100 Japanese Words You Already Know

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Helen Foster is a Sydney-based author, journalist and content creator. She has traveled to Japan six times and is planning trip seven. Her articles on Japan have appeared in publications including Reader's Digest (Asia Pacific), RAC Horizons, Jetstar Magazine, the Japan National Tourism Organisation website and more. She is a digital publisher member of the Australian Society of Travel Writers.

General Foods

Don’t worry about eating in Japan. You probably already know many Japanese food names, like ramen, sushi, and udon, but many other foods can also be pronounced similarly to their English versions.

Hamburger in a bun with cheese, tomato and lettuce. A speech bubble next to it has the Japanese pronunciation 'han-baa-gaa' next to it.

English	Japanese Spelling	Pronunciation
Bacon	ベコン	be-kon
Butter	バター	ba-taa
Cake	ケーキ	kee-ki
Cereal	シリアル	shi-ri-a-ru
Cheese	チーズ	chi-izu
Chips (Fries)	フライドポテト	fu-ra-ido-po-te-to
Chocolate	チョコレート	cho-ko-rē-to
Croissant	クロワッサン	ku-ro-wa-ssan
Curry	カレー	ka-rē
Hamburger	ハンバーガー	han-baa-gaa
Hot dog	ホットドッグ	hotto-doggu
Ice cream	アイスクリーム	a-i-su-ku-rī-mu
Ketchup	ケチャップ	ke-cha-ppu
Mayonnaise	マヨネーズ	ma-yo-ne-zu
Pasta	パスタ	pa-su-ta
Pizza	ピザ	pi-za
Popcorn	ポップコーン	pop-pu-kon
Potato Chips	ポテトチップス	po-te-to chi-pu-su
Salad	サラダ	sa-ra-da
Sandwich	サンドイッチ	san-do-i-chi
Sausage	ソーセージ	so-se-ji
Steak	ステーキ	su-tē-ki
Toast	トースト	too-su-to
Yogurt	ヨーグルト	yoo-gu-ru-to

Fruits

Fruit can be quite expensive in Japan, so you might not get to try all of these, but if you see them, here’s how to say them.

Image of an avocado. A speech bubble next to it has the Japanese pronunciation 'a-ba-ka-do' next to it.

English	Japanese Spelling	Phonetic
Avocado	アバカド	a-ba-ka-do
Banana	バナナ	ba-na-na
Blueberry	ブルベリー	bu-ru-ber-ii
Cherry	チェリー	che-rii
Grapefruit	グレープフルーツ	gu-re-pu-fu-ru-tsu
Kiwi	キーワィ	kii-wi
Lemon	レモン	re-mon
Mango	マンゴ	man-go
Melon	メロン	me-ron
Nectarine	ネクタリン	ne-ku-ta-rin
Orange	オレンジ	or-en-ji
Pineapple	パイナップル	pa-in-app-u-ru

Vegetables

One thing people say they find hard about eating in Japan is that there aren’t many vegetables in the meals – that doesn’t have to be the case, and here’s how to ask for some of your favourites.

A display of sliced tomatoes. A speech bubble next to it has the Japanese pronunciation 'to-ma-to' next to it.

English	Japanese Spelling	Phonetic
Asparagus	アスパラガス	a-su-pa-ra-ga-su
Broccoli	ブロッコリー	bu-rok-ko-rii
Cauliflower	カリフラワー	ka-ri-fu-ra-waa
Celery	セロリ	se-ro-ri
Leek	リーキー	rii-kii
Lettuce	レタス	re-ta-su
Mushroom	マッシュルーム	ma-sshu-ru-mu
Peas	グリーンピース	gu-riin-pii-su
Tomato	トマト	to-ma-to
Zucchini	ズッキーニ	zuk-kii-ni

Drinks

You won’t have to miss out on your morning coffee. Not only are there vending machines everywhere selling a daily caffeine fix, but the word for coffee is also pretty easy to remember, as are some other common drinks.

Hand pouring milk into a cup of coffee with a latte art design of a flower. A speech bubble next to it has the Japanese pronunciation 'ko-hi' next to it.

