Mini dictionary for common J words & phrases....
Please note that for the words I've noted as colloquial or casual, it is considered rude / unrefined to use them when speaking to people other than your close friends or family.....
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Nihongo word or phrase
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What it means...
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aho (coloquial)
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idiot...kansai ben (Kansai dialect) I believe it is...see baka... |
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ai |
love...see aishiteiru |
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aishite iru (casual) aishite imasu (standard)
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I love you....as said to someone or it means loving someone.... |
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anata (standard) anta (casual) |
you...or darling when a woman addresses her husband... usually one uses the person's name instead of saying anata...kimi (casual) & omae (casual) are a couple of other terms used primarily by men....
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| ano | that.....pause filler / word used to get someone's attention...equivalent to someone starting a sentence hesitatingly with "uhm....." |
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arigatou (casual) arigatou gozaimasu / arigatou gozaimashita (standard) |
thanks / thank you.....iroiro arigatou means "thanks for everything".... |
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baka / bakayaro |
idiot, fool.... |
| betsuni (casual) | nothing, nothing in particular...especially in response to a probing question... |
| boku (casual) | I...used by males only... |
| ~chan (casual) | casual form of address tagged to the end of one's name, only used among close friends or family members...see ~san |
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chigau (casual) chigaundesu / chigaimasu (standard) |
wrong / incorrect... |
| chotto... | officially, this means a little bit....but when what comes after chotto is left unsaid, it has to be inferred from context of situation. If someone says chotto... in response to your invitation, it means he can't make it for some reason....if someone comes up to you & says "chotto..." it means he wants to have a word with you... |
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chotto matte (casual) chotto matte kudasai (standard) |
wait a bit / please wait a bit....equivalent to the English phrase "wait a minute..." |
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dame (casual) dame desu (standard) |
no good, be useless, no way..... |
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dare? (casual) dare desu ka? (standard) |
who? / who is it? |
| doushite? (casual) | why? |
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doushita no? (casual) doushitan desuka? (standard) |
what's wrong? / what's the matter? |
| douzo (standard) | please (go ahead / this way / enter...) |
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gochisou sama (casual) gochisou sama deshita (standard) |
standard saying after finishing one's meal....no English equivalent, means "thanks for the food..." or something to that effect.... |
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gomen (casual) gomen'nasai (standard) |
I'm sorry.... |
| hai | yes... |
| hazui | slang for hazukashii...means shameful, disgraceful, to be ashamed. |
| hontou / honto ni | real / really... |
| ii | pronounced as 'eee'.....means good.....mou ii means "that's enough", sore de ii means "that's ok" ... |
| iie | no... |
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irrashai (casual) irasshaimase (standard)
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welcome....standard greeting at a shop / restaurant etc... |
| itadakimasu | standard saying before having a meal....no English equivalent, means "I partake..." or something to that effect.... |
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itte kuru (casual) itte kimasu (standard) |
standard saying by someone leaving the house...English equivalent of "I'm off..." literally means "I'm going & coming back..." |
| itte rashai | standard response to someone saying itte kimasu.... |
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iya da (casual) iya desu (standard) |
to dislike something intensely.... |
| ja, ja-ne, ja-mata (casual) | bye, see you... |
| joudan ja nai wa yo (casual) | don't kid! / you've got to be kidding! |
| kakko ii (casual) | cool / isn't that cool... |
| kimoi | slang for kimochi warui...meaning to feel disgusted, nauseating, to feel ill... |
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kirai (casual) kirai desu (standard) |
to dislike (something / someone)....dai kirai means to dislike intensely.... |
| koi | love...koi wo shite iru means "to be in love"... |
| konbanwa (standard) | good evening....used only when it's gotten dark.... |
| kon'nichiwa (standard) | hello / good day / good afternoon....used from about 10am until it gets dark.... |
| ~kudasai (standard) | please...when asking someone to do something.... |
| moshi moshi | hello....only used on the phone... |
| nande? | why? how come? |
| naze? | why? |
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ohayou (casual) ohayou gozaimasu (standard) |
good morning....used until about 10am.... |
| oishiii | delicious...guys tend to say umai instead... |
| ojama shimasu (standard) | standard saying when entering into someone else's house...literally means "I'm being a bother".... |
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okaa-san (standard) okaa-chan (casual) |
the way one addresses one's mother...ofukuro is another term used only by men... |
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okaeri (casual) okaerinasai (standard) |
Welcome back...said in response to tadaima.... |
| omiai kekkon | arranged marriage... |
| one-giri | 'one cut'....calling someone's mobile phone & hanging up after one ring, leaving one's number on the receiving party's mobile phone. |
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one-san (standard) one-chan / aneki (casual) |
pronounced 'ohneh'....the way one addresses one's older sister.... |
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onegai (casual) onegaishimasu (standard) |
please....used when asking for some favor.... |
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oni-san (standard) oni-chan / aniki (casual) |
the way one addresses one's older brother... |
| ore (casual) | I...used only by men...see boku... |
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otou-san (standard) otou-chan (casual) |
the way one addresses one's father...oyaji is another term used only by men... |
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otsukare / otsukaresama (casual) otsukaresama deshita (standard) |
standard greeting when someone's done a lot of work....no English equivalent, means "thanks for your hard work" or something to that effect.... |
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oyasumi (casual) oyasuminasai (standard) |
goodnight... |
| saaa..... | I don't know....often accompanied by either shrug of the shoulders or facial expression of a puzzled squid..... |
| saitei | despicable....often used when telling someone off for having done something low & demeaning... |
| ~sama (polite) | very polite form of address tagged to the end of one's name...same as Mr, Mrs, Miss etc in English... |
| ~san (standard) | standard form of address tagged to the end of one's name...equivalent to Mr, Mrs, Miss etc in English... |
| sayounara | goodbye....this includes a feeling of finality to the separation so it's not used if you're likely to meet again within the next few days....most often used when couples breakup, it's like saying goodbye for good....see ja... |
| senpai | one's senior... |
| sensei | teacher / doctor... |
| shiawase | happiness, to be fortunate, to be contented.... |
| shitsure shimasu | excuse me (when interrupting) / good bye (ending a phone conversation)...literally means "I'm being rude".... |
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sou da (casual) sou desu (standard) |
oh, I see.....depending on tone, it could also mean Oh (by the way / that reminds me)... or when repeated sou da sou da, it's the equivalent of "oh, yeah yeah, I see...." |
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sou ka (casual) sou desu ka (standard) |
is that so, oh I see...similar to sou da.... |
| sugoi | wow! fantastic!....the younger guys tend to say it sugge (slang).... |
| sukebei | pervert, lecher...you get the drift ^_^ |
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suki (casual) suki desu (standard) |
to like (something, someone).... |
| sumimasen | excuse me, sorry, thank you...depending on context of situation.... |
| tadaima | standard phrase announcing I'm back.... |
| tako | octopus, squid....self explanatory when said in tone of utter disgust or in total exasperation. |
| umai | delicious...as used by guys only...or to be good (at something)... |
| ureshii | happy, thrilled.... |
| watashi (standard) | I...used by both men & women....women however often say atashi..... |
| warui / warukatta (casual) | sorry.....literally means "I'm / I was bad"..... |
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yoroshiku (casual) yoroshiku onegaishimasu (standard) |
standard greeting when meeting folks for the first time or when you need other people to corporate with you on some work...no English equivalent, means "thanks / hope I'll receive your kind favor" or something to that effect.... |