MarkSmith comments

@iceshoecream: These are the most popular words on the internet, not in a survey of Japanese high-school students. 'Kawaii' is only #409.

@Ranger_Miffy2: There's a list of particles and parts of speech in the Introduction. The most common is 'wo'.

Thanks for all the comments! I'm the author.

I wrote this book because I wish I'd had this information when I started learning Japanese many years ago at university in New Zealand. And judging by the comments here, a lot of people agree with me.

Short phrases like these lend themselves well to substituting other words to make new sentences, so don't let examples like "I wet my pants" put you off.

The casual, simple way a child speaks won't make you sound like a girl. But speaking 'textbook' neutral-level Japanese will make you sound like one. Or gay. I'm not making this up, ask a Japanese person you are close to.

You can see parts on the book online at amazon.com using the 'Look Inside' feature. It's also listed on amazon.co.jp.