Learn Vegetables in Japanese

野菜 (やさい)
Vegetable Names in Japanese

To learn more やさい vegetable names:

・Watch the video and listen to the pronunciations.

・Print and make your own Nihongo flashcards for practice here.

・Learn with Quizlet flashcards — practice and test yourself with matching games, spelling, and more. This set is free!

Review:

アスパラ asparagus

おくら okra

かぼちゃ pumpkin

きゅうり cucumber

ゴーヤ bitter gourd

ごぼう burdock

さつまいも sweet potato

しいたけ shiitake mushroom

じゃがいも potato

ズッキーニ zucchini

だいこん Japanese radish

たまねぎ onion

ちんげんさい bok choy

トマト tomato

なす eggplant

にんじん carrot

ネギ leek

にんにく garlic

ピーマン green pepper

ブロッコリー broccoli

まいたけ hen-of-the-wood

モロヘイヤ Egyptian spinach

ルッコラ arugula

れんこん lotus root

The standard rule is to write native Japanese words in hiragana and 外来語(がいらいご) (gairaigo), foreign borrowed words, in katakana. However, in biological contexts, fruits, vegetables, plants, and animals are written in katakana.

That said, sometimes words are written in katakana simply to make them stand out, especially when they are next to hiragana, as in うさぎリンゴ or ウサギりんご.

For more, learn fruits in Japanese here and learn how to count fruits and vegetables in Japanese in the video.