The idea here is to list a few categories of vocabulary which are absolutely essential to understanding Japanese. For the most part, that means how numbers and pronouns work. Not only are those critical in all languages, but the way they work in Japanese is very different from English, so a dictionary alone won't cut it.
Japanese Numbers
Counting Words
Grammatical Vocabulary
Pronouns and Closely Related Words
Interrogative Pronouns
Personal Pronouns
Semi-Personal Pronouns
Impersonal Pronouns, Demonstratives and More
Miscellaneous
Less Simple Example Sentences
Japanese Numbers
| 一 (いち) | 1 | For example: | 十 (じゅう) | 10 | For example: | |
| 二 (に) | 2 | 十三 (じゅうさん) | 13 | 百 (ひゃく) | 100 | 七兆一百一億三十五万九千六十二 |
| 三 (さん) | 3 | 四十八 (よんじゅうはち) | 48 | 千 (せん) | 1,000 | 7,010,100,359,062 |
| 四 (よん or し) | 4 | 七十 (ななじゅう) | 70 | 万 (まん) | 10,000 | |
| 五 (ご) | 5 | 十万 (じゅうまん) | 100,000 | |||
| 六 (ろく) | 6 | 百万 (ひゃくまん) | 1,000,000 | |||
| 七 (なな or しち) | 7 | 千万 (せんまん) | 10,000,000 | |||
| 八 (はち) | 8 | 億(おく) | 100,000,000 | or 10,000^2 | ||
| 九 (きゅう) | 9 | 兆(ちょう) | 1,000,000,000,000 | or 10,000^3 | ||
| 十 (じゅう) | 10 | 京 (けい) | 10,000,000,000,000,000 | or 10,000^4 |
Counting Words
Now that you've seen basic numbers, we can move on to what makes Japanese number usage very different from English number usage: counting words.
This is one of the few categories of vocabulary that not only should but must be explained before you can just look stuff up on your own. In English, we have the numbers one, two, three and so on, and you say you have one, two or three of something. In Japanese, you have the numbers いち, に, さん and so on, and instead you say you have ひとつ, ふたつ or みっつ of something. The first three are just "numbers" while the latter three are "counting words." It turns out there are several sets of counting words for different kinds of objects. Irregular ones include:
General: 一つ (ひとつ), 二つ (ふたつ), 三つ (みっつ), 四つ (よっつ), 五つ (いつつ), 六つ (むっつ), 七つ (ななつ), 八つ (やっつ), 九つ (ここのつ)
People: 一人 (ひとり), 二人 (ふたり), 三人 (さんにん), 四人 (よんにん), 五人 (ごにん)
Animals: 一匹 (いっぴき), 二匹 (にひき), 三匹 (さんひき), 四匹 (よんひき), 五匹 (ごひき)
Days: 一日 (いちにち), 二日 (ふつか), 三日 (みっか), 四日 (よっか), 五日 (いつか), 六日 (むいか), 七日 (なのか or なぬか), 八日 (ようか), 九日 (ここのか), 十日 (とおか), 十一日 (じゅういちにち)
Months: 一ヶ月 (いっかげつ), 二ヶ月 (にかげつ), 三ヶ月 (さんかげつ)
Cylindrical or Prism-Shaped objects: 一本 (いっぽん), 二本 (にほん or ふたほん), 三本 (さんほん)
Most counting words (including these and other irregulars) are easy to recognize if you're familiar with those above, and easy to look up in any decent dictionary, but you should remember these details:
・The general counters stop at nine, even though every other set can theoretically go on forever with the same suffix. The closest thing to a general counter above nine would be the 〜個 -ko set.
・一人 and 二人 are counting words for "one person" and "two people" as well as adjectives meaning "alone" and "together." 一人ぼっち and 二人っきり specify the adjective usage, though 二人っきり tends to be much closer to "just the two of us" than 二人 (and the っきり suffix can be used similarly on 三人 and up as well).
・The day counters (like 二日) can indicate days of the month ("the 2nd") as well as numbers of days ("two days"). In contrast, 一月 (いちがつ) only means "January" while 一ヶ月 (いっかげつ) only means "one month." I have absolutely no explanation for that ヶ.
・The suffix 目 (め) changes a "cardinal number" such as 一つ "one" into an "ordinal number" such as 一つ目 "first". So 一日目 means "first day," 二人目 means "second person," etc.
・The prefix 何 (なん): 何人 means "how many people?," 何ヶ月 means "how many months?," etc. For the general counters, use 幾つ (いくつ) "how many?".
・The prefix 数 (すう): 数日 means "a few days," 十数匹 means "ten and a few animals," 百数十人 means "a hundred and a few tens of people," etc. Be careful not to confuse 十数 with 数十.
・When you see something like 二〜三十分, it means "twenty to thirty minutes". Not "two to thirty", but "twenty to thirty" (or more literally: "two to three tens of minutes"). This is a really easy mistake to make since in English "twenty" and "thirty" are not the same thing as "two tens" and "three tens".