English	Japanese Spelling	Phonetic
Beer	ビール	bi-i-ru
Coffee	コーヒー	ko-hi
Cola	コラ	ko-ra
Juice	ジュース	ji-u-su
Milk	ミルク	mi-ru-ku
Wine	ワイン	wa-in

Getting to Places

Ask where something isn’t might not be hard if you’re looking for one of these destinations…

Server at Ichiran restaurant in Japan, hands a bowl of ramen through the window. A speech bubble next to it has the Japanese pronunciation 're-su-to-ran' next to it.

English	Japanese Spelling	Phonetic
Escalator	エスカレーター	e-su-ka-ree-taa
Hotel	ホテル	ho-te-ru
Lift	エレベーター	e-re-beta
Restaurant	レストラン	re-su-to-ra-n
Supermarket	スーパー	suu-paa
Toilet	トイレ	to-i-re

Related Read: If that bowl of ramen above looks good, it’s from the chain Ichrian. See what makes this so popular, and find out how to use their unique ordering system in our guide to Ichiran.

Transport Words

Getting around is easy if you use these methods of transport – and there are a few other helpful words you might use when travelling here too.

Tokyo Disney monorail on it's tracks. A speech bubble next to it has the Japanese pronunciation 'mo-no-ree-ru' next to it.

English	Japanese Spelling	Pronunciation
Bike	バイク	ba-i-ku
Bus	バス	ba-su
Check in	チェックイン	che-kku-in
Ferry	フェリー	fe-rii
Luggage Locker	コインロッカー	ko-in-ro-kka
Monorail	モノレール	mo-no-ree-ru
Passport	パスポート	pa-su-po-to
Seatbelt	シートベルト	shii-to-be-ru-to
Taxi	タクシー	ta-ku-shii
Ticket (bus/train)	チケット	chi-ke-tto

Things You Might Need In Your Hotel

If you get to your hotel room and something is missing, or you don’t know how it works, the good news is, it might be easier to ask for that you think.

Hanging bed in the BnB Alter Hotel in Kyoto. A speech bubble next to it has the Japanese pronunciation 'bed-do' next to it.

English	Japanese (カタカナ)	Pronunciation
Air-con	エアコン	e-a-kon
Bed	ベッド	bed-do
Charger	チャージャー	chaa-jaa
Coat Hanger	ハンガー	han-gaa
Cot	ベビーベッド	be-bii-bed-do
Heater	ヒーター	hii-taa
Iron	アイロン	a-i-ron
Key	キー	kii
Pyjamas	パシャマ	pa-ja-ma
Remote Control	リモコン	ri-mo-kon
Shampoo	シャンプー	shan-pū
Sheets	シーツ	shii-tsu
Shower Gel	シャワーシェル	sha-wa-je-ru
Toilet Roll	トイレットペーパー	toi-re-tto-pee-paa
Towel	タオル	ta-o-ru
Wifi	Wifi (some things are universal)	wa-i-fa-i
Wifi Password	Wi-Fiパスワード	wa-i-fa-i-pa-su-waa-do

Other Things You Might Need

That’s already covered a lot, but here are a few other things you might need on your trip

Knife and fork sit next to a white plate. A speech bubble next to it has the Japanese pronunciation 'foo-ku and na-ifu' next to it.

English	Japanese Spelling	Pronunciation
Battery	バッテリー	ba-tte-rii
Baby Food	ベビーフド	be-bii-fu-do
Camera	カメラ	ka-me-ra
Condom	コンドーム	kon-doo-mu
Cup	カップ	ka-ppu
Fork	フォーク	foo-ku
Hairbrush	ヘアブラシ	he-a-bu-ra-shi
Knife	ナイフ	na-i-fu
Menu	メニュー	me-n-yuu
Pen	ペン	pen
Receipt	レしート	re-shii-to
Sim Card	SIMカード	shi-mu-kaa-do
Spoon	スプーン	su-puun
Suitcase	スーツケース	suu-tsu-kee-su
Tampon	タンポン	tan-pon

See, you know more Japanese than you think. If you combine these with some of our essential Japanese phrases you could be chatting away about all sorts! And don’t worry if language isn’t your thing, there’s a lot more English in Japan than you might think.