Translate English to Japanese
Japanese is spoken by about 125 million people, almost all of them in Japan. It is the language of one of the world's largest economies and a major player in technology, automotive manufacturing, gaming, and pop culture. Whether you are reading product packaging, preparing for a trip to Tokyo, or messaging a colleague in Osaka, paste your English text above and get the Japanese translation instantly.
Common English to Japanese translations
| English | Japanese | Pronunciation | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hello | こんにちは | kon-nee-chee-wah | ||
| Good morning | おはようございます | oh-ha-yoh go-zai-mas | ||
| Thank you | ありがとうございます | ah-ree-gah-toh go-zai-mas | ||
| Please | おねがいします | oh-neh-gai shee-mas | ||
| How much is this? | これはいくらですか？ | ko-reh wah ee-koo-rah des-kah | ||
| Where is the station? | 駅はどこですか？ | eh-kee wah do-ko des-kah | ||
| I do not understand | わかりません | wah-kah-ree-mah-sen | ||
| Can you help me? | 手伝ってください | tet-soo-daht-teh koo-dah-sai | ||
| I would like green tea | 緑茶をお願いします | ryo-koo-chah oh oh-neh-gai shee-mas | ||
| The bill, please | お会計お願いします | oh-kai-keh oh-neh-gai shee-mas | ||
| Nice to meet you | はじめまして | ha-jee-meh-mash-teh | ||
| Goodbye | さようなら | sah-yoh-nah-rah | ||
| I need a doctor | 医者が必要です | ee-shah gah hee-tsoo-yoh des | ||
| Excuse me | すみません | soo-mee-mah-sen |
Tips for English to Japanese translation
Japanese uses three writing systems simultaneously. Hiragana (ひらがな) covers native Japanese words and grammar. Katakana (カタカナ) is used for foreign loanwords, scientific terms, and emphasis. Kanji (漢字) are Chinese characters adopted into Japanese, each carrying a meaning and often multiple readings. A typical Japanese sentence mixes all three scripts, and being able to recognize which system a character belongs to is the first step toward reading Japanese.
Politeness levels in Japanese are far more layered than in most European languages. The same verb changes form depending on who you are speaking to. “To eat” can be taberu (casual), tabemasu (polite), or meshiagaru (honorific). Using the wrong level does not just sound odd; it can be genuinely offensive in a business or formal setting. When in doubt, the -masu form is safe for almost all situations involving people you do not know well.
Japanese word order follows subject-object-verb, placing the verb at the end. “I eat sushi” becomes watashi wa sushi wo tabemasu (I sushi eat). Particles like wa, wo, ni, and de mark the role of each word in the sentence. These small particles are the backbone of Japanese grammar and have no direct equivalent in English. Getting them right matters more than memorizing vocabulary.
Loanwords from English are everywhere in modern Japanese, written in katakana. “Computer” becomes konpyuutaa (コンピューター), “hotel” becomes hoteru (ホテル), and “coffee” becomes koohii (コーヒー). The pronunciation shifts to fit Japanese sound patterns, which can make familiar English words hard to recognize at first. Listening to the audio playback on this page helps you hear how these adapted words actually sound.
About the Japanese language
Japanese is classified as a language isolate by most linguists, meaning it has no proven genetic relationship to any other language family. It shares some structural features with Korean and has borrowed heavily from Chinese over the centuries, but these are the result of contact, not common ancestry. The earliest Japanese texts date to the 8th century, written entirely in Chinese characters before native scripts were developed.
Japan has remarkably high literacy rates, but the bar for full literacy is steep. The Japanese Ministry of Education prescribes 2,136 joyo kanji (commonly used characters) that students are expected to learn by the end of high school. On top of that, readers need both hiragana and katakana (46 characters each). Despite this complexity, Japan maintains one of the highest literacy rates in the world, a reflection of the emphasis its education system places on reading and writing.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. No registration, no payment, and no daily limits. Translate as much as you need.
The translator outputs natural Japanese text, which is a mix of all three scripts. Kanji for meaning-bearing words, hiragana for grammar, and katakana for foreign loanwords. This is how Japanese is normally written.
Yes. Click the speaker icon next to any phrase. Japanese pronunciation is relatively straightforward because each syllable is pronounced clearly and consistently.
Desu (です) is the polite form meaning “is” or “am.” Da (だ) is the casual equivalent. Use desu with strangers, coworkers, and anyone older than you. Use da only with close friends and family.
For informal emails and basic messages it works well. Japanese business communication has strict formality conventions (keigo) that automated tools sometimes miss. For important business correspondence, have a native speaker review the text.
Historically, Japan borrowed Chinese characters (kanji) for writing, then developed hiragana and katakana to represent sounds that kanji could not easily cover. Over time, all three systems became integrated into everyday writing. Each serves a specific function.
Yes. Japanese follows subject-object-verb order. The verb always comes at the end of the sentence. Particles (small grammatical words) mark the role of each noun, replacing the word-order cues that English relies on.
Yes. Visit our Japanese to English translation page.
No. All translations are processed in real time and nothing is saved. Your text disappears the moment you leave the page.
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