Yes, everyone likes money, I’m also part of that! 😄
In Japanese, the word for money is:
お金（おかね / okane）- Money – Tiền
- お is an honorific prefix (used to show politeness).
- 金（かね / kane） means “gold” or “money”.
You’ll hear it often in daily life :
お金がほしいです。
(Okane ga hoshii desu.)
→ Tôi muốn tiền.
→ I want money.
お会計をお願いします。
(O-kaikei o onegai shimasu.)
→ Làm ơn tính tiền giúp tôi.
→ Check, please. / I’d like to pay.
🪙 1. Coins (硬貨 / こうか / Kōka)
Japan has six types of coins. They’re useful in daily life, especially when you buy snacks, drinks from vending machines, or pay at convenience stores.
| Value | Material | Feature | Japanese (Hiragana) | Romaji |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ¥1 | Aluminum | Very light | 一円玉（いちえんだま） | ichi-en dama |
| ¥5 | Brass | Has a hole in the middle | 五円玉（ごえんだま） | go-en dama |
| ¥10 | Bronze | Solid and brown | 十円玉（じゅうえんだま） | jū-en dama |
| ¥50 | Cupronickel | Silver, hole in the middle | 五十円玉（ごじゅうえんだま） | go-jū-en dama |
| ¥100 | Cupronickel | Heavier, very common | 百円玉（ひゃくえんだま） | hyaku-en dama |
| ¥500 | Nickel-brass | Biggest and highest coin value | 五百円玉（ごひゃくえんだま） | go-hyaku-en dama |
In Viet Nam, we don’t use coin so long long time ago, but Singapore and Japan still use 💀
The ¥5 coin (五円玉) is considered lucky in Japan because ごえん (goen) also sounds like “good relationship” or “connection”. 🫢
With ¥5 coin (五円玉) , it really hard to buy something in Japan now.
💵 2. Banknotes (紙幣 / しへい / Shihei)
Japan’s bills come in four types. They’re colorful, clean, and include famous people from Japanese history.
| Value | Color | Usage Example | Japanese (Hiragana) | Romaji |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ¥1,000 | Blue | Common for small purchases | 千円札（せんえんさつ） | sen-en satsu |
| ¥2,000 | Green | Rare, sometimes a collector’s item | 二千円札（にせんえんさつ） | ni-sen-en satsu |
| ¥5,000 | Purple | Often used in shopping/restaurants | 五千円札（ごせんえんさつ） | go-sen-en satsu |
| ¥10,000 | Brown | Highest value, used for big payments | 一万円札（いちまんえんさつ） | ichi-man-en satsu |
I founded the website very interesting about the Security Features of Bank of Japan Notes and I know that very hard to make a fake version for this type of money 🤮. So that mean we need to learning more to earn more money.
In VietNam we have :
1 ngàn -> 1000 vnd : You can’t buy anything
2 ngàn -> 2000 vnd : You also can’t buy anything
5 ngàn -> 5000 vnd : You can buy one water
10 ngàn -> 10000 vnd : You can buy one water
Large : 100 ngàn : 100.000 vnd, 200.000 vnd , 500.000 vnd : You can enjoy a lot !
How much for normal life ?
- コーヒー (kohi) – Coffee – Cà Phê : ~500 yen to 2000 yen
- 弁当（べんとう / bentō – Lunch meal – Phần ăn trưa : ~1000 to ~10000 yen
- 電車 (でんしゃ / densha) = train – Tàu điện : ~500 – 1000 yen around city.
- …