Grammatical Vocabulary
It's debateable whether or not these are particles or just really common words. Either way, they are so incredibly common that you have to learn them sooner or later to understand any remotely complex sentences, so you should start paying attention to them early. Also, many of these words are impossible to truly define, in the same way that "is" or "of" can't be directly defined in English. So, the best I can do is list some English words and phrases which come close enough that they should give you a good idea where to start.
や = and/or
から = so, because, from, since, starting from _
だから = like I said, because, therefore
ながら = while, during
まで = until, as far as, as much as, even
もう = already, no longer, more (can also be an interjection expressing strong displeasure)
いくら = how many/much/far, as far as
また = again
まだ = still, not yet
はず and べき = should, ought (hazu is likelihood, beki is moral obligation)
しかし = however, still, but
しかも = not only, on top of that
くらい = only, at least, to the point of being (sometimes just emphatic)
さえ = even, as far as, just, only, not even
こそ = the very _, precisely because, the one/thing which will
だけ = only, just, degree, extent (placed after a noun or verb)
ただ or たった = merely, only, just (placed before a noun or adjective)
そして = and, and then, also, in addition
として = as a _, in the manner of a _
かも or かもしれない or かもしらない = maybe, might, possibly
しか＿ない = nothing but, no choice, no other way
けれど or だけど or けど or だが = but, however, although
でも = even, but, something like (also modifies pronouns a lot like the "-ever" suffix in English; see pronoun list)
やっぱり or やはり = as I thought, indeed, after all
ずつ = in pieces/blocks/periods of, each/every, at a time
もしかして or もし = perhaps, maybe, if
じゃ = if/then/in the case of _
みたい = apparently, seems like, resembles
らしい = apparently, seems like, I heard that, I was told that
ばっかり or ばかり or ばっか = nothing but, lots of (after a noun), only just finished (after a verb)
それに = besides, however, on top of
それにしても = despite, in spite of, although
など = _ and the like, things such as _, etc.
やら = _ and the like, things such as _, _ever, by/with some _
Pronouns and Closely Related Words
Again, just need-to-know vocab plus a bunch that a dictionary isn't much good on. By "interrogative" I mean used to ask a question, by "personal" I mean used to denote a person, by "semi-personal" I mean used to denote either a person or a thing, and by "impersonal" I mean used to denote a thing. These are far from strict categories, and are only here to make it a little easier to wrap your head around the very large number of pronouns and other words I've listed.
Interrogative Pronouns
| 何 (なに or なん) | what? |
| 何か | something (colloquially used to mean somehow/somewhat) |
| 何も or なんにも | nothing (if verb is negative), everything (if verb is positive) |
| なんでも | whatever, whichever, no matter what |
| なんとか | somehow, in some way, by some means |
| なんとなく | somehow, in some way, by some means, without any particular intent of doing so |
| なんか or なんだか | something, somehow, for some reason |
| 誰 (だれ) | who? |
| 誰か | someone, somebody |
| 誰も or 誰にも | no one, nobody (if verb is negative), everybody, everyone (if verb is positive) |
| 誰でも | whoever, whomever |
| 全て (すべて) or 全部 (ぜんぶ) | all, everything |
| 皆 (みな or みんな) | everyone, everybody |
| 何故 (なぜ) or 何で (なんで) | why? for what reason? |
| 何故か | for some reason |
| ここ | here, this place |
| そこ | there, that place (relatively close) |
| あそこ | there, that place (relatively far away) |
| どこ | where? |
| どこか | somewhere |
| どこにも | nowhere (if verb is negative), everywhere (if verb is positive) |
| どこでも | wherever |
| いつ | when? |
| いつか | sometime, someday |
| いつも | never (if verb is negative), always (if verb is positive) |
| いつでも | whenever |
Personal Pronouns
| 〜達 (たち) and 〜等 (ら) | plural suffixes for most of the following pronouns after a name, they mean something like "_ and the other(s) with him/her" |
| 私 (わたし) | I or me | the most common way of referring to oneself, since it implies a mild but not excessive degree of politeness. |
| あたし | I or me | same as わたし, but often preferred by middle-aged adults or teenage girls when not trying to be polite |
| 私 (わたくし) | I or me | a level of politeness above わたし, often used when addressing someone worthy of an honorific like "-sama" or "-dono." |
| 俺 (おれ) | I or me | very popular among teenage males (and tomboys) |
| 僕 (ぼく) | I or me | a slightly childish pronoun usually used by little boys or boyish girls |
| 我 (われ) | I or me | classical pronoun implying either strong pride or authority |
| 我が (わが) | mine | an old-fashioned possessive, often used with a sense of pride or authority |
| 儂 (わし) | I or me | used mostly by old men and women |
| お前 (おまえ) | you | the default second-person pronoun (especially for males) |
| 君 (きみ) | you | more friendly than おまえ, implying that there is some sort of relationship |
| 貴方 (あなた) | you | a second-person pronoun used by females, sometimes used specifically to address her husband |
| あんた | you | a more colloquial version of あなた without the strong connotations |
