Visual List of 150 Common Japanese Verbs — 150のよく使う日本語の動詞 — Hyaku gojū no yoku tsukau Nihongo no dōshi
If Japanese verbs feel like a giant pile of tiny dragons, good news: they are way more manageable once you group them by what they do in real life. Eat, go, see, buy, talk, sleep, repeat. Humanity is very predictable, honestly.
This visual list gives you the most common verbs in a clean, learnable format: Kanji, Rōmaji, English meaning, and a full example sentence. You will also see how Japanese verbs behave in context, because memorizing a verb alone is fine, but using it in a sentence is where the magic actually happens.
Japanese verbs often come in little families. That is why 開ける (akeru, to open) and 閉める (shimeru, to close) feel easy together. Same with 入る (hairu, to enter) and 出る (deru, to exit). Your brain likes patterns more than it likes suffering, so use the patterns.
Theme
Kanji
Rōmaji
Meaning
See / Listen
見る
miru
to see, watch
See / Listen
聞く
kiku
to listen, ask
Speak / Tell
話す
hanasu
to speak
Speak / Tell
伝える
tsutaeru
to tell, convey
Move
行く
iku
to go
Move
来る
kuru
to come
Move
帰る
kaeru
to return home
Eat / Drink
食べる
taberu
to eat
Eat / Drink
飲む
nomu
to drink
Work / Study
勉強する
benkyō suru
to study
Work / Study
働く
hataraku
to work
Common Confusions To Watch
聞く (kiku) can mean to listen or to ask. Context does the heavy lifting.
見る (miru) is often to watch when talking about TV, movies, or anything visual.
来る (kuru) means to come, while 行く (iku) means to go. Direction matters, because Japanese likes being annoyingly precise.
ある (aru) is for things; いる (iru) is for living things.
開ける (akeru) and 閉める (shimeru) are usually used for doors, windows, and containers.
Mini Practice
Swap the verb and say the sentence out loud. Yes, out loud. Silent practice is fine, but your mouth needs training too.
水を飲む。 — Mizu o nomu. — Drink water.
本を読む。 — Hon o yomu. — Read a book.
ドアを開ける。 — Doa o akeru. — Open the door.
部屋を掃除する。 — Heya o sōji suru. — Clean the room.
友達に会う。 — Tomodachi ni au. — Meet a friend.
日本語を勉強する。 — Nihongo o benkyō suru. — Study Japanese.
車で行く。 — Kuruma de iku. — Go by car.
家へ帰る。 — Ie e kaeru. — Go home.
Quick Reference Summary
Use 行く for going, 来る for coming, and 帰る for returning home.
Use 食べる, 飲む, 見る, and 聞く constantly. They appear everywhere.
Use する for “to do” and many task-like actions, such as 勉強する.
Use ある for non-living things and いる for living things.
Remember that Japanese verbs usually go at the end of the sentence. Nice and dramatic.
Once you learn these 150 verbs visually, Japanese sentences start looking less mysterious and more like a system you can actually use. Keep the verbs grouped, keep the examples short, and keep reading them in real sentences. That is how the brain stops panicking and starts recognizing patterns.
