📚 Essential Vocabulary Reference Guide with Romaji 🗾

Complete Pronunciation Guide! 🎤

This reference sheet includes all essential vocabulary with kanji, hiragana, romaji, and English meanings. Perfect for quick lookup and practice!

graph TD A[Romaji Pronunciation Tips] --> B[Long vowels
oo, uu, ei] A --> C[Double consonants
tt, kk, pp] A --> D["Particle は
pronounced wa"] A --> E["Particle を
pronounced o"] A --> F["ん before b/p/m
sounds like m"]

🎨 Colors (Iro / いろ / 色)

Colors with Full Romaji

Kanji Hiragana Romaji English Adjective Form 赤あか aka red 赤い (akai) 青あお ao blue/green 青い (aoi) 黄色きいろ kiiro yellow 黄色い (kiiroi) 緑みどり midori green 緑の (midori no) 黒くろ kuro black 黒い (kuroi) 白しろ shiro white 白い (shiroi) 紫むらさき murasaki purple 紫の (murasaki no) 茶色ちゃいろ chairo brown 茶色い (chairoi) 灰色はいいろ haiiro gray 灰色の (haiiro no) ピンクぴんく pinku pink ピンクの (pinku no) 💡 Tip: い-adjectives can directly modify nouns, の is needed for the others

🍱 Food & Drink (Tabemono to Nomimono / たべものとのみもの / 食べ物と飲み物)

Complete Food Vocabulary with Romaji

Category Japanese Romaji English 🍚 Staples ご飯 gohan rice/meal パン pan bread 麺 men noodles 🥩 Proteins 肉 niku meat 魚 sakana fish 卵 tamago egg 豆腐 toufu tofu 🥬 Vegetables 野菜 yasai vegetables 果物 kudamono fruit 🍜 Popular Dishes ラーメン raamen ramen 寿司 sushi sushi 天ぷら tempura tempura カレー karee curry 🥤 Drinks 水 mizu water お茶 ocha tea コーヒー koohii coffee ジュース juusu juice 👅 Tastes 美味しい oishii delicious 甘い / 辛い amai / karai sweet / spicy 苦い / 酸っぱい nigai / suppai bitter / sour

⏰ Time Expressions (Jikan / じかん / 時間)

Time Vocabulary with Romaji

Japanese Romaji English Notes 今 ima now 今日 kyou today 明日 ashita tomorrow あした昨日 kinou yesterday きのう朝 asa morning 昼 hiru noon/daytime 夜 yoru night 午前 gozen AM 午後 gogo PM 〜時 ~ji o'clock hour marker 〜分 ~fun/pun minutes changes with number 半 han half past e.g., 3時半 = 3:30

📅 Days & Dates (Youbi to Hizuke / ようびとひづけ / 曜日と日付)

Days, Months & Dates with Romaji

Days of Week Months (Number + gatsu) 月曜日 - getsuyoubi - Monday 1月 - ichigatsu - January 7月 - shichigatsu - July ⚠️ 火曜日 - kayoubi - Tuesday 2月 - nigatsu - February 8月 - hachigatsu - August 水曜日 - suiyoubi - Wednesday 3月 - sangatsu - March 9月 - kugatsu - Sept ⚠️ 木曜日 - mokuyoubi - Thursday 4月 - shigatsu - April ⚠️ 10月 - juugatsu - October 金曜日 - kinyoubi - Friday 5月 - gogatsu - May 11月 - juuichigatsu - Nov 土曜日 - doyoubi - Saturday 6月 - rokugatsu - June 12月 - juunigatsu - Dec 日曜日 - nichiyoubi - Sunday Tip: Element + youbi! Special Date Readings (Must Memorize!) 1日 - tsuitachi - 1st 6日 - muika - 6th 14日 - juuyokka - 14th 2日 - futsuka - 2nd 7日 - nanoka - 7th 20日 - hatsuka - 20th 3日 - mikka - 3rd 8日 - youka - 8th 24日 - nijuuyokka - 24th 4日 - yokka - 4th 9日 - kokonoka - 9th Others: # + nichi 5日 - itsuka - 5th 10日 - touka - 10th e.g., 15日 = juugonichi ⚠️ These special readings are used for dates AND counting days! Common Date Phrases 今日は何月何日ですか？ - Kyou wa nangatsu nannichi desu ka? - What's today's date? 12月25日です - Juunigatsu nijuugonichi desu - It's December 25th

☀️ Weather & Seasons (Tenki to Kisetsu / てんきときせつ / 天気と季節)

Weather & Seasons with Romaji

Weather Conditions Temperature 晴れ - hare - sunny 暑い - atsui - hot 曇り - kumori - cloudy 暖かい - atatakai - warm 雨 - ame - rain 涼しい - suzushii - cool 雪 - yuki - snow 寒い - samui - cold 風 - kaze - wind 蒸し暑い - mushiatsui - humid 台風 - taifuu - typhoon Four Seasons 春 - haru - spring 夏 - natsu - summer 秋 - aki - autumn/fall 冬 - fuyu - winter Special: 梅雨 (tsuyu) - rainy season (June-July) 季節 (kisetsu) - season 今日はいい天気ですね - Kyou wa ii tenki desu ne - Nice weather today!