| てめ | you | used primarily to express contempt of the subject Also, attaching め to the end of any noun or pronoun conveys the same nuance of contempt. |
| 貴様 (きさま) | you | essentially a more formal version of てめ In some contexts this does not convey contempt, but rather an expectation of humility or submission. |
| お主 (おぬし) | you | a very old second-person pronoun |
| 彼 (かれ) | he or him | sometimes implies a close relationship since it's part of the word for boyfriend: 彼氏 (かれし) |
| 彼女 (かのじょ) | she or her | sometimes implies a close relationship since it also means girlfriend |
| 自分 (じぶん) | oneself | i.e., can be myself/yourself/themselves/etc. |
| 己 (おのれ) | oneself | but sounds more old-fashioned. As an interjection, it acts like 貴様 |
Semi-Personal Pronouns
| こいつ | this | can refer to a person (he/she/him/her) or an object (it), so it is often interpreted as either belittling a person or personifying an object |
| そいつ | that (relatively close) | can refer to a person (he/she/him/her) or an object (it), so it is often interpreted as either belittling a person or personifying an object |
| あいつ | that (relatively far away) | can refer to a person (he/she/him/her) or an object (it), so it is often interpreted as either belittling a person or personifying an object |
| どいつ | which, what, who, or whom | can refer to a person (he/she/him/her) or an object (it), so it is often interpreted as either belittling a person or personifying an object |
| こっち | this way, me, or my situation | most often used to contrast with other ways/situations |
| そっち | that way (relatively close), him/her, or his/her situation | most often used to contrast with other ways/situations |
| あっち | that way (relatively far away), him/her, or his/her situation | most often used to contrast with other ways/situations |
| どっち | which way?, who?, or whose situation? | |
Impersonal Pronouns, Demonstratives and More
| これ | this | strictly a pronoun, so これがいい "That is good" is correct but これものがいい "That thing is good" is wrong. |
| この | this | strictly an adjective, so このものがいい "This thing is good" is correct but このがいい "This is good" is wrong. |
| こんな | this, this sort of | strictly an adjective |
| こんなに | this much, this far, to this degree | strictly an adverb |
| こう | this, this way, in this manner, like this | |
| それ | that (relatively close) | strictly a pronoun, so それがいい "That is good" is correct but それものがいい "That thing is good" is wrong. |
| その | that (relatively close) | strictly an adjective, so そのものがいい "That thing is good" is correct but そのがいい "That is good" is wrong. |
| そんな | that, that sort of (relatively close) | strictly an adjective |
| そんなに | that much, that far, to that degree (relatively close) | strictly an adverb |
| そう | that, that way, in that manner, like that (relatively close), that is so, is that so?, I see |
|
| あれ | that (relatively far away) | strictly a pronoun, so あれがいい "That is good" is correct but あれものがいい "That thing is good" is wrong. |
| あの | that (relatively far away) | strictly an adjective, so あのものがいい "That thing is good" is correct but あのがいい "That is good" is wrong. |
| あんな | that, that sort of (relatively far away) | strictly an adjective |
| あんなに | that much, that far, to that degree (relatively far away) | strictly an adverb |
| ああ | that, that way, in that manner, like that (relatively far away) | |
| どれ | which?, what? | strictly a pronoun, so どれがいい "Which is good?" is correct but どれものがいい "Which thing is good?" is wrong. |
| どの | which?, what? | strictly an adjective, so どのものがいい "Which thing is good?" is correct but どのがいい "Which is good?" is wrong. |
| どんな | which?, what?, which sort of?, what sort of? | strictly an adjective |
| どんなに | how much?, how far?, to what degree? | strictly an adverb |
| どう | how?, what?, what way?, in what manner? | see Confusing Vocabulary for common but puzzling phrases using this |
| どうか or どうにか | somehow, somewhat, in some way | usually used to beseech, as in "please, if you could somehow find it in your heart to _" |
Miscellaneous
| いう (not 言う) | means "sort of" after こう, そう, ああ or どう means "that which is/can be called _" after って or と |
|
| くれぐれ | each and every, everything, all of these _ | effectively a special plural of これ |
| それぞれ | each and every, everything, all of those _ | effectively a special plural of それ |
| 相手 (あいて) | refers to the "other" person/group in any context with exactly two people/groups | For example: the object of a crush, an opponent in a duel, a partner in an assignment, someone you talked to one-on-one, etc. |
| 先方 (せんぽう) | refers to the "other" person/group in any context with exactly two people/groups | A more formal version of 相手(あいて), most often used to refer to the "other party" in a legal dispute or business transaction. |
I know it's a lot, but trust me, it's worth it. Thankfully a lot of them fit into neat little sets (especially the impersonals).
Less Simple Example Sentences
Same as last time, except now I'm adding compound particles and grammatical vocabulary to make the sentences a little more complicated. Verb forms will still be grayed out.
Next is Grammar Part 2: Conjugation.