The first thing you’ll do when you arrive in Japan is get something to eat, but there’s one problem: how do you actually order food in Japanese at a restaurant? If you want to dine at your local sushi restaurant or order a beer at an izakaya (Japanese bar), knowing how to order in Japanese will make your life much easier, rather than resorting to pointing and hand charades. 

So, how do restaurants work in Japan, and what should you be aware of? Let’s find out the best expressions to politely order your desired dish or drink at a restaurant in Japan.

What You’ll Hear When You’re in a Restaurant in Japan

When you first enter a restaurant, you will be greeted with an enthusiastic いらっしゃいませ (irrashaimase), which means “Welcome!” You don’t need to necessarily respond, but if you wish, you can say a simple Japanese greeting like こんにちは (konnichiwa) in return. Then, depending on the restaurant, you may have to order at the counter or, in many ramen shops, order the ramen from a vending machine that issues a ticket you give to the staff.

But usually, if it’s a dine-in restaurant, where you order at the table, the staff will ask you how many people are in your party. This is one of the most common expressions you might hear:

何名様ですか？
Nanmei sama desuka?
How many people?

So, this expression uses a Japanese counter for counting people, 名 (mei). With the word 何 (nan) meaning “what” or, in this case, “how many,” the phrase 何名 (nanmei) means “how many people?” The suffix 様 (sama) is added to make the phrase more formal, showing the customer greater regard.

Now, let’s break down how you can respond.

How to Say the Number of People (Japanese Person Counters)

To say how many people you are eating with, you may need to remember a few Japanese numbers. On top of that, you would need to conjugate to the correct counter. You could simply attach the counter 名 (mei). For example, this is what you could reply to staff asking how many people you are with.

Example: 

スタッフ：いらっしゃいませ！何名様ですか？
Sutaffu: Irrashaimase! Nanmei samadesuka？
Staff: Welcome! How many people are you with?

あなた：2名です。
Anata: ni mei desu.
You: There are 2 of us.

So, if you already know the Japanese numbers, you just have to attach 名 to them. However, keep in mind that for 4, you would say “yonmei” and not “shimei,” and for 7, it would be nanamei rather than shichimei. Also, this isn’t the only counter you can use for people; you can use the 〜人 (~nin) counter, which translates to “~person/people.” 

You can simply add the Japanese number plus the counter 〜人; for instance, for three, or さん (san); you would only need to say さん人 (san nin). However, note that the pronunciation differs for one and two. For one, you would say hitori, and for two, you would say futari. Here is how to use the 〜人 counter to indicate how many people you are with.

Example 2:

スタッフ：いらっしゃいませ！何名様ですか？
Sutaffu: Irrashaimase! Nanmei samadesuka？
Staff: Welcome! How many people are you with?

あなた：2人です。
Anata: futari desu.
You: 2 people.

Both counters will essentially express the same thing, so you can use either one. Take a look at our table showing the Japanese numbers from 1 to 10, along with how to say them in hiragana and romaji using the 〜名 and 〜人 counters.

Numbers	Kango (Basic Numbers)	〜名 People Counter	〜人 People Counter
1	いち (ichi)	いちめい (ichimei)	ひとり (hitori)
2	に (ni)	にめい (nimei)	ふたり (futari)
3	さん (san)	さんめい (sanmei)	さんにん (sannin)
4	し (shi) / よん (yon)	よんめい (yonmei)	よんにん (yonnin)
5	ご (go)	ごめい (gomei)	ごにん (gonin)
6	ろく (roku)	ろくめい (rokumei)	ろくにん (rokunin)
7	しち (shichi) / なな (nana)	ななめい (nanamei)	ななにん (nananin)
8	はち (hachi)	はちめい (hachimei)	はちにん (hachinin)
9	きゅう (kyuu) / く (ku)	きゅうめい (kyuumei)	きゅうにん (kyuunin)
10	じゅう (juu)	じゅうめい (juumei)	じゅうにん (juunin)

Getting the Waiter’s Attention in Japan

So, after you’re seated, you will often hear the waiter say something like the following:

お決まりになりましたら、お呼びください。
Okimari ni narimashitara, oyobi kudasai.
When you’ve decided on your order, please let us know.

Some restaurants have a button you can press a button to call staff; this is especially common at yakiniku restaurants. However, you often will have to call the staff yourself. To do this (respectfully) is just to simply say すみません (sumimasen), which translates to “excuse me!” 

When it’s crowded and difficult for staff to see you, this すみません is a very polite and respectful way to get their attention, even if you have to raise your voice over the noise. Alternatively, you can also gesture to the staff that you’re ready to order by either making eye contact or raising your hand.

Basic Expressions for Ordering at a Restaurant in Japanese

Now, let’s actually get into ordering food in Japanese. Whether you have to order at the counter or at the table, the basic expression you use doesn’t change much. You just simply need to say the food you want plus お願いします (onegaishimasu) or ください (kudasi), which both mean something similar to “please” in Japanese. The easiest way to order is to simply point to the item you want on the menu and say, “This, please.”

これをお願いします。
Kore o onegaishimasu.
I’ll have this, please.

これをください。
Kore o kudasai.
I’ll have this, please.

Both of these expressions are polite and respectful ways to place your order in Japanese. And if you know how to say the specific item you want, all you have to do is replace これ (kore)! For instance, if you want to order a tempura shrimp udon, you can say this.

Example:

スタッフ：ご注文どうぞ。
Sutaffu: gochumon douzu.
Staff: Feel free to let me know your order.

あなた：エビ天うどんをお願いします。

Anata: Ebi ten udon o onegaishimasu.

You: I’ll have the shrimp tempura, please.

Expressing Quantity when Ordering at a Restaurant in Japanese

However, it’s helpful to include the quantity of the item you want; just as with people, you have to conjugate numbers for food quantities. To express the number of food items, you can use the general counter 〜つ, which uses the 和語 (wago) pronunciation and is similar to ひとり (hitori) and ふたり (futari) from the 〜人 counter. The difference is that every number from 1 to 10 is conjugated differently, rather than the first two. 

Example:

お茶を1つお願いします。
Ocha o hitotsu onegaishimasu.
I’ll have 1 tea, please.

Since 〜つ is a general counter, you can use it to indicate the number of drinks as well. You usually place the quantity after the particle を (o), which is used for indicating the object of the sentence: tea or お茶 in this case.

Numbers	Wago (〜つ Counter)
1	ひとつ (hitotsu)
2	ふたつ (futatsu)
3	みっつ (mittsu)
4	よっつ (yottsu)
5	いつつ (itsutsu)
6	むっつ (muttsu)
7	ななつ (nanatsu)
8	やっつ (yattsu)
9	ここのつ (kokonotsu)
10	とお (too)

Ordering Multiple Items at a Restaurant in Japanese

So, how do you order multiple items at once?

You can simply list them, or add と (to), which means “and” in Japanese. Rather than repeating onegaishimasu for every item, you can list each item and say お願いします at the end. Here is how you can do this, even while ordering for more than 1 person.

Example:

チーズバーガーを2つ、コーラとビールを1つずつお願いします。
Chiizu baagaa o futatsu, koora to biiru o hitotsu zutsu onegaishimasu.
We’ll have 2 cheeseburgers, a cola, and beer, please.

To order multiple types of items, like food and drinks, you can start with one type, like food, and indicate the quantity, then you can list the drinks. Since you’re ordering two different drinks, you use と to say コーラとビール or “cola and beer.” You probably noticed that ずつ (zutsu) was added after 1つ, which basically just means “each.” So, 1つずつ just means “1 each”.

Wondering how to order and customize coffee at a cafe in Japan? Check out our blog: How to Order and Customize Your Coffee in Japanese

How to Make Common Food and Drink Requests in Japanese

Now, let’s quickly go over some common things you might need to ask when eating at a restaurant in Japan, such as asking for seconds or just some more water. Here are some natural expressions you can use.

