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N5Talking to real people · Sep 17, 2026 · Updated Sep 27, 2026 · by Yuuki

Expensive in Japanese: How to Say 高たかい (takai) Politely

Expensive in Japanese is 高たかい (たかい), the everyday adjective meaning "expensive," and it also means "tall" or "high," depending on what is being discussed. The polite form is 高たかいです, but adding です doesn't remove the criticism of a price. Its opposite 安やすい (やすい) means "cheap" and is usually neutral about price, though it can still sound belittling.

How do you say "expensive" in Japanese?

高たかい (たかい) is an い-adjective meaning "expensive." The same word means "tall" or "high," and the topic of conversation decides which: a hotel's rate or its height, a mountain, a person. For a person's height you say 背せが高たかい, where 背せ means height here.

The basic forms are 高たかい (expensive), 高たかいです (polite), 高たかくないです (not expensive) and 高たかかったです (was expensive). Japanese uses one word for a high price, a high mountain and a tall building, which is a handy way to remember it.

この店みせは高たかいです。 — This shop is expensive. (polite; a plain remark about price) あの山やまは高たかいです。 — That mountain is high. (polite; same adjective, different topic) 私わたしの友達ともだちは背せが高たかいです。 — My friend is tall. (polite; 背せが makes it about height) 雨あめが降ふる可能性かのうせいが高たかいです。 — Rain is likely. (polite; 高たかい also means "high" in the abstract, as in 高たかい評価ひょうか)

あの人ひとは高たかいです sounds odd as a comment on height. If you are already talking about height, listeners may guess 背せが, but don't count on it.

Two more words for "expensive" attach to nouns differently:

Phrase Reading Meaning
高たかい時計とけい たかいとけい An expensive watch (い-adjective, attaches directly)
高価こうかな時計とけい こうかなとけい A costly watch (な-adjective, needs な)
割高わりだかな時計とけい わりだかなとけい A watch that is expensive for what you get (な-adjective)

高価こうか is more formal but also spoken, for example こんな高価こうかなものを、ありがとうございます. 割高わりだか means pricey compared with something else, such as the amount you get. In ordinary price talk, 高たかい is the default.

Is 安やすい an insult, like "cheap" can be in English?

Mostly no. When 安やすい describes a price it is neutral or positive, and 安やすくておいしい ("cheap and tasty") is a compliment. It can still sting: 安やすい服ふくを着きてるね ("you're wearing cheap clothes") belittles someone's belongings, and 安やすく見みられる means being looked down on. The reliably negative word is 安やすっぽい, which means "cheap-seeming" in looks, quality or even behaviour.

このラーメン、安やすくておいしいです。 — This ramen is cheap and tasty. (polite; a compliment) この時計とけい、ちょっと安やすっぽいね。 — This watch looks a bit cheap. (casual; about how it looks, not the price)

The negative sense belongs to the whole word 安やすっぽい; 白しろっぽい ("whitish") shows that 〜っぽい alone isn't negative. Avoid 安やすい or 安やすっぽい about other people's things unless you mean it.

The opposite of 高たかい in non-price uses is 低ひくい (ひくい): 低ひくい評価ひょうか is a low evaluation, and 低ひくい山やま is a low mountain. 低ひくい works for prices too in comparisons and written Japanese, as in この傘かさは他ほかの商品しょうひんより価格かかくが低ひくいです or 低価格ていかかく. In shopping talk, though, 安やすい is the default: この傘かさは安やすいです.

What's the word for "price" in Japanese?

値段ねだん (ねだん) is the everyday word for the price of a thing. 価格かかく (かかく) is more formal and common on displays and in explanations. 料金りょうきん (りょうきん) is a fee for a service, and 代だい (だい) is a charge for something specific, like タクシー代だい.

Japanese Reading Used for
値段ねだん ねだん Price of a thing; the everyday word
価格かかく かかく Price; more formal, displays and explanations
料金りょうきん りょうきん Fee for a service: hotels, utilities, express surcharges
代だい だい Charge for something specific: 電気代でんきだい, タクシー代だい
会計かいけい かいけい Paying and settling up, as in お会計かいけいお願ねがいします
おつり おつり Change (money back)

On trains the basic fare is 運賃うんちん (うんちん) and the express surcharge is 特急料金とっきゅうりょうきん, so 料金りょうきん is not the whole picture there.

