words starting with 'A'

a b c

a(a) i see, oh!, sound indicating surprise/agreeance

abarebu -u v. behave violently or struggle

abunai adj. unsafe, dangerous

acchi casual form of achira

achira over there, polite for 'that way', that one (out of two things); related to kochira, sochira, and dochira

adobaisu n. katakana word meaning 'advice'

agaru -u v. something rises

ageru -ru v. give

ageru -ru v. to raise something up

aho n. idiot, dumb-ass

ai n. love

ai n. a meeting (noun form of au)

aida n. space between things, interval of time

aidea n. katakana word, 'idea'

airon o kakeru -ru v. to iron (something, usu. clothes)

aisatsu n. a greeting, often given in passing acquaintances

aisatsu-suru irr v. to greet someone

aisu -u v. to love

aisukuriimu n. katakana word, 'ice cream'

aite n. partner

aji n. taste

ajia kenkyuu n. asian studies

akai adj. red

akarui adj. (something) is bright, (someone) is cheerful

akatyan n. baby

akeru -ru v. to open something (transitive of aku)

aki n. the season of fall

akirameru -ru v. to give up on something, become resigned to something, become sick of something

aku -u v. something opens, becomes open (intransitive of akeru)

amado n. storm door

amaeru -ru v. take someone up on (something)

amagasa n. umbrella for rain (as opposed to a parasol)

amai adj. sweet (like sugar, not an exclamation of inherent coolness)

ama no gawa n. the milky way

ame n. rain

ame ga huru -u. v. the rain falls

ame ga yamu -u v. the rain stops

amu -u v. to knit

Amerika n. katakana word for 'America'

americajin n. American, (literally 'america person')

ami n. net

amido n. screen door

anata pronoun for 'you', most polite word for 'you', but still impolite

anata-tachi same as anata, but pluralized to mean 'all of your group'

ane n. older sister

ani n. older brother

anime n. in Japanese this can refer to both american and japanese cartoons, the idea being that they're 'animation'

a(n)mari used with negative words to indicate the feeling of 'not much' or 'not very'

anna that kind of (something); related to konna, sonna, donna

annainin n. guide

annai-suru irr v. show around, guide, show someone the way (somewhere)

annaijo n. information desk

ano used before nouns to indicate 'that one that is not physically close to either of us'; related to kono, sono, dono

anoo hesitation noise, like 'uhhh' (used very commonly)

ansyobangou n. ID number

anzen -na adj. safe

aoi adj. blue or green, depending on context (the ocean and a green light are both described as aoi...) if you say midori (n.), it just means green

apaato n. katakana word meaning 'apartment'

arau -u v. to wash

arawasu -u v. to express or show

are that thing over there that we both know about, does NOT modify a noun; related to kore, sore, dore

arigatai adj. is grateful, thankful, obliged; see arigatou

arigatou thank you (used with gozaimasu to increase politeness)

aru u v. used to indicate the existence of an inanimate object; in the pattern 'X ga aru' it can also indicate the posessive

arubaito n. katakana word meaning 'part-time job or part-time worker'; comes from a german word I don't know

aruku -u v. to walk

asa n. morning

asagohan n. breakfast

asanebou-suru to oversleep

asatte n. the day after tomorrow

ase o kaite-ru -u v. there is sweat (on your face)

ashi n. leg or foot

ashita n. tomorrow

asobu -u v. to play, 'hang out', have a good time

asoko n. that place over there (that we both know about); related to koko, soko,and doko

atama n. the head (not japanese slang for sex acts or toilets)

atama ga ii adj. bright or clever

atarashii adj. is new

at(a)takai adj. is warm

ato n. later; remaining; the rest of (something)

atsui adj. is thick

atsui adj. is hot

atsumari a meeting or gathering; noun form of atsumaru

atsumaru -u v. to meet or gather

atsumeru -ru v. to gather people or bring them together, to collect

atsusa n. noun form of atsui, heat or hotness (as in the 'new hotness')

au -u v. meet or see someone

au -u v. match up with

autodoa n. katakana word meaning 'outdoor activities'

awafubu n. bubble bath

awateru -ru v. become discombobulated

ayamaru -u v. to apologize

azukaru -u v. take something for a temporary amount of time

azukeru -ru v. give something (to someone) for a temporary amount of time

(c) 2005 jordan baugher