LESSON NOTES · レッスンノート

N5Lesson notes · Oct 4, 2026

Money in Japanese: お金かね (おかね), why the お is almost always there, and how to read 円えん

"Money" in Japanese is お金かね (おかね), and the お is so attached to the word that you will hear 金かね (かね) on its own mostly from tough characters, in compounds, or in rough talk.

Learners usually meet three different things at once: the word for money itself, the unit 円えん, and a pile of "cost" words like 代だい, 費ひ and 料金りょうきん. This article separates them. You will learn how to say you have no money, how to read prices out loud, and which "cost" word goes with which bill.

The basics

How do you say "money" in Japanese?

The standard word is お金かね (おかね). Use it in ordinary polite and casual speech alike.

お金かねがありません。 — I don't have any money. (polite, general) お金かねを貸かしてください。 — Please lend me some money. (polite request) お金かね、足たりる? — Is there enough money? (casual, to a friend)

The kanji 金きん is read かね when it means money, but it is also きん ("gold") and appears in 金曜日きんようび (Friday). Reading it as かね only happens when the word is about money, so context tells you which one it is.

Why is the お almost always attached?

お is the polite prefix for words about daily life. Money is a topic people prefer to handle softly, so お became part of the word, much like お茶ちゃ (tea) or お水みず (water).

お金かねを払はらいます。 — I'll pay. (polite, shop or restaurant) お金かねはいくらですか。 — How much is it? (awkward but understandable; いくらですか alone is more natural)

You do not need to think of the お as "honorific" each time. Treat お金かね as the default spelling of the word and drop the お only when you have a reason.

What does 金かね (かね) without お sound like?

Bare 金きん sounds blunt. It is the word of a person who treats money as a tool, a weapon, or a threat. In anime, tough guys, debt collectors and yakuza-style characters say it constantly.

金きんを出だせ。 — Hand over the money. (rough, threatening, never to a stranger in real life) 金きんがない。 — I'm broke. (rough, casual, usually male speech) 金きんの問題もんだいじゃない。 — It's not a matter of money. (blunt, a character making a point)

You can say 金きんがない to a close friend as a joke, but a polite speaker will say お金かねがありません. 金きん also stays inside fixed words that you do not need to soften, like 貯金ちょきん (savings) and 税金ぜいきん (tax).

How do you read 円えん and prices?

円えん (えん) is the yen. Say the number first, then えん.

千円せんえんです。 — That's a thousand yen. (polite, at a register) 一万円いちまんえんです。 — That's ten thousand yen. (polite) 百円ひゃくえんありますか。 — Do you have a hundred yen? (polite question)

Two details trip people up. Numbers up to 一万いちまん follow normal counting, and you can say 千せん and 百ひゃく without いち: 千円せんえん, 百円ひゃくえん. But 万まん needs it: 一万円いちまんえん, not 万円まんえん. For the full number system, see Japanese numbers 1 to 100.

Beyond the basics

Which hundreds and thousands change their sound?

Most prices are read exactly as you would expect, but a few hundreds and thousands shift. The famous ones are 300, 600 and 800.

Number Reading Note
100 ひゃく no change
300 さんびゃく ひゃく → びゃく
600 ろっぴゃく ろく + ひゃく → ろっぴゃく
800 はっぴゃく はち + ひゃく → はっぴゃく
1,000 せん 一千いっせん is rare, just say せん
3,000 さんぜん せん → ぜん
8,000 はっせん はち + せん → はっせん

Add えん after any of them: 三百さんびゃく円えん (さんびゃくえん), 六百ろっぴゃく円えん (ろっぴゃくえん), 八百はっぴゃく円えん (はっぴゃくえん), 三千円さんぜんえん (さんぜんえん). Small amounts have a trap of their own: 4円えん is よえん (not しえん), 7円えん is ななえん, and 9円えん is きゅうえん.

For the "how much is it?" side of the conversation, see いくらですか: asking how much something costs.

How do you talk about paying and handling money?

Japanese attaches different verbs to money depending on what you do with it.

