The words you'll hear in a Tokyo konbini, a Ghibli film, and your group chat — ranked by how often they show up.

Most beginner word lists start with 'apple' and 'elephant'; this one starts with the words you'll actually hear in the first five minutes of any Japanese audio.

By the end

Recognise and use the 100 highest-frequency Japanese words in real speech, signs, and subtitles — without memorising a grammar chart.

Who this is for

Complete beginners who want the words that pay rent before the ones that don't.