1. Asking for Water in Japanese

Water is not always served automatically at restaurants in Japan, the way it might be in other countries. Some places bring it as a matter of course, while others wait for you to ask. Either way, knowing how to ask for water naturally is a handy expression to have ready.
The most natural and widely used way to ask is:

お水を1つお願いします。
Omizu o hitotsu onegaishimasu.
Could I have some water, please?

As with the other expressions on this list, you can use お願いします to respectfully ask for some water. To sound more natural, if you are looking for cold water, you can substitute omizu (お水) with ohiya (お冷).

2. Asking for Another Round in Japanese

Whether it is another serving of rice, a refill of your drink, or an extra portion of a side dish, おかわり (okawari) is the expression you need. It is a very natural and widely understood word that works across all kinds of restaurants and situations.

ビールのおかわりをください。
Biiru no okawari o kudasai.
Another beer, please.

Note that you can also use お願いします in this expression; ください and お願いします are interchangeable in most of these examples. It is worth noting that at many teishokuya and casual restaurants in Japan, rice refills are actually free of charge, so do not be shy about asking for おかわり!

3. How to Ask for Takeout in Japanese

If you would like to take your food home or have leftover food packaged up, there are a couple of natural ways to express this depending on the situation.
Ordering takeout from the start:

テイクアウトでお願いします。
Teikuauto de onegaishimasu.
For takeout, please.

テイクアウト (teikuauto) is the widely understood loanword for takeout and is used at the vast majority of restaurants across Japan. You will often see it written on signs or menus as well. But you might need to be aware that some Japanese restaurants might not let you take out leftovers, but it never hurts to ask. In which case, you can say the following.

残りを持ち帰りにしてもらえますか？
Nokori o mochikaeri ni shite moraemasu ka?
Could you pack up the rest for me to take home?

持ち帰り (mochikaeri), which literally means “taking home,” is the more traditionally Japanese expression for taking food away and is slightly warmer and more natural sounding in a sit-down restaurant context than テイクアウト.

Expressing Dietary Restrictions & Allergies when Ordering in Japanese

Allergies and dietary restrictions are among the most important things to specify when you eat out in Japan, let alone in any country. So, in Japanese, you can directly ask the service staff if an ingredient you can’t eat is in the dish you want to order.

Example:

これにはピーナッツが入っていますか？
Kore niwa piinattsu ga haitte imasuka?
Are there any peanuts in here?

This example works well if you want to point to specific menu items. The phrase 入っています (haitte imasu) basically means “is included,” so you’re literally asking whether peanuts are included in the dish. Usually, the staff will respond with one of the following:

いいえ、ピーナッツは入っていません。
Iie, piinatsu wa haitte imasen.
No, there aren’t any peanuts.

はい、ピーナッツが入っています。
Hai, piinattsu ga haitteimasu. 
Yes, there are peanuts. 

So, if the staff says peanuts (or any ingredient you’re asking about) are in fact in the dish you want to order, you will need to make it clear that you strictly cannot consume that ingredient. So, if it’s an allergy, you can say this.

Example

ピーナッツアレルギーがあるのですが、ピーナッツが入っていないメニューはありますか？
Piinattsu arerugii ga aru no desu ga, piinattsu ga haitte inai menyuu wa arimasu ka?
I have a peanut allergy. Do you have any menu items that don’t contain peanuts?

The term アレルギー (arerugii) means “allergy,” and is actually taken directly from English, so hopefully that’ll make it easier to remember! To say you have an allergy, you can use the verb ある (aru), meaning “to have.” 

The second phrase directly asks whether there are any items on the menu that don’t contain peanuts. The phrase ピーナッツが入っていないメニュー (piinatsu ga haitte inai menyuu) is a negative version of 入っている (haitteiru) from earlier and attaches it to メニュー (menyuu) or “menu,” short for “menu items.”

If you want to know more terms for allergens and ingredients, read our blog: How To Read Japanese Nutrition & Food Labels

Asking for the Bill in Japanese

There is actually a Japanese hand gesture for requesting the bill: cross your index fingers to make a small “x.” This is a great non-verbal way to let staff know you’re ready for the bill, especially when it’s crowded and noisy. But you can also use a common phrase with the term, お会計 (okaikei), which means “bill.” Here is a polite expression you can use.

Example: 

すみません、お会計お願いします。
Sumimasen, okaikei onegaishimasu.
Excuse me, can I get the check, please?

You can use すみません to get the wait staff’s attention. Then, to ask for the bill, simply attach お願いします (onegaishimasu) to お会計 to politely ask for the bill. That’s it, pretty easy, right? If you really enjoyed your dish, you can yell out ごちそうさまでした！ (gochisousama deshita!), meaning something like “thank you for the delicious meal!” right before leaving.

Read more: How to Ask for the Bill in Japanese

Types of Restaurants in Japan and General Customs of Ordering in Japanese

As in any other country, there are a variety of restaurants in Japan, from fast-casual to formal full-course restaurants. We will just go over a general overview of typical restaurants you will run into in Japan:

1. 居酒屋 Izakaya

Izakayas are essentially the Japanese equivalent of pubs, where you order shareable food to pair with alcoholic beverages. Most izakayas are known for the large selection of drinks, including cocktails, sours, and beer. However, don’t underestimate the food; there are plenty of izakayas known for incredible dishes ranging from Japanese comfort food to international cuisines like Thai.

2. 定食屋 Teishokuya

Teishokuya are casual, no-frills restaurants that specialize in 定食 (teishoku) or “set meals”, which typically consist of a main dish, rice, miso soup, and a small side dish or pickles, all served together at a fixed price. They are the Japanese equivalent of a home-cooked meal out, simple, hearty, and affordable

3. ファミレス Famiresu

ファミレス (Famiresu) is a contraction of ファミリーレストラン (famirii resutoran), meaning “family restaurant,” and refers to casual, family-friendly chain restaurants similar to diners in the Western world. Popular chains include ガスト (Gusto), サイゼリヤ (Saizeriya), and デニーズ (Denny’s Japan). They are known for their wide-ranging menus, which cover everything from pasta and pizza to Japanese dishes and desserts, making them a reliable option for groups with varied tastes.

4. 焼肉 Yakiniku

焼肉 literally means “grilled meat” and refers to the Japanese style of barbecue, where you grill your own meat and vegetables at a gas or charcoal grill at your table. You order cuts of meat, typically beef, pork, or offal, along with vegetables and dipping sauces, and grill everything yourself to your own liking. Many offer all-you-can-eat options called 食べ放題 (tabehoudai), which are great value if you have a big appetite.

5. 鉄板焼き Teppanyaki

Teppanyaki just refers to a cooking style in which food is prepared on a large iron griddle, often right in front of you. Unlike yakiniku, where you cook the food yourself, at a 鉄板焼き restaurant, a skilled chef cooks your meal tableside, which is part of the experience itself. Dishes typically include steak, seafood, and vegetables, and the theatrics of watching a chef at work make it a popular choice for special occasions. While they can range from casual to formal, they tend to be on the pricier side.

6. 懐石 Kaiseki

Kaiseki is Japan’s most refined and prestigious style of dining — a multi-course meal that showcases seasonal ingredients prepared with extraordinary care and technique. Each course is carefully chosen to reflect the season, the region, and the chef’s artistry, and meals are typically served in a traditional setting with meticulous attention to presentation. Kaiseki restaurants are generally formal, and reservations are usually required well in advance,

So, ordering food will differ from restaurant to restaurant. Many casual dine-in and ファミレス (famiresu) restaurants will likely have you order on a tablet or via a QR code you scan on your phone. More often than not, there is an option to switch the menu to English. 

