How do you say "spend" in Japanese?

使う

tsukau

Verb Kanji

In Japanese, "spend" is 使う (tsukau).

Listen to the pronunciation:

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Pronunciation

Two crisp syllables, tsu-kau, where the initial 'tsu' is a single consonant cluster pronounced almost like the 'ts' in 'cats'.

Writing and usage

使う is written using kanji. It's a verb, and this word is also taught inside the Noun Town language learning game, where it appears in interactive lessons alongside hundreds of other everyday words.

Example sentence

週末は家で過ごします。

shuumatsu ha ie de sugo shimasu.

We spend the weekend at home.

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How to remember 使う

Tsukau sounds like 'too cow' — spend too much and you'll need to sell the cow to cover it.

Related words

Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.

Questions about 使う

How do you pronounce 使う?

Two crisp syllables, tsu-kau, where the initial 'tsu' is a single consonant cluster pronounced almost like the 'ts' in 'cats'.

Is 使う formal or casual?

使う 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 使う written in Japanese?

使う is written using kanji. Romanised, it reads as tsukau.

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.

"Spend" 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. Want to play the full game? Get Noun Town on Steam.

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