Japanese Vocabulary and Grammar

• Various Japanese words and grammar structures explained, along with their English translations.

Basic Vocabulary

• 食べる (taberu) means "to eat".
• 買う (kau) means "to buy".
• 思う (omou) means "to think".
• 見る (miru) means "to see".
• 泊まる (tomaru) means "to stay".
• 安い (yasui) means "cheap".
• 高い (takai) means "expensive/high".
• 好き (suki) means "like".
• 大きい (ookii) means "big".
• 小さい (chiisai) means "small".
• 大好き (daisuki) means "love".
• 店 (mise) means "shop".
• 円 (en) means "yen".
• 食べ物 (tabemono) means "food".
• 飲み物 (nomimono) means "drink".
• 夏 (natsu) means "summer".
• 冬 (fuyu) means "winter".
• 秋 (aki) means "autumn".
• 春 (haru) means "spring".
• 東京 (toukyou) means "Tokyo".
• 今年 (kotoshi) means "this year".
• 今日 (kyou) means "today".
• 市 (shi) means "city".
• 町 (machi) means "town".
• 県 (ken) means "prefecture".
• 毎年 (maitoshi) means "every year".
• 毎日 (mainichi) means "every day".
• 日 (hi) means "day".
• 一泊、二泊 (ippaku, nihaku) means "one night, two nights".
• 何 (nani) means "what".
• 休み (yasumi) means "holiday".
• 百 (hyaku) is the number "100".
• 千 (sen) is the number "1000".
• 万 (man) is the number "10000".
• しゅくはく (shukuhaku) means "accommodation".
• りょかん (ryokan) means "traditional inn".
• たくさん (takusan) means "many".
• みんしゅく (minshuku) means "traditional B&B".
• とても (totemo) means "very".
• ホテル (hoteru) means "hotel".
• おすすめ (osusume) means "recommended".
• おんせん (onsen) means "hot spring".
• おすすめする (osusume suru) means "to recommend".
• りょこう (ryokou) means "travel".
• 有名 (ゆうめい) (yuumei) means "famous".
• 名物 (めいぶつ) (meibutsu) means "local specialty".
• べんり (benri) means "convenient".
• 一番 (いちばん) (ichiban) means "most".
• 口コミ (こちこみ) (kuchikomi) means "review".
• ちかく (chikaku) means "near".
• 中 (なか) (naka) means "in".
• 上 (うえ) (ue) means "on".
• 下 (した) (shita) means "under".
• できる (dekiru) means "can do".
• 家（いえ）(ie) means "house".
• 公園 (こうえん)(kouen) means "park."
• 動物園 (どうぶつえん)(doubutsuen) means "zoo".
• りょうり (ryouri) means "cooking, cuisine".
• さんぽ (sanpo) means "walk".
• お寺（おてら）(otera) means "temple".
• 国（くに）(kuni) means "country."
• きれい (kirei) means "clean/beautiful".
• およぐ (oyogu) means "swim".
• えいが (eiga) means "movie".

Grammar Structures: Plain Form Conjugation Rules

• Rule 1: る-Verbs: Replace "ます" with "る".

  • 食べます (tabemasu) becomes 食べる (taberu), meaning "eat". て Form is 食べて (tabete).
  • 見ます (mimasu) becomes 見る (miru), meaning "see". て Form is 見て (mite).
  • できます (dekimasu) becomes できる (dekiru), meaning "can do". て Form is できて (dekite).
  • います (imasu) becomes いる (iru), meaning "exist (living)". て Form is いて (ite).

• Rule 2: う-Verbs: Change "imasu" to "u".

  • のみます (nomimasu) becomes のむ (nomu), meaning "drink". て Form is のんで (nonde).
  • よみます (yomimasu) becomes よむ (yomu), meaning "read". て Form is よんで (yonde).
  • 行きます (ikimasu) becomes 行く (iku), meaning "go". て Form is 行って (itte).
  • およぎます (oyogimasu) becomes およぐ (oyogu), meaning "swim". て Form is およいで (oyoide).
  • かきます (kakimasu) becomes かく (kaku), meaning "write". て Form is かいて (kaite).
  • はなします (hanashimasu) becomes はなす (hanasu), meaning "speak". て Form is はなして (hanashite).
  • あります (arimasu) becomes ある (aru), meaning "exist (non-living)". て Form is あって (atte).
  • 泊まります (tomarimasu) becomes 泊まる (tomaru), meaning “stay”. て Form is 泊まって (tomatte).
  • 思います (omoimasu) becomes 思う (omou), meaning "think". て Form is 思って (omotte).
  • なります (narimasu) becomes なる (naru), meaning "become". て Form is なって (natte).

Grammar Structures Requiring Plain Form

• PLAIN FORM + なら (If...): Expresses a conditional statement.

  • Example: 日本に行くなら、りょかんに泊まりたいです！(Nihon ni iku nara, ryokan ni tomaritai desu!) translates to "If I go to Japan, I want to stay at a ryokan!"

• PLAIN FORM + と思います (I think...):　Expresses what someone thinks.

  • Example: あした、えいがかんに行くと思います。(Ashita, eigakan ni iku to omoimasu.) translates to "I think I’ll go to the cinema tomorrow."

• PLAIN FORM + こと + は + ADJ. (VERBing is ADJ.): Indicates that VERBing is ADJ.

  • Example: ゲームをすることはたのしいです。(Geemu o suru koto wa tanoshii desu.) translates to "Playing games is fun."

• PLAIN FORM + こと + が好きです (I like VERBing): Indicates a liking for VERBing.

  • Example: ゲームをすることが好きです。(Geemu o suru koto ga suki desu.) translates to "I like playing games."

• PLAIN FORM + こと + ができます (I can VERB): Indicates the ability to VERB.

  • Example: 日本語を話すことができますか？(Nihongo o hanasu koto ga dekimasu ka?) translates to "Can you speak Japanese?"

• PLAIN FORM + 言います (Someone says...): Indicates someone said something.

  • Example: ルカくんはあした、えいがかんに行くと言いました。(Ruka-kun wa ashita, eigakan ni iku to iimashita.) translates to "Luca said he will go to the cinema tomorrow."

Plain Form "Let's"

• Rule 1: る-Verbs: Change る to よう.

  • 食べます (tabemasu) 食べる (taberu) becomes 食べよう (tabeyou), meaning "Let's eat".
  • 見ます (mimasu) 見る (miru) becomes 見よう (miyou), meaning "Let's watch".
  • ねます (nemasu) ねる (neru) becomes ねよう (neyou), meaning "Let's sleep".

• Rule 2: う-Verbs: Change う to おう.

  • のみます (nomimasu) のむ (nomu) becomes のもう (nomou), meaning "Let's drink".
  • よみます (yomimasu) よむ (yomu) becomes よもう (yomou), meaning "Let's read".
  • 行きます (ikimasu) 行く (iku) becomes 行こう (ikou), meaning "Let's go".
  • およぎます (oyogimasu) およぐ (oyogu) becomes およごう (oyogou), meaning "Let's swim".
  • かきます (kakimasu) かく (kaku) becomes かこう (kakou), meaning "Let's write".
  • はなします (hanashimasu) はなす (hanasu) becomes はなそう (hanasou), meaning "Let's speak".