Japanese Language

Cards · 65

私

Reading: わたし. Meaning: I, me. Pronoun; standard polite first-person singular used by all genders.

人

Reading: ひと. Meaning: person, human. Noun; kanji component also read as にん or じん in compounds.

日

Reading: ひ. Meaning: day, sun. Noun; also read にち / じつ; used as a counter for days.

友だち

Reading: ともだち. Meaning: friend. Noun; 友 (friend) + suffix だち indicating plural or companion.

家

Reading: いえ. Meaning: house, home. Noun; kanji component also read as うち (home/household) or か (specialist/family).

水

Reading: みず. Meaning: cold water. Noun; refers specifically to cold or unheated water.

お茶

Reading: おちゃ. Meaning: tea (specifically green tea). Noun; includes the honorific prefix お-.

ご飯

Reading: ごはん. Meaning: cooked rice, meal. Noun; honorific ご + 飯 (cooked rice/meal).

朝

Reading: あさ. Meaning: morning. Noun/temporal noun; often used with に to mark time.

昼

Reading: ひる. Meaning: midday, noon, daytime. Noun/temporal noun.

夜

Reading: よる. Meaning: night, evening. Noun/temporal noun; contrast with 晩 (ばん).

今

Reading: いま. Meaning: now. Adverb/temporal noun; often used alone without particles.

今日

Reading: きょう. Meaning: today. Temporal noun; irregular reading (jukujikun) combining 今 and 日.

明日

Reading: あした. Meaning: tomorrow. Temporal noun; casual/polite reading; formal is みょうにち.

昨日

Reading: きのう. Meaning: yesterday. Temporal noun; irregular reading (jukujikun).

時間

Reading: じかん. Meaning: time, hour. Noun; 時 (time) + 間 (interval/space); used as counter for hours.

学校

Reading: がっこう. Meaning: school. Noun; 学 (study) + 校 (examining/school).

先生

Reading: せんせい. Meaning: teacher, doctor. Noun/honorific title; 先 (previous) + 生 (born).

学生

Reading: がくせい. Meaning: student. Noun; 学 (study) + 生 (person/born); usually college/high school.

会社

Reading: かいしゃ. Meaning: company, workplace. Noun; 会 (meeting) + 社 (shrine/society).

仕事

Reading: しごと. Meaning: work, job. Noun; 仕 (serve) + 事 (matter/thing); pairs with する for to work.

食べる

Reading: たべる. Meaning: to eat. Ichidan (Group 2) transitive verb; polite form 食べます.

飲む

Reading: のむ. Meaning: to drink. Godan (Group 1) transitive verb; polite form 飲みます.

見る

Reading: みる. Meaning: to see, watch, look. Ichidan (Group 2) transitive verb; polite form 見ます.

聞く

Reading: きく. Meaning: to hear, listen, ask. Godan (Group 1) verb; takes を for hear/listen, に for ask.

読む

Reading: よむ. Meaning: to read. Godan (Group 1) transitive verb; polite form 読みます.

書く

Reading: かく. Meaning: to write, draw. Godan (Group 1) transitive verb; polite form 書きます.

話す

Reading: はなす. Meaning: to speak, talk. Godan (Group 1) transitive verb; polite form 話します.

買う

Reading: かう. Meaning: to buy. Godan (Group 1) transitive verb ending in う; polite form 買います.

行く

Reading: いく. Meaning: to go. Godan (Group 1) intransitive verb; irregular te-form 行って (いって).

来る

Reading: くる. Meaning: to come. Irregular (Group 3) intransitive verb; polite form 来ます (きます).

帰る

Reading: かえる. Meaning: to return (home). Godan (Group 1) intransitive verb despite -eru ending; polite 帰ります.

寝る

Reading: ねる. Meaning: to sleep, go to bed. Ichidan (Group 2) intransitive verb; polite form 寝ます.

起きる

Reading: おきる. Meaning: to wake up, get up. Ichidan (Group 2) intransitive verb; polite form 起きます.