But it’s still common to order your food directly from the waiter, in which case you’ll need a few key phrases in your back pocket. Luckily, most phrases are very simple and just require remembering a few polite expressions. And you can always point at the menu if you’re not sure how to say the food you want. Many of us who have been in Japan for years will come across dishes with kanji that we are not too sure about, so even after all these years, we are not embarrassed to point at the item we want.

Conclusion: Try Ordering at a Restaurant in Japanese!

Ordering at a restaurant in Japanese might seem overwhelming, but it really only includes a few simple phrases like お願いします！ (onegaishimasu!). When it comes to allergies or dietary restrictions, just remember the ingredients you can’t eat and kindly let the staff know. Next time you’re at a restaurant in Japan, try to order your food and drinks in Japanese! It’ll help your order go more smoothly and let you express what you want more efficiently!

Practice Ordering in Japanese at Coto Academy

If you want to practice ordering at a restaurant in Japanese, as well as other essential expressions for everyday life, join Coto Academy! We have professional Japanese teachers who can coach you to fluency by helping you use more natural phrases like a native speaker. We offer a variety of courses, including conversation-focused, JLPT, and comprehensive language classes. 

Whatever your goals or needs, we have them! We have campuses in Shinjuku, Shibuya, Minato, Iidabashi, and Yokohama. But if you’re not in Japan, feel free to join us online from anywhere around the world! Ready to sign up, or just want to get in touch to find more? Fill out the form below!

FAQ:

How do you order in a Japanese restaurant?

The simplest and most natural way to place an order is to say the item you want, followed by お願いします (onegaishimasu), which means “please.” This works in virtually any restaurant setting, from casual to formal, and is the safest, most universally understood way to make a request.

How do you ask for another round in Japanese?

Use おかわり (okawari), which means “refill” or “another round,” followed by お願いします. You can say おかわりお願いします on its own for a general refill, or specify the item beforehand for a more specific one.

How do you ask for takeout in Japanese?

Simply say テイクアウト (teikuauto), or “takeout,” followed by お願いします. This is widely understood at virtually any restaurant in Japan and is often all you need to say. You can also use the phrase お持ち帰り (omochi kaeri), which means the same thing but sounds a bit more natural, and perhaps warmer in a sit-down setting.

How do you say I have an allergy in Japanese?

The natural way to express an allergy is 〜のアレルギーがあります (~ no arerugii ga arimasu) meaning “I have a ~ allergy”, followed by 〜なしでできますか？ (~ nashi de dekimasu ka?) which means “is it possible to make it without ~?” to ask for the ingredient to be removed.

In Japanese, just like any other language, saying “you” or addressing someone properly is one of the most important basics. However, there are multiple ways to address others, with many words that mean “you” in Japanese, and the trickiest part is using the right word in the right context while being polite and respectful.

While most of these words refer to one word, “you” in English, the wrong word can be considered rude or offensive in Japanese. That’s why it is important to understand what context is appropriate for addressing someone correctly. For example, you probably want to avoid calling your boss something like “darling” in Japanese.

But worry not! It’s not as overwhelming as it seems, so let’s find out how you can respectfully address others in Japanese!

Polite Ways to Say “You” in Japanese

1. 貴方 (あなた) Anata

Found in textbooks, あなた (anata) is the most basic word for ‘you.’ It is usually used by strangers who do not know the name or anything else about the person they are addressing. It can also mean “darling” when used by wives to address their husbands. Because of that, it is inappropriate to call someone you know あなた, such as your boss.

Directly referring to people as あなた can also come across as direct and rude. Japanese culture tends to value indirectness since it’s seen as less direct and more respectful. This might be why passive voice is more common in Japanese compared to English. So, the most respectful way to refer to someone is to drop the “you” altogether, but we will discuss how you can do that in a bit.

Note that the kanji, 貴方, is rarely used; usually it is written in hiragana as あなた.

2. 諸君 (しょくん) Shokun

諸君 literally translates to “you people,” which sounds a bit rude in English, so it more closely conveys something like “ladies and gentlemen.” It is a very polite way of addressing a group of people.

Casual Ways to Say “You” in Japanese

3. 君 (きみ) Kimi

Occasionally used to address others, 君 can be considered condescending if used in inappropriate situations. 君 is meant to be used by people of a higher status than those below them, such as adults to children and teachers to students. It can also be used to represent intimacy romantically, such as in 君の名は (Kimi no Na wa) Your Name, a romance anime. Thus, it is also a word used by couples. 

4. お前 (おまえ) Omae

Commonly used between friends in informal situations, it is rude to address someone outside of your social circle お前. Being a masculine word, it is also used romantically by husbands to address their wives. 

5. あんた Anta

A shortened form of 貴方, it is also considered less formal. Previously used to address people of a higher status, it is considered disrespectful today. Mostly used by women and people in a close social circle in informal conversations.

Rude Ways to Say “You” in Japanese (Should Avoid Saying)

6. 手前 (てまえ) Temae

This is a very rude word that is hardly used by anyone in real life, though it can be commonly found in Japanese media like manga and anime. You often see fictional characters use it to address others when they are angry or even want to insult them. You would rarely hear it being used in actual Japanese conversation, even in a heated argument.

If you do happen to use it, people might find it kind of funny or just out of place and think you watch too many cartoons. Overall, we wouldn’t recommend using this term at all. 

7. 己 Onore

Similar to 手前, it is mostly seen only in Japanese media used to curse at others. However, depending on context, onore can also mean ‘oneself’ or ‘myself’. 

8. 貴様 (きさま) Kisama

Even though it used to be a respectful term, it is now considered very rude to address someone as 貴様 and is mostly only used in Japanese media; you might recognize it from popular Japanese video game characters like Kazuya or Heihachi. It is an extremely derogatory word, often used by powerful villains or kings who think themselves above others.

Dialects 

Different regions in Japan have their own dialects, and some words can have different meanings depending on where they are spoken. Here are some examples.  

1. あんた Anta: In Kinki (Western Japan), it is a friendly and endearing word, but in Kanto (Eastern Japan), it is considered rude and insulting
2. わい Wai: Depending on the region, it can mean either ‘I’ or ‘You.’ 
3. 自分 (じぶん) Jibun: Kansai dialect that means ‘You’ depending on the context. Originally, it means ‘I’. 
4. きさん Ki san: Kyushu dialect that is a variation of 貴様 (きさま) but is considered less rude and not used against enemies 

Most Common Ways to Say “You” in Japanese

In Japan, more often than not, people address each other through context where they completely omit pronouns such as “you”. It might be weird when translated into another language like English, but this is how Japanese is naturally spoken.

When people address each other, they do so using the other person’s name, title, or position. Many Japanese people use this in formal and informal conversations, depending on the context. Honorifics are added behind their names as a form of politeness and respect. 

Besides “you”, there are other ways to say “I” or “myself” in Japanese, including ore, boku and watashi. Read our blog to find more: How to Refer to Yourself in Japanese

When in Doubt, Alternative Ways of Saying “You” in Japanese

Luckily, most Japanese people don’t use “you” as it’s often unnecessary, and it might be better not to since it can be seen as rather rude. So, when in doubt, just don’t say “you” at all.

Instead, here are a few easier ways to avoid unnecessary glares and question marks.

Use their honorifics

9. さん (San)

さん is an honorific title which translates to “Mr”, “Mrs”, “Miss”, and “Ms ” in English. It is a polite way to address someone and the most common since it is neutral and widely applicable to just about any situation. 

10. ちゃん (Chan)

ちゃん (chan) is used by people familiar with one another. It communicates a sense of cuteness and is usually used to refer to young women, close friends, children, lovers, or pets. It’s generally used to express endearment to someone.

11. くん (Kun)

A male honorific is generally used to refer to men and by superiors addressing those below them. It is not a very polite honorific and is only used between men and women who are close.

Want to learn more about Japanese honorifics? Also, check out our more complete guide on Japanese honorific titles!

