レジ
レジ
reji
= cash register; checkout counter
レジ is one of those compact Japanese words that packs two meanings into two syllables — it can refer to the cash register machine itself or the checkout area where you pay. Clipped from the English word register, it became so embedded in daily retail life that most Japanese speakers no longer think of it as a foreign loanword at all.
レジ is a shortened form of レジスター (rejisutā), derived from the English cash register. In everyday use it covers both the physical machine that processes payments and the checkout counter as a physical location. When a store associate says 「レジへどうぞ」 (Reji e dōzo), they are directing you to the counter, not handing you a machine. In contexts like 「レジが�故障した」 (Reji ga koshō shita — “The register broke down”), the word refers specifically to the device. This dual usage is understood entirely from context, and native speakers switch between both senses without hesitation. The word also appears in compound forms: レジ袋 (reji bukuro) for plastic shopping bags handed out at checkout, and セルフレジ (serufu-reji) for self-checkout machines now common in supermarkets and convenience stores.
Learners sometimes try to say レジスター in casual speech, but this sounds stiff and outdated in modern Japanese — レジ is always preferred in conversation and on signage. Watch out for the common phrase レジ打ち (reji-uchi), which literally means “register striking” and refers to the job of operating a cash register, often used when describing part-time retail work: 「アルバイトでレジ打ちをしています」 (Arubaito de reji-uchi o shite imasu — “I work a part-time job operating the register”). Also note that 「レジに並ぶ」 (reji ni narabu — “to queue at the checkout”) is a fixed phrase you will hear constantly in supermarkets.
Everyday use
すみません、レジはどこですか？
Sumimasen, reji wa doko desu ka?
Excuse me, where is the checkout counter?
Casual / Social Media
レジ袋はいりません。マイバッグを持ってきました。
Reji bukuro wa irimasen. Mai baggu o motte kimashita.
I don’t need a plastic bag. I brought my own reusable bag.
Formal / Cultural context
当店では全レジにてキャッシュレス決済をご利用いただけます。
Tōten de wa zen-reji nite kyasshu-resu kessai o go-riyō itadakemasu.
Cashless payment is available at all checkout counters in our store.
In July 2020, Japan introduced a nationwide policy requiring retailers to charge for plastic shopping bags at checkout — what the media immediately called the レジ袋有料化 (reji bukuro yūryōka), or “paid レジ袋 policy.” This policy made the compound word レジ袋 a daily talking point, and it accelerated the adoption of mai baggu (reusable bags) across the country. The change was part of a broader plastic-reduction initiative, and because レジ is the word tied to the point of sale, it became central to how Japanese consumers discuss environmental shopping habits.
Japan’s convenience store and supermarket culture has driven rapid adoption of セルフレジ (serufu-reji), self-checkout terminals that allow shoppers to scan and pay without staff assistance. Major chains began rolling these out widely in the late 2010s, and by the mid-2020s セルフレジ lanes outnumber staffed ones in many large stores. The word セルフレジ is now standard vocabulary even for shoppers who are not especially tech-savvy, reflecting how deeply checkout technology has changed the meaning of going to レジ.