これはいくらですか。 — How much is this? (polite; the simplest way to ask) タクシー代だいが高たかかったです。 — The taxi fare was expensive. (polite, past; 高たかかった, not 高たかいでした)

If 高たかいでした looks fine to you, the adjective past tense is worth five minutes.

How do you say "too expensive" without sounding blunt?

高たかすぎます is not a mistake: it states directly that the price is excessive, and a shop may hear it as a request for a lower price. ちょっと高たかいですね is softer, but staff may still take it as dissatisfaction with the price or a budget problem. Choose a phrase by purpose and by who you are talking to.

高たかすぎます。 — It's too expensive. (polite; a direct statement that the price is excessive) ちょっと高たかいですね。 — It's a bit expensive, isn't it. (polite; softer, but can be heard as a price complaint)

In this scene ね tends to invite agreement, which feels friendly with a companion. 〜すぎる attaches to the い-adjective stem: 高たかい → 高たかすぎる → 高たかすぎます. For いい the stem is よ (よすぎる), and see 〜すぎる for the rest.

You want to... Say this To whom
Decline and leave ありがとうございます。今回こんかいはやめておきます。 Shop staff
Explain a budget limit ちょっと予算よさんを超こえているので… Shop staff
Keep shopping もう少すこし安やすいものはありますか。 Shop staff
React ちょっと高たかいね / これ、高たかくない? Friend or companion

予算よさん (よさん) is a budget and 超こえる (こえる) is to exceed, so 予算よさんを超こえている means "it is over budget." In this scene, trailing off after ので… softens the refusal. Here is how these fit together:

こちらはいかがですか。 — How about this one? (polite; staff) ちょっと予算よさんを超こえているので…。 — It's a little over my budget, so... (polite; you) こちらはもう少すこしお安やすいです。 — This one is a little cheaper. (polite; staff offering an alternative)

Price negotiation isn't usual in regular retail stores. At some electronics stores you can ask about price matching, but that isn't the same as free haggling.

お得とく and 損そん: value, not price

These words say whether something is a good deal, separately from its price.

  • お得とく (おとく): good value
  • 損そん (そん): a loss, a bad deal

こっちのほうがお得とくですよ。 — This one is better value. (polite; typical shop staff line) 買かわないと損そんですよ。 — You'll lose out if you don't buy it. (polite; a strong sales pitch)

Something can be 高たかい and お得とく at once.

The discount vocabulary on every shop window

Japanese Reading Meaning
セール Sale
割引わりびき わりびき Discount
半額はんがく はんがく Half price
値引ねびき ねびき Price reduction
無料むりょう むりょう Free of charge
税込ぜいこみ ぜいこみ Tax included
税抜ぜいぬき ぜいぬき Before tax

In Japan, prices shown to consumers must in principle include tax (総額そうがく表示ひょうじ), though a tax-exclusive figure may appear next to it. If both appear, the 税込ぜいこみ figure is the price with consumption tax included, so check it first. It doesn't necessarily include shipping or other fees. More phrases are in ten phrases that make shopping in Akihabara easier.

What do I say when someone gives me an expensive gift?

The safest first choice for a learner is to thank the giver and react to the gift, not the price: ありがとうございます。うれしいです。Natives do mention price sometimes. Close friends say 高たかかったでしょう ("that must have cost a lot"), and こんな高価こうかなものを、ありがとうございます is natural. The one to avoid is 安やすいですね about a present.

ありがとうございます。うれしいです。 — Thank you. I'm happy. (polite; when you really are) こんな高価こうかなものを、ありがとうございます。 — Thank you for such a costly gift. (polite, a little formal; natural) これ、ずっと欲ほしかったんです。 — I've wanted this for ages. (conversational polite; only if it is true)

Common mistakes

  • Saying 高たかいでした. い-adjectives conjugate themselves: 高たかかったです.
  • Treating ちょっと高たかいですね as a guaranteed polite exit. To decline, use ありがとうございます。今回こんかいはやめておきます。
  • Commenting on a gift or someone's clothes with 安やすい. Thank the giver first.

How do 高たかい and 安やすい sound in casual speech?

Friends clip and stress the adjective. 高こうっ! (たかっ) is a quick reaction to a price, 高たかすぎ! is a clipped, very casual version of 高たかすぎる (the polite one is 高たかすぎます), 安やすっ! (やすっ) is a strong reaction to how cheap something is, and これ、高たかくない? with rising intonation asks for agreement.

