words starting with 'B'

a b c

baai n. case, instance, example

bachi n. justice

baita n. prostitute [offensive]

baiten n. stand, street vendor

baito n. katakana word, abbreviation for arubaito, part-time job or part-timer

bakkari used after another word to indicate something is 'nothing but x,' or 'only x'

ban n. night

-ban [classifier] nights

-ban [classifier] used when putting numbers in order, i.e. number 1, number 2, etc.

bando n. katakana word meaning 'band'

bangohan n. supper, dinner

bangou n. number

bangumi n. program

barentaindei n. katakana word meaning 'Valentine's Day'

basho n. place, location (usually in space, unlike tokoro which sometimes means 'place in time')

basu n. bus

basutei n. bus stop

bata n. butter

batsu said when something is wrong

beddo n. katakana word for 'bed'

Beikoku n. the United States

beikon n. bacon

beki modified by a preceding verb to indicate something one should do

ben n. convenience

bengoshi(-san) n. lawyer

benkyou n. a study

benkyou-suru irr v. to study

benri -na adj.

bentou n. pre-made lunch, usually available in japanese convenience stores

bessou n. vacation home, summer house

betsu n. separate

betsubetsu separate[ly] (usually used when paying the tab at a restaurant when everyone wants to pay their own share)

betsu ni used with negative words to mean 'not really' or 'not especially'

biiru n. katakana word for 'beer'

bijinesu n. katakana word meaning 'business'

bijuutsukan n. art museum

bikkuri-suru irr v. to become surprised

bin n. flight

binsen n. stationery

biru n. office building

boku pronoun meaning 'me' or 'I', slightly informal.  see ore, watashi, watakushi

bonasu n. katakana word meaning 'bonus'

botan n. katakana word meaning 'button'

bottyan n. a polite word used to refer to someone's son, your own son, or a young man

boueki n. foreign trade

bouekishou n. one who engages in foreign trade

boueki-suru irr v. to engage in foreign trade

bouken n. an adventure

bouru n. katakana word meaning 'ball'

boorupen n. katakana word meaning 'ballpoint pen'

boushi n. a hat or cap

bouzu n. buddhist priest

bu n. division, usually in a comany

buatsui adj. something is thick

buka n. subordinate, person of lower rank

bukka n. consumer prices, the price of consumer goods

bun n. sentence

bunbouguya n. stationery store or dealer of stationery goods

bunpou n. grammar

bungaku n. literature

bungakubu n. the literature department (of a university)

bunka n. culture

bunraku n. Japanese puppet theatre

bunya n. field or realm

burausu n. katakana word meaning 'blouse'

buriburi onomatopoeia word describing how diarrhea (geri) comes out

burou n. katakana word meaning 'blow dry'

busu -na adj? someone is ugly, usually referring to a girl [offensive]

butsurigaku n. physics, when described as a school subject

butyou n. division manager

byoubu n. folding screen

byouin n. hospital

byouki n. sick, or used to describe a type of sickness

(c) 2005 jordan baugher