現金げんきんで払はらいます。 — I'll pay in cash. (polite, at a shop) ATMでお金かねを下おろす。 — I withdraw money at the ATM. (neutral, everyday) お金かねを貯ためています。 — I'm saving money. (polite, ongoing action)

払はらう is "to pay," 下おろす is "to withdraw," and 貯ためる is "to save up." 現金げんきん (げんきん) is cash, as opposed to cards. The little amounts have their own words too: 小銭こぜに (こぜに) is loose change, and お釣つり (おつり) is the change you get back after paying.

小銭こぜにがありません。 — I don't have any small change. (polite) お釣つりをどうぞ。 — Here is your change. (polite, staff handing it back)

How do you say someone is rich, or has no money?

お金持かねもち (おかねもち) is a rich person, literally someone "holding" money. お金かねがない means "I have no money," and there is a softer, slightly funnier cousin used between friends.

あの人ひとはお金持かねもちです。 — That person is rich. (polite, descriptive) 今月こんげつはお金かねがない。 — I'm out of money this month. (casual, to a friend) お金かねがなくて、行いけません。 — I can't go because I have no money. (polite, giving a reason)

If you want the money-and-price adjective for cheap things, cheap in Japanese: 安やすい covers 安やすい, お得とく and haggling.

What is the difference between 料金りょうきん, 代だい and 費ひ?

All three can be translated as "cost" or "fee," but they attach to different kinds of nouns.

電気代でんきだいが高たかい。 — The electricity bill is high. (everyday, for a household bill) 交通費こうつうひはいくらですか。 — How much is the transportation cost? (polite, work or school) 入場料にゅうじょうりょうは無料むりょうです。 — Admission is free. (polite, notice at a facility)

A rough guide: 代だい (だい) is a bill for something used or consumed, such as 電気代でんきだい, ガス代だい, 食事代しょくじだい and 飲み代のみだい. 費ひ (ひ) is a budget category, such as 交通費こうつうひ, 食費しょくひ and 学費がくひ. 料金りょうきん (りょうきん) is the formal word for a fee or charge, as in 利用料金りようりょうきん or 電気料金でんきりょうきん. A shorter 料りょう appears in 入場料にゅうじょうりょう and 手数料てすうりょう. They are not strictly interchangeable, but the nouns they pair with are very stable, so memorize the pairs instead of the rule.

How does it sound in anime and casual speech?

Characters change how they talk about money to show who they are. A polite shopkeeper says お金かね; a gruff mercenary says 金きん; a young hero who is always broke says 金きんがない with a dramatic sigh.

金きんだけが目的もくてきじゃない。 — Money isn't my only goal. (rough, a rival or antihero) お金かね、ないんだよね。 — The thing is, I have no money. (casual, soft, a friend explaining)

Hearing 金きん all the time in a show does not mean you should copy it. In a real conversation, bare 金きん for "money" will sound tougher than you intend.

Common mistakes

  • Dropping the お. 金きんがありません is grammatical, but it sounds rough. Keep お金かね until you know the person well.
  • Saying 万円まんえん without 一いち. One ten-thousand yen is 一万円いちまんえん, never 万円まんえん.
  • Reading 300, 600 and 800 mechanically. さんひゃく, ろくひゃく and はちひゃく are wrong; use さんびゃく, ろっぴゃく and はっぴゃく.
  • Reading 4円えん as しえん. It is よえん. Both 7円えん (ななえん) and 9円えん (きゅうえん) have standard readings too.
  • Mixing up 代だい and 費ひ. 電気でんき費ひ or 交通こうつう代だい sound unnatural. Learn them as pairs: 電気代でんきだい, 交通費こうつうひ.
  • Reading 金きん as きん in a money sentence. In お金かね, it is かね. きん is for gold and 金曜日きんようび.

Money words at a glance

Word Reading Meaning Register
お金かね おかね money standard, polite
金きん かね money rough, blunt
現金げんきん げんきん cash neutral
小銭こぜに こぜに small change casual
お釣つり おつり change returned polite
お金持かねもち おかねもち rich person neutral

Practice

Try each question before opening the answer. Questions 1 and 7 are a pair: the same word in two registers.

