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Top 80 Common Japanese Nouns You Need To Learn Today

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Mei

By Mei
Published on January 22, 2024

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Unsurprisingly, if you simply use a noun in Japanese, people can get what you mean. So, learning Japanese nouns is a great way to expand your Japanese vocabulary and will facilitate easy communication with locals.

Learning Japanese is absolutely fun and engaging. However, many of you will think that it’s a hard language to even memorize.

But if you don’t want to study vocabulary you might never use, keep reading this post because we’ll introduce you to the most frequent Japanese nouns you need daily!

Basic Japanese Nouns At A Glance

It’s typical practice for anyone beginning to study a foreign language to start with understanding basic greetings and everyday phrases. So, learning Japanese greetings and common expressions in preparation for a trip to Japan is an excellent first step for anyone interested in studying the Japanese language. But you might get overwhelmed with what it looks like.

In contrast to the English language, nouns in Japanese do not require articles like “a” and “the.” Also, unlike in English, where the addition of “s” or “es” denotes the singular and plural form, there are no rules for determining whether a single or plural noun is in Japanese.

Hence, Japanese learners can feel free to use proper nouns without fearing making mistakes here.

Japanese Nouns Common Nouns In Japanese You Need

Common Nouns In Japanese You Need In Everyday Life

Now we begin learning further about Japanese grammar! Here are some of the most common nouns in Japanese that you will definitely hear native speakers use daily.

If you want to learn Japanese for everyday usages, like asking for the restroom (which one should typically use Japanese adverbs) or placing an order at a restaurant, but you don’t have time to learn how to construct a complete sentence since you need common Japanese words to use right now, then bookmark this article and start practicing today.

So, chill out and remember these common Japanese nouns list now!

Japanese Nouns For Date And Time

This is a list of the Japanese words for date and time that you’ll need to use daily.

English NounsJapanese NounsRomajiSound
WeekShuu
YearToshi
SecondByou
Hour時間Jikan 時間
MinuteFun
Today今日Kyou 今日
Tomorrow明日Ashita 明日
Yesterday昨日Kinou 昨日

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Japanese Nouns For Food And Drink

Do you love Japanese food? Then surely you will love to spend some time at Japanese restaurants! Here are the most common Japanese words for food that will come in handy if you visit Japan.

English NounsJapanese NounsRomajiSound
Food料理Ryouri 料理
TeaCha
WaterMizu
CoffeeコーヒーKōhī コーヒー
BeerビールBīru ビール
IceKouri
Beef牛肉Gyuu niku 牛肉
FishSakana
Pork豚肉Buta niku 豚肉
Chicken鶏肉Tori niku 鶏肉
Japanese Nouns For People

Japanese Nouns For People

Here are essential words about the Japanese people to start practicing. You can also try to pronounce these words with your Japanese friend and make sure to check if you are speaking them properly.

English NounsJapanese NounsRomajiSound
Japanese people日本人Nihon jin 日本人
Family家族Kazoku 家族
Motherお母さんOkaasan お母さん
Fatherお父さんOtousan お父さん
HusbandOtto
WifeTsuma
Son息子Musuko 息子
DaughterMutsume
Woman女の人Onna no hito 女の人
Man男の人Otoko no hito
Boy男の子Otoko no ko 男の子
Girl女の子Onna no ko 女の子
Child子供Kodomo 子供
Adult大人Otona 大人
Girlfriend彼女Kanojo 彼女
Boyfriend彼氏Kareshi 彼氏
Friend友達Tomodachi 友達
Nurse看護師Kangoshi 看護師
Police officer警官Keikan 警官
Teacher先生Sensei 先生
Japanese Nouns For Places

Japanese Nouns For Places

Knowing some Japanese nouns for places is a great way to enhance your experience and communication skills in Japan. Whether you want to find the best hotel accommodation, a supermarket to buy groceries, or a park where you can chat with the locals, first, you need to learn these nouns. They will come in handy in case you need to ask for directions!

English NounsJapanese NounsRomajiSound
Kitchen台所Daidokoro 台所
Bathroom浴室Yokushitsu 浴室
Toiletお手洗いOtearai お手洗い
HotelホテルHoteru ホテル
Park公園Kouen 公園
School学校Gakkou 学校
University大学Daigaku 大学
HouseIe
Bus stopバス停Basu tei バス停
Train stationEki
Convenient StoreコンビニKonbini コンビニ
SupermarketスーパーSuupaa スーパー
Department storeデパートDepaato デパート
Drugstore薬局Yakkyoku 薬局
RestaurantレストランResutoran レストラン

Japanese Nouns For Home Appliances

Have you ever wondered how to say television in Japanese? Let’s learn the most basic words in Japanese about home appliances you’ll often use.

English NounsJapanese NounsRomajiSound
ComputerコンピューターKonpyuutaa コンピューター
BedベッドBeddo ベッド
SofaソファーSofaa ソファー
TelevisionテレビTerebi テレビ
Cellphone携帯電話Keitai denwa 携帯電話
TableテーブルTeeburu テーブル
Chair椅子Isu 椅子

Japanese Nouns For Clothing

These Japanese words for clothing will help you whenever you need to buy items or ask for fashion advice from the locals.

English NounsJapanese NounsRomajiSound
ShoeKutsu
ShirtシャツShatsu シャツ
Sock靴下Kutsushita 靴下
PantsズボンZubon ズボン
SkirtスカートSukaato スカート
Japanese Nouns For Weather

Japanese Nouns For Weather

Here are 3 basic Japanese words about the weather.

English NounsJapanese NounsRomajiSound
Weatherてんきtenki てんき
Rainあめame あめ
Sunたいよう taiyou たいよう
Windy かぜkaze かぜ
Cloudyくもりkumori くもり
Snowゆきyuki ゆき
Hotあついatsui あつい
Cold さむいsamui さむい
Temperatureきおん kion きおん 
Rainbowにじniji にじ

Japanese Nouns For Body Parts

Here are helpful Japanese words about body parts. Remember, you can use these nouns along with Japanese pronouns to emphasize what you are talking about!

English NounsJapanese NounsRomajiSound
HeadAtama
Stomachお腹Onaka お腹
Hand/armTe
Leg/footAshi
FaceKao

Common Japanese Abstract Nouns

You can also find several examples of abstract nouns in Japanese when watching J-dramas. They use these words for the titles, for example.

English NounsJapanese NounsRomajiSound
BeautyBi
DeathShi
GoodnessZen
HappinessKou
LoveAi
HeartKokoro
LifeMei
Wisdom智慧Chie 智慧
WishGan

In Summary

You’ll be able to get around easily and have an enriching experience in Japan if you learn these essential words for nouns in Japanese. Slowly you will notice a significant improvement in your sentence-building abilities! 

If you’re worried about building complex Japanese sentences and speaking, remember that communicating with Japanese nouns is a great place to start. 

Do you wish you had a more extensive vocabulary in Japanese? Then, we’ve got the top app in the store for you!

Learn Japanese With The Ling App

Let’s use the Ling app to increase our Japanese vocabulary so we can feel comfortable constructing sentences from scratch in Japanese. We give you access to native Japanese pronunciation so you can hear how they pronounce various phrases and sentences and get familiar with it!