / in that case
/souieba/
speaking of which
/sekkaku/
with great effort / specially
/naruhodo/
I see / indeed
/kanarazuʃimo/
not necessarily
Prepositions
/démo/
but / however
/kedo/
but / though
/zutto/
all along / always
/tsumari/
in other words
/tatoeba/
for example
/tokoɾode/
by the way
/ippou/
on the other hand
/tada/
but / however / just
/kekkyoku/
in the end / after all
/semete/
at least
/soreni/
besides / moreover
/yousuruni/
in short / to sum up
/sukunakutomo/
at least
Verbs
/koko/
here
/dō/
how
/mɔ̃/
already / anymore
/nadze/
why
/jatto/
finally / at last
/sɯɾɯ/
to do
/iru/
to be (animate)
/aru/
to exist (inanimate)
/iɡu/
to go
/kɯɾɯ/
to come
/mɪɾɯ/
to see / watch
/iu/
to say
/o:mu/
to think
/ɕiɾɯ/
to know (fact)
/wakaɾɯ/
to understand
/ta.beɾɯ/
to eat
/nomu/
to drink
/hanasu/
to speak / talk
/kɪkɯ/
to listen / ask
/jɔmɯ/
to read
/kakɯ/
to write
/tsukaɯ/
to use
/kaɯ/
to buy
/tsɯkɯɾɯ/
to make / create
/deɾɯ/
to leave / exit
/hataɾakɯ/
to work
/mendjoɕiɾu/
to study
/oɕieɾɯ/
to teach
/manabɯ/
to learn
/aɯ/
to meet
/hairɯ/
to enter
/haʑimeɾu/
to start / begin
/oɯɾaɾu/
to end / finish
/akeɾu/
to open
/moɾu/
to hold / have
/oɡiɾɯ/
to wake up
/neɾɯ/
to sleep / go to bed
/matɕɯ/
to wait
/kierɯ/
to wear (clothing)
/kutsu/
shoes
/toːtemo/
very / really
/sukɔɕi/
a little / slightly
/motto/
more
/itsumo/
always / usually
/hontou ni/
really / truly
/zenbu/
all / everything
/mazu/
first / to begin with
/joku/
often / well
/hajaku/
quickly / early
/dokoka/
somewhere
/itsuka/
someday / sometime
/doːzo/
please / go ahead
/doːɕite/
why / how come
/nande/
why (casual)
/jitsuwa/
actually / in fact
/ɕikamo/
moreover / besides
/sarani/
furthermore / even more
/gyakkuni/
conversely / on the contrary
/tashikani/
certainly / indeed
/tokuni/
especially / particularly
/omoni/
mainly / primarily
/daitai/
roughly / mostly
/muɕiro/
rather / instead
/ɕitagaʔʔe/
therefore / consequently
/tomokaku/
anyway / in any case
/sate/
well / now then
/chinamini/
incidentally / by the way
/osoraku/
probably / likely
/toːzeɴ/
naturally / of course
/moɦaja/
no longer / already
/iwaba/
so to speak
/nao/
furthermore / note that
/chōdo/
exactly / just
/dōse/
anyway / どうせ
/tonikaku/
anyway / at any rate
/sonokawari/
instead / in return
/jissaini/
actually / in practice
/sonoue/
moreover / on top of that
/morau/
to receive
/ageɾu/
to give (to other)
/kureɾu/
to give (to me)
/wasɯɾɯɾɯ/
to forget
/oɓɛɾɯ/
to remember / memorize
/kamɡaɾɯ/
to think / consider
/warau/
to laugh / smile
/nakɯ/
to cry
/haɕɯɾɯ/
to run
How to learn A1 vocabulary
- 1.Start with the highest-frequency words — the first few hundred cover most everyday speech.
- 2.Learn nouns together with their article and a short example sentence.
- 3.Review daily in short sessions; spaced repetition beats long cramming.
- 4.Listen to slow, clear recordings and repeat phrases out loud to practice pronunciation.
Frequently asked questions
How many words do I need at A1?+
Around 500–600 core words are enough to handle basic everyday situations at A1.
How long does it take to reach A1?+
With regular study most learners reach A1 in about 60–100 hours.
What comes after A1?+
A2, where you expand everyday vocabulary and start linking simple sentences.
Should I focus on grammar or vocabulary at A1?+
Focus primarily on vocabulary and simple phrase structures. Basic grammar is helpful, but communicating meaning is more important at the start.