Quick Reference

Meaning & Definition

代金 (daikin) is the formal Japanese word for the amount of money exchanged in return for goods or services — the equivalent value owed in a transaction. Unlike casual words for price or money, 代金 signals a completed or expected exchange, making it the go-to term on receipts, invoices, and payment requests.

代金 (daikin) refers specifically to the sum of money due or paid as the cost of something received — a product purchased, a service rendered, or a delivery accepted. It sits at the formal end of the price vocabulary spectrum: while nedan (値段) describes the price tag on a shelf and okane (お金) means money in general, 代金 implies a transactional obligation — something owed and to be settled. You will encounter it in written contexts such as invoices (請求書, seikyūsho), receipts (領収書, ryōshūsho), and delivery slips. In spoken registers it appears in polite service-industry phrases like daikin o oshiharai kudasai (代金をお支払いください — please make your payment). It can also combine with payment-method terms: daikin hikikae (代金引換) means cash on delivery (COD), a standard option in Japanese online and mail-order shopping; maebarai (前払い) and atobarai (後払い) indicate prepayment and pay-later arrangements respectively. Using 代金 instead of a simpler word signals awareness of the formal, transactional weight of the moment.

How to Use It

A common mistake is using 代金 interchangeably with 値段 (nedan). 値段 is the labelled or quoted price — what you see on a price sticker. 代金 is the actual amount to be paid in a specific transaction, often appearing after the purchase decision has been made. Saying daikin wa ikura desu ka (代金はいくらですか) at a register is natural; using it to ask “how much does this cost?” while browsing a shelf sounds stiff. Also note that 代金 is rarely preceded by お (o-) as an honorific — unlike お金 or お値段 — so avoid o-daikin in most contexts. When writing business emails or filling out order forms, 代金 is almost always the correct formal choice over any casual alternative.

Kanji Breakdown

代金 is built from two kanji with complementary meanings. 代 (dai) carries the senses of substitution, replacement, and equivalent value — the idea that something stands in for something else. In this compound it conveys “the equivalent given in exchange.” 金 (kin / kane) means gold or money, and is the same character found in お金 (okane) and 金額 (kingaku, monetary amount). Together, 代金 literally captures the concept of “the money that stands as the equivalent” — a precise description of payment as an exchange of equal value.

Example Sentences

Cultural Context

The concept of 代金引換 (daikin hikikae), or cash on delivery, has long been embedded in Japanese consumer culture through the 宅配便 (takuhai-bin) home delivery system. Before online payment infrastructure became widespread, COD was the default trust mechanism for mail-order shopping: the delivery driver collected the exact 代金 at the door and issued a receipt on the spot. Even today, many Japanese shoppers — particularly older generations — prefer this method because it requires no credit card and confirms that payment only changes hands when goods arrive.

In Japanese business culture, the precise handling of 代金 reflects the broader value placed on clear, obligation-based relationships between parties. Invoices and receipts use 代金 rather than casual synonyms to mark that a formal exchange has occurred or is expected. Payment deadlines tied to 代金 are taken seriously, and prompt settlement is considered a marker of professional reliability. This cultural weight means that the word itself, when it appears in a document or spoken request, signals that both parties understand the seriousness of the transaction.

📚 Learn More