12. さま (Sama)

さま is the most formal honorific and is a higher version of さん. It is only used in specific situations, such as addressing Japanese deities or customers. It is a form of Japanese Keigo that is commonly used in the Japanese workplace.

Formal Japanese can be confusing and complex; so check out our guide to learn everything you need to know: Japanese Keigo ( Formal Japanese). 

Addressing Someone with their First Name, Last Name, or Title

13. Last name

Using the last name alone is usually done in a casual and friendly context, such as between classmates. It is considered impolite to call someone by their last name alone; thus, honorifics are added. For instance, with your manager, it is better to use their last name along with the suffix, 〜さん (~san).

14. First name

First-name basis is considered a big deal to Japanese people. The rule of thumb is this: never address them by their first name unless they allow it. People usually use first names when they are family members, friends, or romantic partners. Among colleagues of the same level, usually a suffix is used, even if it’s 〜ちゃん (~chan), since using a first name alone can feel a bit cold.

15. Title

It is also common to address others by their titles, especially when you need to express respect to someone of higher status.

1. 先生 (せんせい). Sensei isn’t just for teachers. Rather, view it as a title. Whenever you’re talking or addressing doctors, lawyers, authors, artists, or politicians, always add “sensei” after their last name.
2. 先輩 (せんぱい). Use senpai to talk to your seniors, be it at school or the workplace.
3. 社長 (しゃちょう) Shacho, which translates to president.

Conclusion: Addressing Others in Japanese Usually Doesn’t Involve “You”

In Japanese, it is often best to avoid saying “you” at all. It’s common in Japanese to omit certain words, especially subject terms like “you.” It may feel unnatural at first, but Japanese people will easily understand who you are referring to based on context. But in cases when referring to the listener is completely unavoidable, you can refer to their name with a suffix (san, sama, etc.) or title, especially when you want to show respect to the person you’re talking to!

Learning Japanese? Make It Easy with Coto Academy

Want to learn how to refer to others naturally like a native? Join Coto Academy to learn Japanese you won’t get from the textbook! Our courses immerse you in actual Japanese conversation that you would use in real life. We aim to have you develop an intuition for how natural language sounds and reads rather than just memorizing endless words and phrases.

Coto Academy is one of Japan’s leading language schools, with campuses in Shibuya, Yokohama, Iidabashi, Minato, and a fully online school. We offer flexible Japanese lessons, whether you’re looking for intensive, part-time, or online courses, so you can reach your language goals faster. 

FAQ:

Is it rude to say "you" in Japanese such as "anata"?

Using words for “you” like anata can come across as direct and slightly rude in Japanese. The Japanese language tends to value indirect communication, so it’s better to avoid using “you” in Japanese. You can either drop the pronoun or just use the person’s name or title.

Does Kimi and Anata mean "you" in Japanese?

Yes, both kimi and anata both mean “you” in Japanese. Anata is seen as more neutral, whereas kimi is usually used by adults to address someone younger, like children. Kimi can also be used between couples.

What words should you avoid using for "you"?

You should generally avoid using the word お前 (omae), which is considered pretty rude but can be used playfully with friends you are close to. The terms 手前 (temae) and 貴様 (kisama) should never be used, since they are seen as extremely rude and rather cartoony or even embarrassing. They are rarely used in actual Japanese conversation despite how common they seem to be in anime and manga.

Using Anki decks is one of the most effective, and certainly most convenient, ways to learn Japanese. Anki is a free, open-source flashcard program (available on any smartphone, tablet, and PC) that uses a spaced repetition system (SRS), allowing you to strategically space out repetition of cards to ingrain new words into your long-term memory. Through this, you can spend more time on words you have a harder time remembering and less on easier ones.

We strongly recommend Anki to learn new Japanese words and build vocabulary over time due to the versatility and accessibility of so many different decks. So, when you are just starting out, try using one of the pre-made Anki decks. Once you know your learning preference, you can then customize it. You can easily download thousands of Anki decks from the Anki website.

Now you are probably wondering what the best options are. So, we will share what our team of native Japanese teachers believe are the top 15 best Japanese Anki decks for learning Japanese, even from scratch!

What is Anki?

Anki is a flashcard app that uses spaced repetition, a learning technique that shows you cards at increasing intervals based on how well you remember them. It’s used by a wide range of people, from med students to language learners. Basically, it is used by anyone who needs to memorize a large amount of information over time.

An Anki deck is essentially a set of flashcards grouped together. You can have multiple decks for different topics (e.g., “JLPT N5 Vocabulary”, “Medical Terminology”, “GRE Prep”). Each card typically has a front (question, prompt) and a back (answer). You can also include audio, images, and formatting.

How the Anki Platform Works and How to Find Shared Decks?

When learning Japanese with Anki, the front of the card is often the Japanese word, and the back shows the English meaning. As you become more familiar with Anki, you can start customizing your cards to suit your learning style. You can even add audio, pictures, tags, custom fields, or other types of media to make your flashcards more engaging and effective!

The Anki platform is pretty easy to navigate on your phone, tablet, or computer. You can simply use the search bar to find certain shared decks you desire, which, in this case, is Japanese. You can find even decks specific to an area you want to study, such as JLPT or Business Japanese.

The Anki website also allows you to access shared decks for languages directly, under which you can just click the “Japanese” link, and it will bring you to a page full of different Japanese Anki decks. There is also a search bar that you can use to find a specific topic.

You click on each Anki deck, look at the reviews, and see the contents. A rating column also shows how different users rate the deck. If you found an Anki Deck you want to use, simply click the “download” button to open Anki on your device. However, with there being hundreds of Japanese Anki decks for learning, choosing the right one can be difficult and confusing. This is especially true for first-time Anki users who have no idea where to start. So, let’s start getting into our top recommendations!

You can also head to our Japanese learner’s guide to Anki flashcards for complete beginners, if you need decks for beginners specifically.

Best Japanese Anki Decks

Now, let’s go through our top shared Anki Deck recommendations for learning Japanese! Many of these decks are beginner-friendly, but there are many that contain material for more advanced learners as well.

1. Japanese Core 2000 Step 01 Listening Sentence Vocab + Images

Japanese Core 2000 Step 01 is one of the most popular Anki decks for memorizing core Japanese vocabulary. Specifically customized for beginners in Japanese, this Anki Deck has over 2,000 Japanese words that are meant to be practical for you to start building real-world Japanese language you can start using soon.

The contents in this Anki deck are well-structured, with images provided for easier memorization. The deck is great for starting to practice your listening skills with 405 audio files. There are also 235 images and example sentences for the Kanji, which will help you associate new words with concrete pictures to help lock them into memory.

It would probably take 2-3 months to complete this Anki deck if you practice consistently. As we know, consistency is the number one thing for improvement.

Visit the Anki website to download the Anki Deck onto your computer. The flashcards will appear on your screen once the deck is imported to your device. You can edit the cards by clicking on the “edit” button.

Download Anki deck here.

2. Japanese Core 2000 Step 02 Listening Sentence Vocab + Images

Japanese Core 2000 Step 02 is the second part of the Japanese Core 2000 Anki series. If you’re starting from scratch, it might be better to start with Step 01 before jumping into Step 02. This Anki Deck is still great for beginners and is a great step up from the previous deck, offering audio files, English translations, and images in the flashcards.

The deck consists of Japanese Kanji, verbs, and practical expressions used in daily life. This Anki Deck has over 404 Audio files and 236 Images. So, it’s great for listening practice as well as reading.

Similar to Step 01, it would probably take you 2-3 months to complete this Anki Deck if you practice consistently.

Visit the Anki website to download the Anki deck. The flashcards will appear on your screen once the deck is imported to your device. You can edit the cards by clicking on the “edit” button.

Get Anki decks here.

