お金
おかね
okane
= money
お金 (okane) is the everyday Japanese word for money. The honorific prefix お (o-) softens and polishes the word — even though money is a neutral topic, Japanese speakers routinely use the polite form お金 rather than the plain 金 (kane). This honorific attachment reflects Japan’s complex relationship with money: necessary and powerful, but direct discussion of it considered slightly vulgar in polite company.
Okane (お金) means money in general. Related vocabulary: 現金 (genkin — cash), 小銭 (kozeni — coins, small change), 紙幣 (shihei — banknote, formal), お札 (osatsu — banknote, polite everyday term), 財布 (saifu — wallet). Money-related expressions: お金がない (okane ga nai — I have no money), お金をかける (okane wo kakeru — to spend money on), お金持ち (okanemochi — wealthy person, literally ‘money holder’), 節約 (setsuyaku — saving money, frugality).
Japan is famously a cash-heavy society despite recent changes. 現金 (genkin — cash) is still preferred for many transactions — many small restaurants, temples, and traditional businesses are cash-only (現金のみ). The phrase 「お会計お願いします」(o-kaikei onegai shimasu — bill please) is how you request the check at a restaurant. 割り勘 (warikan — splitting the bill equally) is very common among friends; 奢り (ogori — one person treating) is the alternative when one person pays for everyone.
お金 = お (honorific prefix) + 金 (kane/kin — gold, metal, money). The kanji 金 originally meant gold (hence its use in chemical abbreviations: Au=金 in Japanese chemical notation). 金 is also the kanji for Friday (金曜日, kin’youbi — gold/metal day) and one of the five classical elements. As a standalone word, 金 (kane) can mean money but sounds blunter than お金 (okane). In compounds: 金額 (kingaku — amount of money), 料金 (ryoukin — fee, charge), 賃金 (chingin — wages).
Everyday use
給料日前でお金が全然ない。今月は外食を控えるしかない。
Kyuuryoubi mae de okane ga zenzen nai. Kongetsu wa gaishoku wo hikaeru shika nai.
I’m broke before payday. I have no choice but to cut back on eating out this month.
Casual / Social Media
友達にお金の話するの苦手だ 幾ら稼いでるとか聞かれると困る
Tomodachi ni okane no hanashi suru no nigate da Ikura kasoideru toka kikareru to komaru
I’m not good at talking about money with friends. It’s awkward when people ask how much I earn
Formal / Cultural context
日本における現金主義（キャッシュレス化率の国際比較における低位）は、高い紙幣・硬貨品質・低犯罪率による安全な現金取扱環境・お釣りを正確に返す商慣行等の複合要因に起因している。政府はキャッシュレス推進政策（2019年消費税増税時のポイント還元制度等）を展開しているが、現金への文化的選好は根強く、2023年時点でもキャッシュレス決済比率は約39%にとどまっている。
Nihon ni okeru genkin-shugi (kyasshu-resu-ka ritsu no kokusai hikaku ni okeru teii) wa, takai shihei kouka hinshitsu teihanzairitsu ni yoru anzen na genkin toriatsukae kankyou otsuri wo seikaku ni kaesu shoukan-kou tou no fukugou youin ni kiin shite iru. Seifu wa kyasshu-resu suishin seisaku (2019-nen shohizei zouzei-ji no pointo kangensuushin tou) wo tenkai shite iru ga, genkin e no bunkateki senkou wa neyazuyoku, 2023-nen jiten demo kyasshu-resu kessai hiritsu wa yaku 39% ni todoma-tte iru.
Japan’s cash-preference culture (low ranking in international comparisons of cashless payment rates) stems from compound factors: high-quality banknotes and coins, a safe cash-handling environment enabled by low crime rates, and commercial practices of returning exact change. While the government has promoted cashless policies (such as the point-return system during the 2019 consumption tax increase), cultural preference for cash remains strong, with cashless payment ratios still at approximately 39% as of 2023.
Japan’s distinctive approach to money handling includes the practice of 袱紗 (fukusa — a silk cloth used to present money gifts) and 祝儀袋 (shuugibukuro — formal envelope for wedding gifts). Giving cash as a gift is not considered impersonal in Japan — it’s the standard for weddings, graduations, and children’s holidays. However, the presentation matters enormously: crisp, new bills (新札, shinsatsu) placed in decorated envelopes with careful calligraphy or printed text. Crumpled or used bills are considered disrespectful.
The ¥10,000 note (一万円札, ichiman-en satsu) — Japan’s highest denomination — features Fukuzawa Yukichi (1835–1901), a Meiji-era educator and founder of Keio University. In April 2024, new banknotes were issued for the first time in 20 years, replacing Fukuzawa with Shibusawa Eiichi (a Meiji industrialist) on the ¥10,000 note. The change was notable news in Japan, reflecting how strongly Japanese people connect the faces on their currency with national identity and historical values.
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