高こうっ! — Whoa, expensive! (casual; reaction) これ、高たかくない? — Isn't this expensive? (casual; rising intonation, usually seeking agreement)

Anime and drama dialogue uses short forms like these because they sound natural. They are very casual, so avoid them when speaking politely to staff. 高たかくない? can also be a real question, "it's not expensive?" (checking whether it is cheap), so tone and context decide.

Practice

Apply the rules to new nouns and scenes.

1. Say "this hotel is expensive," politely.

Show answer

このホテルは高たかいです。 — In a talk about rates, 高たかい means expensive with no special word.

2. You are talking about a skyscraper's height. Say "that building is high," politely.

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あのビルは高たかいです。 — Same adjective. The topic (height) makes it mean tall. In a talk about buying property it could mean expensive.

3. Say "my friend is tall," politely.

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私わたしの友達ともだちは背せが高たかいです。 — For people, 背せが makes it about height.

4. A clerk shows you a jacket that is over your budget. You want to keep looking. What do you ask?

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もう少すこし安やすいものはありますか。 — It keeps the conversation going without complaining.

5. A clerk shows you a camera and you don't want it. How do you decline politely?

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ありがとうございます。今回こんかいはやめておきます。 — Thanking first is a clean exit. ちょっと高たかいですね could be heard as a comment on the price.

6. You are with a friend and see a bag with a steep price tag. Give a casual reaction.

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このバッグ、高たかくない? — Rising intonation usually asks your friend to agree.

7. A colleague hands you a box of sweets and you are happy. What is a safe thing to say?

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ありがとうございます。うれしいです。 — React to the gesture, not the price.

8. A shelf tag shows both 税抜ぜいぬき and 税込ぜいこみ prices. Which one should you read as the price with tax?

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税込ぜいこみ — 税込ぜいこみ includes consumption tax. It doesn't promise that shipping or other fees are included.

9. Make this more conversational: この傘かさは他ほかの店みせより価格かかくが低ひくいです。

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この傘かさは他ほかの店みせより安やすいです。 — 価格かかくが低ひくい works in comparison writing, but 安やすい is the default in shopping talk.

10. Say the taxi to the airport "was expensive," politely.

Show answer

空港くうこうまでのタクシーが高たかかったです。 — 高たかかったです, never 高たかいでした.

A trial lesson is a low-stakes place to hear how your version of 高たかい and 安やすい actually lands.

FAQ

How do I ask the price politely? これはいくらですか is polite on its own. おいくらですか is for when you want to ask more politely.

Can I haggle in Japan? Price negotiation isn't usual in regular retail stores. Flea markets and some secondhand shops are different, where まけてもらえますか ("could you come down a bit?") is an accepted question, and some electronics stores discuss prices too.

What does もったいない mean? It means something is too good to waste, such as throwing out edible food or letting an opportunity go by. It is about waste rather than price.

Is タダ rude? No. タダ means free and is used with friends and in shops, while 無料むりょう is the more formal word on signs and in writing.

Can I say 高たかい about a friend's new thing? It depends on how close you are, how far you go into price, and your tone. これ、高たかかったでしょ? is often said out of interest, while a flat 高たかいね can sound critical.

Vocabulary from this article

Select the block, then copy. In Anki: File → Import, note type Basic, separator Tab. Save the copied text as a UTF-8 .txt file first, and check in the import settings that the first column is the front and the second the back.

高い	たかい — expensive; tall, high
安い	やすい — cheap
安っぽい	やすっぽい — cheap-seeming
低い	ひくい — low
背	せ — height (of a person)
高価	こうか — expensive, costly
割高	わりだか — expensive for what you get
値段	ねだん — price
価格	かかく — price (formal)
料金	りょうきん — fee, charge
運賃	うんちん — fare
会計	かいけい — paying, settling the bill
おつり	おつり — change (money)
予算	よさん — budget
超える	こえる — to exceed
お得	おとく — good value
損	そん — a loss, a bad deal
割引	わりびき — discount
半額	はんがく — half price
値引き	ねびき — price reduction
無料	むりょう — free of charge
税込	ぜいこみ — tax included
税抜	ぜいぬき — before tax
もったいない	もったいない — wasteful, too good to waste

I'm Yuuki, a Japanese teacher based in Tokyo. I've taught on italki as a Top 1% teacher and watched over 1,500 anime. The one that costs students something real is 安やすい about a present — it usually comes from wanting to praise a good deal, and in Japanese it lands as a comment on the giver's budget.

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Sources: the author's own lessons and standard reference grammars.

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