Katakana Chart

N

W

R

Y

M

P

B

H

N

D

T

Z

S

G

K

ン

ワ

ラ

ヤ

マ

パ

バ

ハ

ナ

ダ

タ

ザ

サ

ガ

カ

ア

A

リ

ミ

ピ

ビ

ヒ

ニ

チ

ジ

シ

ギ

キ

イ

I

ル

ユ

ム

プ

ブ

フ

ヌ

ツ

ズ

ス

グ

ク

ウ

U

レ

メ

ペ

ベ

ヘ

ネ

デ

テ

ゼ

セ

ゲ

ケ

エ

E

ロ

ヨ

モ

ポ

ボ

ホ

ノ

ド

ト

ゾ

ソ

ゴ

コ

オ

O

[NOTE: Please note the exceptions to the charts above: si = shi, zi = ji, ti = chi, tu = tsu. There is more to learn about reading Japanese beyond simply using these charts, but hopefully they can help you determine some in-game terms (that you would not find in a Japanese-English dictionary).]

 

English Verbs	Plain Form (affirmative)		Polite / -masu Form (affirmative)
	Present / Future	Past	Present /Future	Past
To be able	Dekiru	Dekita	Dekimasu	Dekimashita
To do	Suru	Shita	Shimasu	Shimashita
To go	Iku	Itta	Ikimasu	Ikimashita
To come	Kuru	Kita	Kimasu	Kimashita
To return / go back	Kaeru	Kaetta	Kaerimasu	Kaerimashita
To look	Miru	Mita	Mimasu	Mimashita
To drink	Nomu	Nonda	Nomimasu	Nomimashita
To eat	Taberu	Tabeta	Tabemasu	Tabemashita
To walk	Aruku	Aruita	Arukimasu	Arukimashita
To understand	Wakaru	Wakatta	Wakarimasu	Wakarimashita
To meet	Au	Atta	Aimasu	Aimashita
To talk	Hanasu	Hanashita	Hanashimasu	Hanashimashita
To begin	Hajimaru	Hajimatta	Hajimarimasu	Hajimarimshita
To laugh	Warau	Waratta	Waraimasu	Waraimashita
To cry	Naku	Naita	Nakimasu	Nakimashita
To need	Iru		Irimasu	Irimashita

English Verbs	Plain Form (negative)		Polite / -masu Form (negative)
	Present / Future	Past	Present /Future	Past
To be able	Dekinai	Dekinakatta	Dekimasen	Dekimasen deshita
To do	Shinai	Shinakatta	Shimasen	Shimasen deshita
To go	Ikanai	Ikanakatta	Ikimasen	Ikimasen deshita
To come	Konai	Konakatta	Kimasen	Kimasen deshita
To return / go back	Kaeranai	Kaeranakatta	Kaerimasen	Kaerimasen deshita
To look	Minai	Minakatta	Mimasen	Mimasen deshita
To drink	Nomanai	Nomanakatta	Nomimasen	Nomimasen deshita
To eat	Tabenai	Tabenakatta	Tabemasen	Tabemasen deshita
To walk	Arukanai	Arukanakatta	Arukimasen	Arukimasen deshita
To understand	Wakaranai	Wakaranakatta	Wakarimasen	Wakarimasen deshita
To meet	Awanai	Awanakatta	Aimasen	Aimasen deshita
To talk	Hanasanai	Hanasanakatta	Hanashimasen	Hanashimasen deshita
To begin	Hajimaranai	Hajimaranakatta	Hajimarimasen	Hajimarimsen deshita
To laugh	Warawanai	Warawanakatta	Waraimasen	Waraimasen deshita
To cry	Nakanai	Nakanakatta	Nakimasen	Nakimasen deshita
To need	Iranai	Iranakatta	Irimasen	Irimasen deshita

[NOTE: If there are any particular verbs you are interested in, please send requests to me via e-mail.]