1. How do you say "I don't have any money" in polite Japanese?

Show answer

お金かねがありません — the お stays in polite speech, and ありません is the polite negative of ある.

2. Read 三百さんびゃく円えん out loud.

Show answer

さんびゃくえん — ひゃく becomes びゃく after さん.

3. Read 六百ろっぴゃく円えん out loud.

Show answer

ろっぴゃくえん — ろく + ひゃく merges into ろっぴゃく.

4. Read 八百はっぴゃく円えん out loud.

Show answer

はっぴゃくえん — はち + ひゃく merges into はっぴゃく.

5. Say "ten thousand yen" correctly.

Show answer

一万円いちまんえん(いちまんえん) — 万まん always needs the 一いち, unlike 千円せんえん and 百円ひゃくえん.

6. A polite shopper wants to pay with cash. What do they say?

Show answer

現金げんきんで払はらいます — 現金げんきん is cash, で marks the method, 払はらいます is the polite "pay."

7. A rough character in a show threatens someone with a one-word "money." Which form is it?

Show answer

金かね(かね) — the blunt form without お, as in 金きんを出だせ. This is the pair to question 1: same word, a different register.

8. Which goes with "electricity bill": 電気代でんきだい or 電気でんき費ひ?

Show answer

電気代でんきだい — 代だい attaches to a bill for something you use. 費ひ is for budget categories like 交通費こうつうひ.

9. How do you read 4円えん?

Show answer

よえん — 4 is よ before 円えん, not し.

10. A cashier hands you your change. What is the word for it?

Show answer

お釣つり(おつり) — the money returned after you pay. 小銭こぜに is loose coins in general.

Use a trial lesson to practise the shop-counter words お金かね, 小銭こぜに and お釣つり, and read prices aloud with 円えん.

FAQ

Is 金きん ever fine without お? Yes, inside compounds like 貯金ちょきん (savings) and 税金ぜいきん (tax), and in casual or rough speech between close people. As a stand-alone word for money, お金かね is the safe choice.

What is the difference between 金かね (かね) and 金きん (きん)? かね means money in everyday speech. きん means gold and appears in 金曜日きんようび (Friday). Context decides.

Do I say いち before 千せん and 百ひゃく? No. 千円せんえん and 百円ひゃくえん are normal. 一万円いちまんえん needs the 一いち, and so does 一億いちおく, but 千せん and 百ひゃく do not.

Is 現金げんきん only for paying in person? It means "cash" as opposed to cards or transfers, so you will hear it anywhere payment methods come up: 現金げんきんのみ is a typical shop notice meaning "cash only."

Why do some words use 代だい and others 料金りょうきん? 代だい is for ordinary bills and charges (電気代でんきだい, 食事代しょくじだい), 料金りょうきん is the formal word (利用料金りようりょうきん), and 費ひ is for cost categories (交通費こうつうひ). The nouns that pair with each are quite fixed.

Vocabulary from this article

Tap the block to select all of it, then copy. In Anki: File → Import, note type Basic, separator Tab — the first column becomes the front, the second the back.

お金	おかね — money
金	かね — money (rough, blunt)
円	えん — yen
現金	げんきん — cash
小銭	こぜに — small change
お釣り	おつり — change (money returned)
お金持ち	おかねもち — rich person
払う	はらう — to pay
下ろす	おろす — to withdraw
貯める	ためる — to save up
貯金	ちょきん — savings
税金	ぜいきん — tax
電気代	でんきだい — electricity bill
交通費	こうつうひ — transportation cost
料金	りょうきん — fee, charge
入場料	にゅうじょうりょう — admission fee

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, so most of the example sentences on this blog come from lines I've actually heard students ask about — including this one, which comes up in nearly every beginner's first few lessons. For practice with feedback, Book a trial lesson · $13, or work through Japanese practice exercises first.

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

More drills like the ones above, plus a timed JLPT-style mock test: Practice · N5 · Read something at this level: JLPT N5 stories with audio

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