How do you say "cheap" in Japanese?

In Japanese, "cheap" is 安い (yasui). It is a adjective pronounced "yah-soo-ee".

Listen to the pronunciation:

Pronunciation

安い is written in kanji and hiragana. Romanised as yasui, it sounds roughly like "yah-soo-ee" to an English ear.

Example sentence

このお店の野菜はとても安いです。

Kono omise no yasai wa totemo yasui desu.

The vegetables at this shop are very cheap.

Usage notes

Yasui (安い) is an i-adjective meaning cheap or inexpensive. It should not be confused with yasashii (easy or gentle). Convenience stores and 100-yen shops are known for yasui prices in Japan.

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Questions about 安い

How do you pronounce 安い?

安い is romanised as yasui. Say it roughly like "yah-soo-ee" in English. Each Japanese syllable has even weight, so keep the rhythm steady.

Is 安い formal or casual?

安い is an i-adjective. The form shown is the plain form, which works in casual speech. To make it polite, add desu at the end of the sentence. The word itself does not change.

How is 安い written in Japanese?

安い is written using kanji and hiragana. Kanji characters carry the core meaning; any hiragana or katakana that follow show grammatical endings.

This word is part of the vocabulary taught in the Japanese language learning game Noun Town, where words are introduced through play rather than memorisation.