3. Japanese Basic Hiragana

If you are starting completely from scratch and need to learn the basic Japanese writing systems, we highly recommend this deck. Unlike the Japanese Core Series Anki Deck, this Anki deck does not have any pictures, but it is particularly helpful if you want to remember hiragana characters.

The deck was modified from the TextFugu Hiragana deck and includes the 46 basic audio hiragana character files.

The best part about this deck is that you can type the romaji under each hiragana character before flipping the card to see if you got the answer right. This deck is perfect for beginners and is great for learning the basic 46 hiragana characters, which make up the majority of the writing system you will need to remember. The deck just doesn’t include the modified sound characters such as が (ga), ば (ba), ぱ (pa), ざ (za), and だ (da), which just add tenten to some of the basic characters to alter their sound.

So, we highly recommend using this deck to memorize the basic hiragana characters before you move on to some more advanced material!

Download Anki deck here

4. JLPT Grammar from Jtest4you

This is the all-in-one Anki deck if you want to focus on grammar. The Jtest4you Anki Deck is focused on JLPT grammar from N5 to N1. It includes example sentences, romaji, and translations that can be added to the front and back of the flashcards.

The vocabulary is divided into different JLPT levels, allowing you to study the specific level you need. The flashcards have you study each vocabulary term in different example sentences, allowing you to practice questions that are similar to the ones on the JLPT.

The front of each flashcard consists of kanji and the example sentences in Japanese, while the back of the flashcard shows the furigana, romaji, and English translation.

Download Anki deck.

5. Japanese Visual Novel, Anime, Manga, LN Vocab – V2K 

We all love Japanese anime and manga, but did you know you can learn Japanese from popular anime, visual novels, and manga as well?

This Anki deck consists of 2,000 Japanese vocabulary words based on the most commonly used phrases from Japanese novels, anime, and manga. The creator analyzed text from popular Japanese media to create a deck that actually reflects common words you would run into in real-life conversation.

The deck uses familiar English metaphors to help you understand how Japanese words and kanji are actually meant in the proper context rather than using direct translations that often lead to more confusion.

It’s very beginner-focused, where you can effectively learn kanji and furigana, along with pre-recorded audio so you can learn how to properly pronounce each word as well.

You will be able to pick up heaps of useful words, such as 全然駄目だ、結構, that are frequently mentioned in anime and manga. It will also significantly improve your reading and listening comprehension.

Download Anki deck here.

6. Katakana Reading Practice

Katakana Reading Practice is an Anki deck that acts as a guide for beginners in learning katakana. With over 1,000 words and phrases in Katakana, the flashcards focus heavily on foreign loanwords, proper names, onomatopoeia, animal names, and brand names.

Many users of this Anki deck have found it very helpful in improving their speed and confidence in speaking and writing katakana.

English speakers might think it’s unnecessary to learn katakana since many of them are loan words from English — but you’d be surprised that some Japanese katakana words don’t sound similar to the original English words, and the fact that there are many katakana words not from English. So, it’s worth spending some time learning different katakana vocabulary and practicing how to read and recognize each character efficiently.

Download Anki deck here.

7. Official KanjiDamage deck

KanjiDamage is the official kanji deck from the KanjiDamage kanji program, which helps you learn and effectively remember Kanji using mnemonics and a healthy dose of humor. There are over 1,700 Kanji to learn from in this Anki Deck.

You will learn a mix of commonly used Kanji as well as uncommonly used Kanji that have been put in random order. The stroke order for writing the Kanji is also included.

If you want to learn kanji frequency instead, check out another Anki Deck made by the same user, which is a reordered version of this Anki deck. It has been reordered based on the frequency of each Kanji character so that you can more common characters first, followed by the uncommon ones.

Visit the Anki website to download the Anki Deck onto your computer. Once the deck is imported to your device, the flashcards will appear on your screen. You can edit the cards by clicking on the “edit” button.

Download Anki deck here.

8. All-in-One Kanji Deck

Looking to learn pretty much everything there is to learn about Kanji? All in One Kanji deck is one of the most comprehensive and informative collections out there. It is perfect for those looking to practice writing the Kanji and gaining more knowledge on kanji meaning and readings.

The Anki deck is nicely formatted. With over 10,000 flashcards, you will learn how to read each kanji in onyomi, kunyomi, and nanori as well as learn the number of strokes and stroke orders.

It also teaches you how each Kanji has been changed from its original Chinese elements to become a Japanese character.

Download Anki deck here.

9. Tofugu: Learn Hiragana Deck

This Anki deck, created by Tofugu, a Japanese learning platform, helps you learn Hiragana through mnemonics, images, or shortcuts to help you remember and recall new material. With this deck, you will be able to learn the basics of Japanese pronunciation and hiragana through fun illustrations that will help you remember each character more easily.

Download Anki deck here.

10. Tofugu: Learn Katakana Deck

Similar to Tofugu’s Learn Hiragana Deck, this deck helps you learn Katakana through mnemonics.

Through descriptive and animative mnemonics, learning is more fun and interactive, and above all very effective for memorization!

Download Anki deck here.

11. Japanese Course Based on Tae Kim’s Grammar Guide & Anime

This is a self-contained Japanese course for beginners, built around Tae Kim’s Grammar Guide, a popular free resource known for its clear explanations of essential grammar points. The creators also developed a companion Anki deck, making it easy to study and review.

The course places a strong focus on listening comprehension, using real anime scenes to reinforce learning. Each flashcard shows a Japanese phrase on the front, along with a video clip of the sentence used in an anime. The back of the card includes the English translation and a detailed grammar breakdown, helping learners understand both meaning and structure.

Download Anki deck here.

12. Genki 1 & 2 Kanji

If you’ve taken a Japanese class, chances are you’ve used the well-known Genki textbook series. This Anki deck is a simple but effective tool that was created to help students learn how to write the kanji introduced in Genki I and Genki II.

The deck covers individual kanji characters from Lesson 3 to Lesson 23, following the exact order presented in the textbooks. Each flashcard shows the English meaning, along with the on-yomi and kun-yomi readings on the front, and the kanji character on the back.

It’s perfect for reinforcing writing practice and memorizing readings in context with the Genki curriculum.

Download Anki deck here.

13. Katakana Reading Practice

Reading katakana can be surprisingly challenging, even if you’ve already memorized the characters. Unlike hiragana, katakana is often used for foreign loanwords and names, which don’t always follow typical Japanese word structure. 

This Anki deck features 1,000 cards designed to help you read katakana with speed and confidence. It focuses on loanwords from English, German, French, Portuguese, Chinese, and more, along with wasei-eigo (English-inspired words created in Japan, such as salaryman). You’ll also find cards with onomatopoeia, company names, animal names, and other real-world katakana usage to give you the exposure you need.

Download Anki deck here.

14. Remembering the Kanji 1, 6th Edition (2200 Kanji)

This Anki deck includes all 2,200 kanji from the 6th edition of Remembering the Kanji 1 by James W. Heisig. It was created to offer a complete and accurate companion to the book, as many existing shared decks were either incomplete, based on older editions, or lacked consistency in format and content.

The deck focuses solely on kanji characters, excluding primitive elements that are not kanji themselves. Each card includes a link to an external website for stroke order diagrams, allowing for easy reference and writing practice. It’s an ideal tool for learners following the Heisig method who want a streamlined, comprehensive study aid.

Download Anki deck here.

15. All in One Kanji Deck

This comprehensive Anki deck includes the full set of 2,136 Jouyou Kanji — the official list of kanji designated by the Japanese Ministry of Education for daily use. These are the characters taught in Japanese schools and used in newspapers, books, and official documents. In addition to the Jouyou Kanji, the deck covers JLPT N5 to N1 kanji, 861 Jinmeiyou Kanji (used primarily in names), the 2,500 most frequent kanji, 3,007 kanji from Heisig’s Remembering the Kanji, and more.

