Japanese Vocabulary Quiz for Beginners

Basic Expressions

• うん - A casual affirmation, similar to "yes" or "yeah."
• ううん - A casual negation, akin to "no" or "nah."

Demonstratives

• これ - Refers to "this" (near the speaker).
• それ - Means "that" (near the listener).
• あれ - Indicates "that over there" (far from both speaker and listener).
• こう - Describes action or direction as "this way."
• そう - Indicates action or direction as "that way."

People & Roles

• 人 (ひと) - Means "person."
• 大人 (おとな) - Refers to an "adult."
• 子供 (こども) - Means "child."
• 友達 (ともだち) - Signifies "friend."
• 学生 (がくせい) - Refers to a "student."
• 先生 (せんせい) - Translates to "teacher."

Educational Institutions

• 学校 (がっこう) - General term for "school."
• 小学校 (しょうがっこう) - Specific term for "elementary school."
• 中学校 (ちゅうがっこう) - Refers to "middle school."
• 高校 (こうこう) - Means "high school."
• 大学 (だいがく) - Describes a "college."

Question Words

• どこ - Asks "where."
• いつ - Inquires "when."
• どうして - Questions "why."
• どう - Asks "how."
• どれ - Queries "which."

Common Nouns

• ミーティング - Refers to a "meeting."
• ボールペン - Means "ball-point pen."
• 何 (なに) - Translates to "what."
• 誰 (だれ) - Means "who."
• 映画 (えいが) - Refers to a "movie."
• 彼 (かれ) - Means "he" or "boyfriend."
• 彼女 (かのじょ) - Means "she" or "girlfriend."
• 雨 (あめ) - Refers to "rain."
• 昨日 (きのう) - Means "yesterday."
• 今日 (きょう) - Translates to "today."
• 明日 (あした) - Means "tomorrow."
• 知り合い (しりあい) - Refers to an "acquaintance."
• 鉛筆 (えんぴつ) - Means "pencil."
• 仕事 (しごと) - Refers to "work."
• 入口 (いりぐち) - Means "entrance."
• 出口 (でぐち) - Refers to "exit."
• 図書館 (としょかん) - Means "library."

Descriptive Adjectives

• きれい - Describes as "pretty" or "neat."
• いい - Means "good."
• かっこいい - Translates to "cool" or "good-looking."
• 面白い (おもしろい) - Means "interesting."
• 有名 (ゆうめい) - Refers to something that is "famous."
• 嫌い (きらい) - Indicates "dislike" or "hate."
• 好き (すき) - Means "like."
• 大きい (おおきい) - Describes something as "big."
• 小さい (ちいさい) - Means "small."
• 静か (しずか) - Refers to "quiet."
• 高い (たかい) - Means "high" or "expensive."
• 楽しい (たのしい) - Translates to "fun."
• 大切 (たいせつ) - Indicates something as "important."
• 辛い (からい) - Means "spicy."
• 料理 (りょうり) - Refers to "cuisine" or "cooking."

Common Verbs

• する - Means "to do."
• しゃべる - Translates to "to talk" or "to chat."
• 見る (みる) - Means "to see."
• 来る (くる) - Refers to "to come."
• 行く (いく) - Means "to go."
• 帰る (かえる) - Refers to "to go home."
• 食べる (たべる) - Means "to eat."
• 飲む (のむ) - Refers to "to drink."
• 買う (かう) - Means "to buy."
• 売る (うる) - Refers to "to sell."
• 切る (きる) - Means "to cut."
• 入る (はいる) - Translates to "to enter."
• 出る (でる) - Means "to come out."
• 持つ (もつ) - Refers to "to hold."
• 待つ (まつ) - Means "to wait."
• 書く (かく) - Refers to "to write."
• 読む (よむ) - Means "to read."
• 歩く (あるく) - Refers to "to walk."
• 走る (はしる) - Means "to run."
• 遊ぶ (あそぶ) - Translates to "to play."