First Greetings (Hiragana & Katakana)

Japanese Writing Systems

The Japanese language consists of three main writing systems: hiragana, katakana, and kanji. This course assumes you already have basic familiarity with hiragana and katakana, as knowing these characters is essential before diving deeper into Japanese studies. If you feel confident, you can skip ahead—but if you'd like a quick refresher, we've included both character sets below.

Learning Note: Hiragana and katakana form the essential foundation for reading and writing Japanese. Investing time now to memorize these characters thoroughly will make your learning journey much smoother.

Hiragana (ひらがな)

Hiragana is used for native Japanese words, grammatical elements, and words for which kanji might be too complex.

	a	i	u	e	o
	あ	い	う	え	お
k	か	き	く	け	こ
s	さ	し	す	せ	そ
t	た	ち	つ	て	と
n	な	に	ぬ	ね	の
h	は	ひ	ふ	へ	ほ
m	ま	み	む	め	も
y	や		ゆ		よ
r	ら	り	る	れ	ろ
w	わ				を
	ん

Katakana (カタカナ)

Katakana is used for foreign words, names, emphasis, and technical terms.

	a	i	u	e	o
	ア	イ	ウ	エ	オ
k	カ	キ	ク	ケ	コ
s	サ	シ	ス	セ	ソ
t	タ	チ	ツ	テ	ト
n	ナ	ニ	ヌ	ネ	ノ
h	ハ	ヒ	フ	ヘ	ホ
m	マ	ミ	ム	メ	モ
y	ヤ		ユ		ヨ
r	ラ	リ	ル	レ	ロ
w	ワ				ヲ
	ン

Tip: Start by learning five characters a day. Begin with the vowels (あいうえお/アイウエオ) and gradually add consonant groups.

Essential Greetings & Phrases

These simple phrases will help you navigate daily situations in Japan:

Basic Greetings

おはようございます

Ohayou gozaimasu

Good morning

Note: Used until around 10-11 AM

こんにちは

Konnichiwa

Hello / Good afternoon

Note: Used during daytime

こんばんは

Konbanwa

Good evening

Note: Used after sunset

はじめまして

Hajimemashite

Nice to meet you

Note: Used when meeting someone for the first time

さようなら

Sayounara

Goodbye

Note: Formal goodbye

Common Courtesies

ありがとうございます

Arigatou gozaimasu

Thank you

Note: Formal thank you

すみません

Sumimasen

Excuse me / I'm sorry / Thank you

Note: Multi-purpose phrase for apologies, getting attention, or gratitude

はい / いいえ

Hai / Iie

Yes / No

Note: Basic affirmation and negation

Self-Introduction

はじめまして。佐良さらです。

Hajimemashite. Sara desu. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu.

Nice to meet you. I'm Sara. I look forward to working with you.

Note: Simple self-introduction

Essential Phrases

お願ねがいします

Onegaishimasu

Please

Note: Used when requesting something

どうぞ

Douzo

Please/Here you go

Note: Used when offering something

わかりました

Wakarimashita

I understand

Note: Confirming you understand

わかりません

Wakarimasen

I don't understand

Note: When you need clarification

いただきます

Itadakimasu

Thanks for the food

Note: Said before eating

Cultural Note: In Japan, greetings are often accompanied by bowing
(お辞儀じぎ).
For casual situations, a slight nod or shallow bow (about 15 degrees) is appropriate.

People & Pronouns

Learn essential words for talking about yourself and others.

Basic Pronouns

Japanese	Romaji	English
私わたし	watashi	I
あなた	anata	you (use sparingly)
彼かれ	kare	he
彼女かのじょ	kanojo	she
これ	kore	this
それ	sore	that
あれ	are	that (over there)

Important People

Japanese	Romaji	English
友達ともだち	tomodachi	friend
先生せんせい	sensei	teacher
学生がくせい	gakusei	student
家族かぞく	kazoku	family

Family (Your Own)

Japanese	Romaji	English
父ちち	chichi	father
母はは	haha	mother
兄あに	ani	older brother
姉あね	ane	older sister

Family (Someone Else's)

Japanese	Romaji	English
お父とうさん	otou-san	father
お母かあさん	okaa-san	mother
お兄にいさん	onii-san	older brother
お姉ねえさん	onee-san	older sister

Tip: In Japanese, pronouns like "I" and "you" are often omitted when clear from context. Using someone's name with -さん is more common than saying "you."

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	a	i	u	e	o
	あ	い	う	え	お
k	か	き	く	け	こ
s	さ	し	す	せ	そ
t	た	ち	つ	て	と
n	な	に	ぬ	ね	の
h	は	ひ	ふ	へ	ほ
m	ま	み	む	め	も
y	や		ゆ		よ
r	ら	り	る	れ	ろ
w	わ				を
	ん

	a	i	u	e	o
	ア	イ	ウ	エ	オ
k	カ	キ	ク	ケ	コ
s	サ	シ	ス	セ	ソ
t	タ	チ	ツ	テ	ト
n	ナ	ニ	ヌ	ネ	ノ
h	ハ	ヒ	フ	ヘ	ホ
m	マ	ミ	ム	メ	モ
y	ヤ		ユ		ヨ
r	ラ	リ	ル	レ	ロ
w	ワ				ヲ
	ン

	a	i	u	e	o
	あ	い	う	え	お
k	か	き	く	け	こ
s	さ	し	す	せ	そ
t	た	ち	つ	て	と
n	な	に	ぬ	ね	の
h	は	ひ	ふ	へ	ほ
m	ま	み	む	め	も
y	や		ゆ		よ
r	ら	り	る	れ	ろ
w	わ				を
	ん

	a	i	u	e	o
	ア	イ	ウ	エ	オ
k	カ	キ	ク	ケ	コ
s	サ	シ	ス	セ	ソ
t	タ	チ	ツ	テ	ト
n	ナ	ニ	ヌ	ネ	ノ
h	ハ	ヒ	フ	ヘ	ホ
m	マ	ミ	ム	メ	モ
y	ヤ		ユ		ヨ
r	ラ	リ	ル	レ	ロ
w	ワ				ヲ
	ン

Lesson 1: First Greetings (Hiragana & Katakana)