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Family Members (Kazoku / かぞく / 家族)

Family Terms with Romaji (Two Systems)

My Family (Humble) Others' Family (Polite) 父 - chichi - my father お父さん - otousan - father 母 - haha - my mother お母さん - okaasan - mother 両親 - ryoushin - my parents ご両親 - go-ryoushin - parents 兄 - ani - my older brother お兄さん - oniisan - older brother 姉 - ane - my older sister お姉さん - oneesan - older sister 弟 - otouto - my younger brother 弟さん - otoutosan - younger brother 妹 - imouto - my younger sister 妹さん - imoutosan - younger sister 息子 - musuko - my son 息子さん - musukosan - son 娘 - musume - my daughter 娘さん - musumesan - daughter 夫 - otto - my husband ご主人 - goshujin - husband 妻 - tsuma - my wife 奥さん - okusan - wife 祖父 - sofu - my grandfather おじいさん - ojiisan - grandfather 祖母 - sobo - my grandmother おばあさん - obaasan - grandmother 孫 - mago - my grandchild お孫さん - omagosan - grandchild ⚠️ Critical: Never use polite forms for your own family! Example: 私の母 (watashi no haha) NOT 私のお母さん

🔢 Numbers (Suuji / すうじ / 数字)

Complete Number System with Romaji

Numbers 1-10 (Two Systems) Larger Numbers 1 - 一 (ichi) / ひとつ (hitotsu) 20 - 二十 (nijuu) 2 - 二 (ni) / ふたつ (futatsu) 30 - 三十 (sanjuu) 3 - 三 (san) / みっつ (mittsu) 100 - 百 (hyaku) 4 - 四 (shi/yon) / よっつ (yottsu) 200 - 二百 (nihyaku) 5 - 五 (go) / いつつ (itsutsu) 300 - 三百 (sanbyaku) ⚠️ 6 - 六 (roku) / むっつ (muttsu) 1,000 - 千 (sen) 7 - 七 (shichi/nana) / ななつ (nanatsu) 3,000 - 三千 (sanzen) ⚠️ 8 - 八 (hachi) / やっつ (yattsu) 10,000 - 一万 (ichiman) 9 - 九 (kyuu/ku) / ここのつ (kokonotsu) 100,000 - 十万 (juuman) 10 - 十 (juu) / とお (too) Essential Counters with Examples People: 〜人 (nin/ri) → 一人 (hitori), 二人 (futari), 三人 (sannin) Small objects: 〜つ → ひとつ (hitotsu), ふたつ (futatsu), みっつ (mittsu) Flat things: 〜枚 (mai) → 一枚 (ichimai), 二枚 (nimai), 三枚 (sanmai) Long objects: 〜本 (hon/bon/pon) → 一本 (ippon), 二本 (nihon), 三本 (sanbon) Time/o'clock: 〜時 (ji) → 一時 (ichiji), 二時 (niji), 三時 (sanji), 四時 (yoji) 💡 When unsure about counters, use the native Japanese counting: hitotsu, futatsu, mittsu... ⚠️ Sound Changes: h→p/b (本 hon→pon/bon), s→z (千 sen→zen), k→g (軒 ken→gen)

📝 Quick Reference: Essential Phrases

Daily Life Phrases with Romaji

🛒 Shopping 🍜 Restaurant いくらですか？注文お願いします Ikura desu ka? - How much? Chuumon onegaishimasu - Order please これをくださいお水をください Kore wo kudasai - This please Omizu wo kudasai - Water please 袋はいりませんごちそうさまでした Fukuro wa irimasen - No bag needed Gochisousama deshita - Thanks for meal 📅 Time/Schedule ☀️ Weather Talk 今何時ですか？今日は暑いですね Ima nanji desu ka? - What time now? Kyou wa atsui desu ne - Hot today 明日会いましょう雨が降りそうです Ashita aimashou - Let's meet tomorrow Ame ga furisou desu - Looks like rain 何曜日ですか？いい天気ですね Nan youbi desu ka? - What day? Ii tenki desu ne - Nice weather

🎯 Pronunciation Tips for Romaji

Romaji Pronunciation Guide

Rule Example Pronunciation Double vowels = long sound oo in okaasan hold the "o" longer ei often sounds like "ee" sensei sen-see (not sen-say) Double consonants = pause kitte (stamp) kit-te (small pause) R sounds like soft D/L ramen, arigato between R and L F is soft (lips barely touch) futon, fugu almost like "hu" N before b/p/m → M sound senpai, kanpai sem-pai, kam-pai U often silent at end desu, masu des, mas I often silent between s/sh sushi, shita sush, shta

🏆 Your Vocabulary Mastery Checklist!

Can you...

☐ Name all colors and use them as adjectives?
☐ Order food and drinks in a restaurant?
☐ Tell time and make appointments?
☐ Say all days of the week and months?
☐ Use special date numbers (1st-10th)?
☐ Describe weather and seasons?
☐ Talk about your family correctly (humble forms)?
☐ Count objects using appropriate counters?
☐ Read romaji with proper pronunciation?

基本語彙マスター完成！
(Kihon goi masutaa kansei!)
Basic Vocabulary Master Complete! 🎊
You're ready for real conversations! 会話を楽しんで！