Particles
wa	Used after the noun, which declares it as the main topic of the sentence. For example: Nihongo wa muzukasii desu. = Japanese is difficult.
ga	Used similarly to "wa," except "ga" refers you to the subject, where the topic is unknown. "Ga" will commonly be seen when a new topic is being introduced, a new question is asked, or a new question is answered. For example: Dono mono ga moguru desuka. = Which thing is a moogle? Kore ga moguru desu. = This is a moogle.
o	It implies that an action is taking place in the noun that it follows.
no	Most commonly used to show possesion. For example: Watashi no tomodachi = My friend (literally friend of me).
ni	"Ni" has multiple uses, but they all relate to direction. It may be used to tell where something is "in" or "at," or the reason why something is performed ("in order to"). It may be used to show direction towards the noun, or it can show where the verb's action is going "to", "from," or "of." For example: Serubina ni ikimasita. = I went to Selbina. Watashi wa Syakurami ni imasu. = I am in Shakrami Maze.
de	Like "ni," "de" has multiple uses as well. It's used to show the place of action, the means of action, and the limit of action. (at, in, by, through, in, within) For example: Jyuuno de kaimasita. = I bought it in Jeuno.
e	This is used to show the direction "to" or "toward" the noun, in which the action takes place. For example: Serubina e ikimasita. = I went to Selbina. ("E" and "ni" can serve similar purposes and can sometimes be interchangable.)
to	"To" basically translates to "and." It can also show who an action is performed with. For example: Siro to kuro = White mage and black mage

[NOTE: Particles are fundamental to creating sentences in Japanese. Once you understand them it will make communicating a lot easier. In this chart I have tried to explain most of the functions of particles you may use and see, but some functions were left out. If you are a beginning Japanese speaker it is best to keep things as simple as possible.]

"I" Adjectives Table
Positive
Present	(Taka)i desu	It is expensive
Past	(Taka)katta desu	It was expensive
Tentative	(Taka)i desyo	It is probably expensive
Tentative Past	(Taka)katta desyo	It was probably expensive
Negative
Present	(Taka)ku arimasen (Taka)ku nai desu	It is not expensive
Past	(Taka)ku arimasen deshita (Taka)ku nakatta desu	It was not expensive
Tentative	(Taka)ku nai desyo	It is probably not expensive
Tentative Past	(Taka)ku nakatta desyo	It was probably not expensive

[NOTE: In the chart above I've shown the usage of "i" adjectives. In Japanese, adjectives may either end with an "i" or "na" in combination with a noun, or by themselves used to describe a noun. Be sure that if you conjugate adjectives using this chart that they are "i" adjectives.]

"Na" Adjectives Table
Positive
Present	(Kirei) desu Tarutaru wa kirei desu.	It is pretty The tarutaru is pretty
Past	(Kirei) deshita	It was pretty
Tentative	(Kirei) desyo (Kirei)na tarutaru desyo	It is probably pretty The tarutaru is probably pretty
Tentative Past	(Kirei)datta desyo	It was probably pretty
Negative
Present	(Kirei)jya arimasen (Kirei)jya nai desu	It is not pretty
Past	(Kirei)jya arimasen deshita (Kirei)jya nakatta desu	It was not pretty
Tentative	(Kirei)jya nai desyo	It is probably not pretty
Tentative Past	(Kirei)jya nakatta desyo	It was probably not pretty

[NOTE: In the chart above I've shown the usage of "na" adjectives. In Japanese, adjectives may either end with an "i" or "na" in combination with a noun, or by themselves used to describe a noun. Be sure that if you conjugate adjectives using this chart that they are "na" adjectives.]

NOTE 11/17/04: Please update this section accordingly. I forgot to change the "na" adjectives table and illustrate them appropriately. Thanks to one of the readers for noticing! Please be sure to send in any suggestions, and let me know if you see typos, inconsistencies, or errors of any kind. I'll update when I can.

 

General Word Chart
hai, ee, un	yes	migi	right	kyou	today
iie	no	hidari	left	kinou	yesterday
chigau	wrong	ue	up	ototoi	2 days ago
tadashii	correct	shita	down	ashita	tomorrow
ikura	how much?	naka	in, inside	asatte	in 2 days
ikutsu	how many?	Soto	outside	hi, nichi	day
koko	here	mae	in front of	shu	week
soko, asoko	There, over there	ushiro	behind	tsuki, getsu	month
itsu	when?	aida	between	toshi, nen	year
dare	who?	mukoo	over there
nani	what?	tooi	far
Kore	This	Iriguchi	Entrance	Sukoshi	A little
Sore	That	Deguchi	Exit	Takusan	A lot

 

 

NOTE REFERENCE SECTION:

[NOTE: It is acceptable to say hajimemashite, then doozo yorosiku onegaishimasu upon a first meeting.]

