indicates possessive; nominalizes verbs and adjectives; substitutes for "ga" in subordinate phrases; (at sentence-end, falling tone) indicates a confident conclusion; (at sentence-end) indicates emotional emphasis; (at sentence-end, rising tone) indicates question
indicates sentence topic; indicates contrast with another option (stated or unstated); adds emphasis
indicates sentence subject (occasionally object); indicates possessive (esp. in literary expressions); but; however; regardless of; whether (or not)
indicates direct object of action; indicates subject of causative expression; indicates an area traversed; indicates time (period) over which action takes place; indicates point of departure or separation of action; indicates object of desire, like, hate, etc.
at (place, time); in; to (direction, state); toward; for (purpose); because of (reason); for
at; in; at; when; by; with; and then
if; when; and; with; used for quoting (thoughts, speech, etc.); promoted pawn; indicates a question
et cetera; etc.; or something; the likes of; for example; for instance
too; also; both A and B; A as well as B; even; as much as
to become; to get; to result in; to turn out; to consist of; to be composed of; to be completed
to be; to exist; to have; to be located; to be equipped with; to happen
thing; matter; incident; occurrence; circumstances; situation; work
to do; to carry out; to cause to become; to make (into); to serve as; to act as; to wear (clothes, a facial expression, etc.)
to write; to compose; to pen; to draw; to paint
to use (a thing, method, etc.); to make use of; to use (a person, animal, puppet, etc.); to employ; to use (time, money, etc.); to spend
letter (of alphabet); character; writing
to; for; in order to; for; as for; regarding
prefix for forming ordinal numbers
that being the case; because of ...; the reason is ...; given that ...
year; counter for years (e.g. of an era), grades (e.g. school); period of an apprentice's contract (usu. ten years)
indication; expression; display; displaying; representation; (copyright) attribution
level; standard; water level
called; named; as many as; as much as; all ...; every single ...
thing; object; one's things; possessions; things; something; quality
kanji for common use; jōyō kanji; list of 2,136 kanji established in 2010, formerly a list of 1,945 established in 1981
indicates a question; or; whether or not; some- (e.g. something, someone); hmm; huh; very
from (e.g. time, place, numerical quantity); since; from (originator); by; because; since; out of (constituent, part)
to be able (in a position) to do; to be up to the task; to be ready; to be completed; to be made; to be built; to be good at
this; this one; this person; now; this point (in time); here; used to stress the subject of a sentence
to say; to utter; to name; to call; to go (e.g. "the alarm went ping"); to make a noise
by means of; due to; because of; according to
to come (spatially or temporally); to approach; to come back; to do ... and come back; to come to be; to become
such things as ...; and ... and; the minute (that) ...; no sooner than ...; be; is; o
designation; specification; assignment; appointment; pointing at
to be (of animate objects); to exist; to stay; to be ...-ing; to have been ...-ing
same; identical; equal; anyway; anyhow; in either case
that; the; part (as in "part two"); um ...; er ...
correspondence (to); equivalence; suitability; coordination; dealing with; coping with
amendment; correction; revision; modification; alteration; retouching
to understand; to comprehend; to become clear; to be known; I know!; I think so too!
character (esp. kanji); letter; handwriting; penmanship; the ... word (e.g. "the L word" = "love")
creator (of a work); author; writer; artist; composer; playwright
to think; to consider; to think (of doing); to plan (to do); to judge; to assess; to imagine
this; last (couple of years, etc.); these; you (as in "you liar")