Download Anki deck here. 

16. Full Japanese Study Deck

The Full Japanese Study Deck consists of everything a Japanese learner would want, from JLPT-categorized vocabulary and kanji to additional words. The cards are designed simply. You can go through the subdeck, which contains the vocabulary and kanji, one by one.
It can be considered a “core deck” as well, as it contains common/essential words and kanji used in everyday Japanese (both in real life and in anime/manga). You can also find other subdecks, like the “ready-made mining material” subdecks, where all cards are suspended by default, and “reference material” subdecks for a quick search when you need to look up radicals, kana, and kanji.

Each card contains rich, detailed information: the English meaning, readings (onyomi, kunyomi, and nanori), stroke count, stroke order, and an example compound word. It also includes kanji classification levels such as JLPT level, Jouyou grade, and usage frequency.

Download the Anki deck here.

Conclusion: Should You Learn Japanese with Anki?

Anki is an amazing tool for memorizing new Japanese vocabulary, phrases, and kanji, due to its spaced repetition system that helps you focus on your weakest areas while words you know better will show up later to ensure you don’t forget them. However, it should not be your only resource for learning Japanese. Don’t get us wrong, it’s a great tool with tons of incredible functions, including the ability to embed audio recordings and reading passages to help with listening and reading. But you still need to actually take what you learn and test it in real conversation. In other words, to actually practice speaking, preferably with a partner.

If you are self-studying Japanese, Anki is definitely one of the best ways to build vocabulary over time, but don’t forget to mix it with other resources too!

Take Your Anki Learning to The Next Level!

Anki is incredibly powerful for building vocabulary and strengthening your memory. But just like any learning process, the best way to truly learn Japanese is through immersion. That means speaking with native speakers, practicing conversations out loud, writing actively in Japanese, and so much more.

These are experiences you simply can’t get from Anki alone. That’s where Coto Academy comes in.

Since 2000, Coto Academy has been helping students learn natural, real-life Japanese through conversation-focused lessons. With campuses in Tokyo and Yokohama, plus a thriving online school, Coto offers an immersive learning environment wherever you are. You won’t just learn kanji, grammar, and vocabulary. You’ll learn how to use them in real situations, right away.

Why join Coto Academy?

• School locations in Shibuya, Minato, Iidabashi, and Yokohama, plus a fully online Japanese language school, so that you can learn anywhere, anytime!
• Small classrooms with only up to 8 students for personalized support
• Professional native Japanese teachers, all trained to help you succeed
• Over 60 different Japanese classes across 18 levels, tailored to your needs

You can explore our courses and talk with our staff. No string attached. We just want to help you learn Japanese,

FAQ

What is Anki?

Anki is a powerful flashcard app that uses spaced repetition to help you memorize information more efficiently. For Japanese learners, it’s especially useful for retaining kanji, vocabulary, grammar points, and listening comprehension.

Can I customize the Japanese Anki deck?

Yes! Anki is very flexible—you can edit cards, add audio, images, mnemonics, or even create your own card types to match your study style.

What’s included in this Japanese Anki deck?

That depends on the deck, but typically you’ll find:

• Listening and reading practice (optional with media decks)
  Some decks are based on popular resources like Genki, Tae Kim, or Heisig, and include JLPT-level tagging (N5 to N1).
• Kanji cards (with meanings, readings, stroke order, and examples)
• Vocabulary cards (with context sentences and audio)
• Grammar explanations

You May Be Interested In:

• Anki Add-ons You Need to Have
• The Ultimate Guide to Learning Japanese Online: Apps, courses and Resources
• Top 30 Japanese Learning Apps in 2025: Best way to learn online

Japanese adjectives fall into two grammatical categories: i-adjectives (い形容詞), which end in い and conjugate on their own, and na-adjectives (な形容詞), which need な to connect to a noun and conjugate more like nouns do.

Once you get the hang of basic Japanese grammar structure, you will want to form more complex sentences. What happens if you want to say that the dog is cute? Or short? Or friendly? This is where Japanese adjectives come in: to make you express more, rather than just stating the obvious.

This guide breaks down how to identify Japanese adjectives, conjugate, and use both types correctly.

Before we go further into the article, note that this article will mostly use hiragana, so prior knowledge of them is a must. If you’re still learning them, don’t worry — take a look at our hiragana chart to review them.

Also check out our video explaining い-adjectives and な-adjectives!

What are Adjectives in Japanese?

Adjectives in Japanese, or 形容詞 (keiyoushi), are descriptive words that add details to nouns by describing details about the noun. Adjectives in Japanese operate similarly to those in English, being used to describe the noun in the sentence, but they aren’t just used to describe physical appearance or behavior. They’re used as quantifiers — to express emotions and detail dimensions. They’re used to modify a noun. While they function similarly to English, the grammar rules of Japanese adjectives are a little bit complex, too. Adjectives come in many forms, including:

1. Descriptive adjectives 

Describe physical characteristics such as color (blue or red), size (large or small), the materials of something (wooden or metal), and age (old or young). Here are some common descriptive adjectives in Japanese

Japanese	Furigana	Romaji	English
赤い	あかい	akai	red
青い	あおい	aoi	blue (or green)
黄色	きいろ	kiro	yellow
大きい	おおきい	ookii	large
ちさい	ちさい	chisai	little
若い	わかい	wakai	young
古い	ふるい	furui	old
綺麗	きれい	kirei	pretty/clean
美しい	うつくしい	utsukushii	beautiful
硬い	かたい	katai	hard
柔らかい	やわらかい	yawarakai	soft

2. Quantitative Adjectives

Adjectives also describe the quantity of something, such as how many, how few, or a specific number of something. However, in Japanese, using numbers as an adjective would require using counters, which change based on what thing you are counting. For general objects, it’s common to use the 和語 (wago) or native Japanese counting system (e.g., hitotsu, futatsu, mitsu). 

		Romaji	English
Japanese	Furigana	Romaji	English
多い	おおい	ooi	a lot
たくさん	たくさん	takusan	a lot
少ない	すくない	sukunai	a little
結構	けっこう	kekkou	some
一つ	ひとつ	hitotsu	1 (object)
二つ	ふたつ	futatsu	2 (objects)
三つ	みっつ	mittsu	3 (objects)

To learn more about how counting and numbers work in Japanese, read our blog: How to Count & Read Numbers in Japanese.

3. Proper Adjectives

Similar to nouns, adjectives can also be proper, which can be the names of people, places, and things like products. In English, proper nouns are often conjugated into adjectives, but they will differ depending on the type of noun. In Japanese, it works similarly, but let’s explore how they differ:

Persons:

John → John’s

ジョン → ジョンの

Places: 

Japan → Japanese

日本 (nihon) → 日本の (nihonno)

Things:

Nike → Nike’s (often the ‘s is omitted, e.g., Nike shoes)

ナイキ → ナイキの

In Japanese, you attach the particle の to nouns, whether they are proper or not, to transform it into an adjective. 

4. Adjectives for Abstract Characteristics

Adjectives are also used to describe abstract characteristics such as the function, value, and quality of something or the behavior of someone. For example, a machine can be described as expensive or cheap, and a person can be described as smart or kind.

Japanese	Furigana	Romaji	English
うるさい	うるさい	akai	red
静か	しずか	shizuka	quiet
頭がいい	あたまがいい	atama ga ii	smart
難しい	むずかしい	muzukashii	difficult
優しい	やさしい	yasashii	easy/kind
意地悪	いじわる	ijiwaru	mean
厳しい	きびしい	kibishii	strict
すごい	すごい	sugoi	amazing
美味しい	おいしい	oishii	delicious
高い	たかい	takai	expensive
安い	やすい	yasui	cheap
危ない	あぶない	abunai	dangerous
安全	あんぜん	anzen	safe
早い	はやい	hayai	fast
遅い	おそい	osoi	slow

Just like in English, adjectives in Japanese are descriptors that modify nouns; however, there are 2 different types of grammatical Japanese adjectives to be aware of.