大きい

Reading: おおきい. Meaning: big, large. I-adjective; adverbial form 大きく; noun form 大きさ.

小さい

Reading: ちいさい. Meaning: small, little. I-adjective; adverbial form 小さく; noun form 小ささ.

新しい

Reading: あたらしい. Meaning: new, fresh. I-adjective; negative form 新しくない.

古い

Reading: ふるい. Meaning: old (for objects, not people). I-adjective; contrast with 年寄り for people.

良い

Reading: いい / よい. Meaning: good. I-adjective; plain form is いい, all conjugations use よ- (e.g. よくない).

悪い

Reading: わるい. Meaning: bad. I-adjective; negative 悪くない; also used in apologies (悪いけど).

高い

Reading: たかい. Meaning: tall, expensive. I-adjective; antonym 安い (cheap) or 低い (low).

安い

Reading: やすい. Meaning: cheap, inexpensive. I-adjective; 安 also appears in 安全 (safe).

好き

Reading: すき. Meaning: liked, favourite. Na-adjective; marked with が for the object of liking (Xが好き).

静か

Reading: しずか. Meaning: quiet, peaceful. Na-adjective; modifies nouns with な (静かな部屋).

車

Reading: くるま. Meaning: car, vehicle. Noun; kanji component also read as しゃ in compounds (電車).

電車

Reading: でんしゃ. Meaning: train, electric train. Noun; 電 (electricity) + 車 (vehicle).

駅

Reading: えき. Meaning: station (train). Noun; common particle pairings: 駅で (at the station), 駅へ (to the station).

道

Reading: みち. Meaning: road, street, way. Noun; kanji also read as どう (moral way, path).

本

Reading: ほん. Meaning: book, origin. Noun; also used as counter for long cylindrical items.

お金

Reading: おかね. Meaning: money. Noun; honorific お + 金 (gold/money).

店

Reading: みせ. Meaning: shop, store. Noun; often polite as お店 (おみせ).

雨

Reading: あめ. Meaning: rain. Noun; takes が降る (あめがふる) for it rains.

半

Reading: はん. Meaning: half, half-past. Noun / suffix; commonly attached to time expressions like 三時半 (half past three).

半分

Reading: はんぶん. Meaning: half, a half share. Noun; composed of 半 (half) and 分 (part/portion).

半年

Reading: はんとし / はんねん. Meaning: half a year, six months. Noun; combined kanji for half and year.

判断

Reading: はんだん. Meaning: judgment, decision. Noun / suru verb; refers to assessing a situation and making a conclusion.

反対

Reading: はんたい. Meaning: opposition, opposite, objection. Noun / suru verb / na-adjective; indicates being against an idea or the reverse side.

犯罪

Reading: はんざい. Meaning: crime, offense. Noun; formed from 犯 (commit/violate) and 罪 (sin/crime).

販売

Reading: はんばい. Meaning: sales, selling, marketing. Noun / suru verb; common in terms like 自動販売機 (vending machine).

範囲

Reading: はんい. Meaning: range, scope, extent. Noun; refers to a bounded domain or limits.

生年月日

Reading: せいねんがっぴ. Meaning: date of birth. Noun; compound consisting of 生 (birth), 年 (year), 月 (month), and 日 (day); standard official term on application forms and IDs.

誕生日

Reading: たんじょうび. Meaning: birthday. Noun; common conversational word for celebrating birthdays (誕生 birth + 日 day).

生年

Reading: せいねん. Meaning: year of birth. Noun; 生 (birth) + 年 (year); frequently requested alongside month and date in administrative documents.

生月日

Reading: せいがっぴ. Meaning: month and day of birth. Noun; 生 (birth) + 月日 (month and day); refers specifically to the calendar day without specifying the year.

年号

Reading: ねんごう. Meaning: era name. Noun; traditional calendar era designation (e.g., Showa, Heisei, Reiwa) frequently required when writing one's date of birth in Japan.