[NOTE 2: When using romaji, Japanese will commonly abbreviate words. It can be compared to how Americans use slang. For example, ohisashiburi desu = ohisa desu, purinto kurabu = purikura, warau = W.]

 

[NOTE: Males will commonly refer to themselves using boku or ore  instead of watashi or watakushi (polite form). 'Boku' is less formal and more commonly used by younger males. Women may use atashi, although watashi is more common.]

[NOTE 2: This guide does not use the most formal Japanese, but gaming typically does not require formal Japanese (which is more commonly used to show respect to elders or in a business situation). As a rule of thumb, it is good to be polite regardless of how informal this is, because Japanese are generally very courteous. Some people find all the niceties annoying – those people shouldn’t party with Japanese.]

[NOTE: This section is incomplete. In the meantime, keep in mind that "soubi" or "soubihenkou" is equipment. If you would like to compliment someone on their equipment you could use an adjective from the word list below. For example = Kakkoii soubi, or Anata no soubi wa kakkoii desu.]

[NOTE: It is common to combine words in the Japanese language, (this is probably due to the way Japanese is written out in hiragana, katakana, and kanji - written without breaks). So if a word appears to be unusually long – try to break it down. For example, mata ne = matane.]

[NOTE 2 : Although certain words have similar meaning, they may be used best in different situations. Like English, there are different ways to say the same thing. Keep in mind, some phrases are best used by females and some by males. (On one gamefaq it said to use "Boku...", but boku is inappropriate for females to say. ]

[NOTE: Be careful about spelling. In some cases, just one misplaced letter may change the meaning of your statement or question. For example, one page claimed to say “Do you want to party” but the way it was spelt meant “Do you want to throw up in my party.”]

[NOTE 2: If a Japanese player says something that looks familiar, they may be spelling it based on how it is inputed as Hiragana or Katakana, so try to consider what it may be. (For example, tomodachi = tomodati. daijoubu = daijyobu. yoroshiku = yorosiku). In other situations they may be combining words, as previously mentioned.]

[NOTE: Particles are fundamental to creating sentences in Japanese. Once you understand them it will make communicating a lot easier. In this chart I have tried to explain most of the functions of particles you may use and see, but some functions were left out. If you are a beginning Japanese speaker it is best to keep things as simple as possible.]

[NOTE: In this chart I've shown the usage of "i" adjectives. In Japanese, adjectives may either end with an "i" or "na" in combination with a noun. Be sure that if you conjugate adjectives using this chart that they are "i" adjectives. "Na" adjectives will be added in the future.]

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

[1] I've seen guides, books, and websites dedicated to the bad words you can say in Japanese. Honestly, Japanese is a very clean language. The extent of foul Japanese language may extend to the English equivalent of "damn" or "bastard." There are ways to say things more impolitely, but these things still do not properly translate and carry the same meaning as words we may use in English. So be cautious when someone tells you something means #$%@&*.

[2] Certain words used in the game (and in other MMOs or online) are used differently in real life. "Umai" is a good example. In real life, it would be used to describe something tasty or delicious like food, but in the game it's used to describe (tasty) experience points. Otsukaresame, (otukare, otukaresama desita), is used to thank another player for working hard in the game, as they would in a party. In real life, we don't make groups to battle monsters, but we do work! As a common courtesy in real life people will use the phrase to tell each other after a hard day's work.

[3] Many Japanese words and phrases do not translate exactly into English. Typically, if you see certain translations on a site such as this then the person may give the best estimate or example of how the word/phrase is used in English. An example of this is "doozo yorosiku". The way we would understand it is along the lines of "pleased to meet you" or "nice to meet you" but technically it translates to something like "please take care of me".

[4] Checking/Inspecting someone's equipment: I've received several questions on this topic, in regards to the proper way of asking before you inspect and later on I'll probably add a section about it to this guide. In the meantime, people are probably aware that many Japanese players (as well as some English speaking players) feel that checking strangers is rude. One phrase you can use is "Sumimasen. Soubi wo mite mo iidesuka?" (Excuse me. Can I see your equipment?) You can also add in some emotes, like bowing or simply acknowledging the other player. Being polite never hurts. ^_~

[5] SPECIAL FEATURE: Summerfest Explained