Types of Japanese Adjectives (And How to Use Them)

Japanese adjectives are categorized into two types: な-adjectives and い-adjectives. Their main function is to describe nouns, but these adjectives can also be transformed into nouns themselves.

The easiest way to separate な-adjectives and い-adjectives is by checking the adjective’s ending. More precisely, it is whether the word ends with い or not. For example, 大きい (ookii) is an i-adjective, but 静か is a na-adjective.

Of course, this is a rule of thumb, but there are exceptions you need to note as well. What you need to know are the grammar particles and the way they conjugate.

To know all the basic Japanese adjectives, check out the 100 most common adjectives we’ve collected.

い-adjectives in Japanese

I-adjectives are easy to identify: they end in い. Some i-adjectives have a double い (いい), but the stem stays the same regardless of what form the adjective takes. For example, おいしい (delicious) has the stem おいし, and that stem never changes no matter how you conjugate it.

The reason i-adjectives are considered “easy” is that they conjugate entirely on their own, without needing any helper word. You simply change the ending, unlike na-adjectives, which need な or a form of the verb だ to do the same job.

Below is how you will conjugate an い-adjective into different tenses and forms.

Form	Kanji	Hiragana	Meaning
Positive (Present)	高い	たかい	High
Negative (Present)	高くない	たかくない	Not high
Positive (Past)	高かった	たかかった	Was high
Negative (Present)	高くなかった	たかくなかった	Was not high

Present Tense for I-adjectives

To express an い-adjective in the present tense, simply let it take its original stem form and add an 〜い (already joined).

Keep in mind that Japanese does not clearly distinguish between the present and the future tense. A sentence in the present tense can also refer to the future, depending on the context. In other words, Japanese treats them as the same tense.

今日の天気はいいです。
Kyou no tenki wa ii desu.
The weather is nice today.

明日の天気はいいです。
Ashita on tenki wa ii desu.
The weather will be nice tomorrow.

Negative (Present) Tense for I-adjectives

To make a present-tense い-adjective negative, replace the 〜い with 〜くない.

Base Adjective	Rule	Negative Form	Meaning
〜い adjective	〜い → 〜くない	〜くない	not ~

今日は寒くないです。
Kyou wa samukunai desu.
It is not cold today.

Past Tense for I-adjectives

To express an い-adjective in the present tense, you must omit the 〜い from the word’s stem form and join it with a 〜かった.

Base Adjective	Rule	Negative (Past)	Meaning
〜い adjective	〜い → 〜くなかった	〜くなかった	was not ~

あの車が高かったです。
Ano kuruma ga takakatta desu.
That car was expensive.

Negative (Past) Tense for I-adjectives

For this, similar to negative and past adjectives, you can change the 〜い with a new conjugation, which is a combination of くない and かった: 〜くなかった.

Base Adjective	Rule	Negative (Past)	Meaning
〜い adjective	〜い → 〜くなかった	〜くなかった	was not ~

Casual Form for I-adjectives

For the polite form of い-adjective, you will need to add the auxiliary verb of です. For negative and past adjective forms, follow the same conjugational transformation as well.

Form	Casual Form	Polite form	Meaning
Positive (Present)	よい	よい；いいです	Good; well
Negative (Present)	よくない	よくないです	Not good
Positive (Past)	よかった	よかったです	Was good
Negative (Present)	よくなかった	よくなかったです	Was not good

Making it a casual form is easier; simply remove the です and leave it as it is. However, note that this only applies when the adjective is put at the end of the sentence.

A lot of Japanese people will even shorten the adjective and omit the い. For example, when talking with friends in a good mood, people will say すげー instead of すごい to express something amazing, or うまー instead of うまい to compliment a very delicious meal.

な-adjectives in Japanese

A な-adjective, or na keiyoushi (な形容詞), is a type of Japanese adjective that acts like a noun and needs な when directly describing a noun. Unlike い-adjectives, you can’t modify conjugations in な-adjectives directly to express tense or form. Instead, think of them as nouns (although they’re not, so be careful).

This is because the way you modify their value is the same as how you would with nouns. What you want to do instead is to change the auxiliary verb of the whole sentence or phrase: です、ではありません、 でした or ではありませんでした.

The way you can identify a な-adjective is by looking at the particle attached to it: な. For example, 元気な人 (genki na hito), which means a healthy (or happy, depending on the context) person. A lot of people find な-adjectives to be easier to learn because of their simple (and easy modification) rule.

Like い-adjectives, you can put a な-adjective before a noun. When you do so, the adjective-noun combination becomes the subject.

You can also put a な-adjective at the end of a sentence. When that happens, the form is like this:

Form	Structure	Meaning
Present Affirmative	Adjective + な + Noun + です	is ~
Present Negative	Adjective + な + Noun + ではありません	is not ~
Past Affirmative	Adjective + な + Noun + でした	was ~
Past Negative	Adjective + な + Noun + ではありませんでした	was not ~

In this case, we’ll be using the example 元気, which means happy or healthy. Briefly, this is how you will transform a な-adjective into different tenses and forms.

Present Tense for Na-adjectives

The most basic form of な-adjectives — meaning, positive value in the present tense — is followed by the auxiliary verb of です (polite) or だ (casual). Keep in mind that, similar to い-adjectives, the present and future tense use the same form. To describe a noun, you need to put the particle な in the middle of the adjective and the noun (hence, it’s called na-adjective). Take a look at the example below.

Form	Kanji	Hiragana	Meaning
Positive (Present)	元気だ	げんきだ	Healthy; lively
Negative (Present)	元気じゃない	げんきじゃない	Not healthy; lively
Positive (Past)	元気だった	げんきだった	Was healthy; lively
Negative (Present)	元気じゃなかった	げんきじゃなかった	Was not healthy; lively

好きな人は田中さんだ。
Suki na hito wa Tanaka-san da.
The person I like is Tanaka-san.

As we mentioned before, the conjugation rules for な-adjectives are the same as nouns, so even when the adjective is put at the end of the sentence, you will still use だ.

田中さんが好きだ。
Tanaka-san ga suki da.
I like Tanaka-san.

Negative (Present) Tense for Na-adjectives

Similarly, to conjugate the auxiliary verb to get to the negative form for な-adjective, add 〜じゃありません. You can also use 〜ではありません, which has the same meaning (negative value), but sounds more polite and is usually used in written Japanese.

To make it casual, you can shorten it into 〜じゃない or 〜ではない.

あのウェイターはお客さんに親切ではない。
Ano weitaa wa okyakusama ni shinsetsu dehanai.
That waiter is not kind to guests.

あまり歌っていなくて、カラオケが上手じゃない。
Amari utte inakute, karaoke ga jouzu janai.
Because I don’t sing so much, I’m not good at karaoke.

You can also put a negative な-adjective before a noun.

Negative (Past) Tense for Na-adjectives

To indicate that something was true before (and is not now), you will need to add だった (casual) or でした (polite) at the end of the sentence or phrase with a な-adjective.

As with previous Japanese adjective modification, to make a na-adjective negative and in the past tense, simple add じゃありませんでした or ではありませんでした。

You can make it more casual by just transforming the auxiliary verb.

Style	Form	Structure	Example (きれい)
Polite	Standard	Adjective + ではありませんでした	きれいではありませんでした
Polite	Casual alt.	Adjective + じゃありませんでした	きれいじゃありませんでした
Casual	Plain	Adjective + ではなかった	きれいではなかった
Casual	Common	Adjective + じゃなかった	きれいじゃなかった

この街は静かじゃなかった。
Kono machi wa shizuka janakatta.
This town wasn’t peaceful (before).

