How do you say "money" in Japanese?

お金

okane

Noun Kanji

In Japanese, "money" is お金 (okane).

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Pronunciation

お金 is written using kanji. Romanised as okane, it sounds roughly like "oh-kah-neh" to an English ear.

Writing and usage

Okane uses the kanji for metal/gold (金). Gold historically held value as currency, so the same character serves for money in general.

Example sentence

そのお金はとても便利です。

Sono Okane wa totemo benri desu.

That money is very useful.

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How to remember お金

Metal (金) sits like a nugget or coin. When you say okane, you are saying something precious made of metal.

Related words

Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.

See more clothes words.

Questions about お金

How do you pronounce お金?

お金 is romanised as okane. Say it roughly like "oh-kah-neh" in English. Each Japanese syllable has even weight, so keep the rhythm steady.

Is お金 formal or casual?

お金 is a neutral, everyday word that works in both casual and polite speech. The level of formality comes from the sentence structure around it, not from the word itself.

How is お金 written in Japanese?

お金 is written using kanji. Okane uses the kanji for metal/gold (金).

Where can I practice Japanese words for free?

You can play free Japanese minigames in your browser on the Noun Town online games page, with no sign-up needed. Every word in the Japanese glossary also has native audio and an example sentence you can revisit any time.

"Money" in other languages

Curated by Jack Ratcliffe

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.

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