リノベーションの前に、ホテルはきれいではありませんでした。
Rinobeeshon no mae ni, hoteru wa kirei dewa arimasen deshita.
Before the renovation, the hotel wasn’t pretty.

Casual Form for Na-adjectives

We’ve touched up how to change polite forms to casual forms for な-adjective, but we’ve made a table to sum it all up.

Form	Casual Form	Polite Form
Positive (Present)	元気だ	元気です
Negative (Present)	元気じゃない	元気じゃありません
Positive (Past)	元気だった	元気でした
Negative (Present)	元気じゃなかった	元気じゃありませんでした

What You Need to Know for Na-adjectives

You can immediately modify な-adjectives into a negative value, past tense, or both, and join it with a noun. However, keep in mind that this is only applicable if you use casual auxiliary verbs.

Here are a few examples:

元気じゃない人
Genki ja nai hito. (Correct)

元気じゃありません人
Genki ja arimasen hito. (Wrong)

元気だった人
Genki datta hito. (Correct)

元気でした人
Genki deshita hito. (Wrong)

Another thing to keep in mind is an exception: the Japanese adjective 同じ (onaji), which means “the same”. Even though it is technically a な-adjective, you will have to remove the な when you combine it with a noun.

君は僕と同じな背の高さです。(Wrong)
Kimi wa boku to onaji na se no takasa desu.
You are as tall as I am.

君は僕と同じ背の高さです。(Correct)
Kimi wa boku to onaji na se no takasa desu.

Learning to use and modify Japanese adjectives can be tricky, especially with the exceptions and grammar rules to remember. However, mastering the distinction between い-adjectives and な-adjectives will help you add more color and detail to your sentences.

Once you’ve learned some Japanese adjectives, we recommend practicing them with immersive Japanese listening conversations. Our Japanese podcasts are a great way to do this. Additionally, the NHK World Japan Audio Shows offer excellent listening practice for learners at any level.

Exception for Adjective

Both na and i adjective types have a handful of irregularities that don’t follow the standard conjugation rules above. These exceptions are common enough in everyday Japanese that it’s worth learning them early, rather than being caught off guard the first time you encounter one. Below are the key exceptions for each adjective type.

1. 良い (Yoi): Good, well, great

良い is a special case among i-adjectives. In modern spoken Japanese, it’s almost always read and written as いい rather than 良い, and いい is the form most learners encounter first. But いい doesn’t conjugate directly. For every form other than the plain present affirmative, it reverts back to its older reading, よい, before the standard i-adjective endings are attached.

In the present positive tense, both いい and よい can be used, with よい sounding more formal. However, when changing the adjective into negative or past forms, the stem changes to よ, not い.

This is why the correct forms are よくない (not good), よかった (was good), and よくなかった (was not good).

Form	Kanji	Hiragana	Meaning
Positive (Present)	良い	よい；いい	Good; well
Negative (Present)	良くない	よくない	Not good
Positive (Past)	良かった	よかった	Was good
Negative (Present)	良くなかった	よくなかった	Was not good

2. かっこい (Kakkoi): Cool

The same thing can be said with かっこいい (cool). When it becomes a negative form or past tense, the stem changes to よ. Instead of かっこいくない, change it to かっこよくない.

3. きれい (Kirei) and きらい (Kirai)

One last thing: also, it seems like it, きれい (pretty or clean) and きらい (hate or dislike) are actually na-adjectives even though the word ends with い, so be careful!

野菜がきらくない。
Yasai ga kirakunai.
I don’t hate vegetables. (Wrong)

野菜がきらいじゃない。
Yasai ga kirai ja nai.
I don’t hate vegetables. (Correct)

子供の頃、お風呂が嫌いだった。
Kodomo no koro, ofuro ga kirai datta.
When I was a kid, I hated taking a bath.

Turning Adjectives into Adverbs in Japanese

In Japanese, adjectives can turn into adverbs and are actually commonly used as adjectives. Conjugating adjectives into adverbs differs depending on whether it is an い-adjective or な-adjective. Let’s take a look at some examples to dive into how it works.

1. Using い-adjectives as Adverbs

To use い-adjectives as adverbs, you must conjugate い into く. For example, to use the adjective 早い (hayai), or quick, as an adverb, you conjugate it into 早く (hayaku) and place it before a verb. Here’s how it works:

早い (hayai) → 早く(hayaku)

Example:

もうすぐ会議があるので、早く食べないといけないです。

Sugu kaigi ga arunode, haraku tabenai to ikenai desu.

Because I have a meeting soon, I have to eat quickly.

2. Using な-adjectives as Adverbs

To use な-adjectives as adverbs, you don’t have to conjugate the word at all, and in many cases, you can just add the word right before the verb. For example, you can say たくさんを食べた (takusan tabeta) to say “I ate a lot.” 

But in many other cases, you would need to attach the particle に to the adjective. For example, if you want to say “please go home safely,” you would say 安全にかえってください (anzen ni kaete kudasai), meaning please go home safely. 

Using Adjectives as Nouns in Japanese

You can also use adjectives as nouns in Japanese, and it’s quite common; we do it quite often in English, like when we say “many will be there” or “few have visited.” In Japanese, using adjectives in this way might be even more flexible. So, let’s see how it works between い and な adjectives.

1. Using い-adjectives as a Noun

To use an い-adjective as a noun, you just need to conjugate the い into く, just like you would for adverbs. Then, the word can operate just like a noun and can be used as the subject or object of the sentence. 

Example 1:

近い (chikai) → 近く(chikaku)

近くが見える

Chikaku ga mieru

I can see the close one.

Example 2

遅い (osoi) → 遅く(osoku)

いつも遅くのはジョンです。

Itsumo osokuno wa jon desu.

The one who is always late is John.

2. Using な-adjectives as a Noun

Using a な-adjective as a noun is quite simple and doesn’t need any conjugation. You would just simply need to attach the correct particle to have the adjective operate like a noun. 

Example:

たくさんがパーティーに来ました。

Takusan ga paatii ni kimashita.

Many came to the party. 

Conclusion: Adjectives are the Building Blocks of Japanese

Adjectives are what allow us to describe different things when we make sentences in Japanese. Whether you need to specify that something is blue, green, quiet, or loud, or if a person is sweet, strict, nice, or friendly, you need to use adjectives. In Japanese, they can be used very flexibly, even as adverbs or adjectives. 

So, try to remember as many adjectives as you can to add to your Japanese arsenal to describe the world around you or give details when explaining an experience!

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FAQ

What’s the difference between い-adjectives and な-adjectives?

い-adjectives directly modify nouns and change form based on tense, while な-adjectives require the particle な before a noun and use auxiliary verbs to change tense.

Can I use い-adjectives and な-adjectives interchangeably?

No, they follow different grammatical rules. Make sure to use them appropriately based on the sentence structure.

What are the exceptions to na-adjectives?

While most な-adjectives follow a consistent rule, there are a few notable exceptions to keep in mind:

• きれい (kirei) – Meaning “pretty” or “clean,” this adjective ends with い but is still considered a な-adjective. It requires the particle な when used before a noun (e.g., きれいな花 – a pretty flower.
• きらい(kirai) – Meaning “hate” or “dislike,” this adjective also ends in い but functions as a な-adjective. It uses the な particle when modifying a noun (e.g., きらいな食べ物 – a disliked foods.
• おなじ (onaji) – Meaning “same,” this adjective is usually a な-adjective, but when modifying a noun, the な particle is often omitted (e.g., 君は僕とおなじ背の高さです – You are the same height as me.
• だめ (dame) – Meaning “no good” or “unacceptable,” this adjective doesn’t require な when used before a noun in many cases (e.g., だめなこと – “a bad thing”).

New to learning Japanese? Check out:

Basic Japanese Adverbs to Know

100 Basic Japanese Words to Know

How to Conjugate Past Tense in Japanese