Money and prices in Japan, yen readings, small change, price boards, audio
Prices are written everywhere in Japan, but the way they are displayed and read follows a few consistent patterns. Mastering those patterns makes shopping, ordering food, talking about money, and understanding receipts dramatically easier. This lesson takes you from the smallest coins to big-ticket price tags, explains how price boards are laid out, shows the Japanese you will see next to numbers, and trains you to read any amount out loud with natural rhythm. There is no sub-unit like “cents” you must say—yen (円 えん) is a whole-number currency—so once you can read Japanese numbers you already own most of this topic.
What you will see on tags and boards
You will encounter three very common notations near prices:
- 税込（ぜいこみ） — tax included. The amount shown is what you pay. Many supermarkets and convenience stores prefer this because it is more intuitive for shoppers.
- 税抜 or 税別（ぜいぬき / ぜいべつ） — tax not included / shown separately. Electronics chains and specialty stores sometimes display the pre-tax price in large type with the tax-in amount smaller nearby.
- ￥ — the yen symbol. It may appear before or after the number (e.g., ￥980 or 980円). On restaurant menus, 円 is often omitted entirely when the meaning is obvious.
Japan has six coin denominations and (currently) three common banknotes. You rarely need to mention the word “coin” or “bill”; simply say the number with 円. If you count physical pieces—handing over coins or notes—use the counter 枚（まい）: 百円玉を二枚 “two 100-yen coins.”
Coins you will touch daily
| Value | Kanji on coin | How to read | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 円 | 一円 | いちえん | Aluminum, very light. Vending machines usually ignore it. |
| 5 円 | 五円 | ごえん | Has a hole. “ご縁” pun makes it a lucky coin in shrines. |
| 10 円 | 十円 | じゅうえん | Often called じゅうえんだま (10-yen coin) in speech. |
| 50 円 | 五十円 | ごじゅうえん | Also has a hole; used less frequently than 100-yen. |
| 100 円 | 百円 | ひゃくえん | Workhorse coin; many small items are “100-yen.” |
| 500 円 | 五百円 | ごひゃくえん | High-value coin; common for quick meals or bus fares. |
Banknotes you will read everywhere
| Value | Kanji on note | How to read | Everyday use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 円 | 千円 | せんえん | Conbini purchases, train tickets, small restaurants. |
| 5,000 円 | 五千円 | ごせんえん | Casual sit-down meals, drug stores, mid-range items. |
| 10,000 円 | 一万円 | いちまんえん | Groceries for a family, electronics, hotel deposits. |
Sound shifts carry through: 三百円 is さんびゃくえん, 六百円 is ろっぴゃくえん, 八百円 is はっぴゃくえん, 三千円 is さんぜんえん, and 八千円 is はっせんえん.
Reading prices is just reading numbers. The only “Japanese-style” twist is the use of 万 (まん, ten-thousand) and 億 (おく, hundred-million) in big numbers. English groups by thousands; Japanese comfortably groups by ten-thousands. Get used to seeing and thinking in 万 for smooth speech.
Practical patterns
- 980 円 → きゅうひゃくはちじゅうえん
- 1,280 円 → せんにひゃくはちじゅうえん
- 12,000 円 → いちまんにせんえん（12,000）
- 35,800 円 → さんまんごせんはっぴゃくえん
- 120,000 円 → じゅうにまんえん（120,000）
- 2,450,000 円 → にひゃくよんじゅうごまんえん（2,450,000）
When you speak, insert tiny, even pauses at unit boundaries: まん｜せん｜ひゃく｜じゅう｜えん. Keep each chunk the same length; do not stretch the last syllable.
Fast mental conversion for big tags
Electronics and furniture stores often print prices like 12.8万円. This is a compact way to write 128,000 yen. Multiply the number by 10,000 in your head and read it out loud with まん:
- 12.8万円 → じゅうにまんはっせんえん（128,000 yen）
- 3.5万円 → さんまんごせんえん（35,000 yen）
- 0.98万円 → きゅうせんはっぴゃくえん（9,800 yen）
Small dots on tags are decimal points, not thousands separators. A period in front of 万 means “point something man.”
Saying “about,” “from,” and “each”
- 約（やく） — about / approximately: やく三千円 “about 3,000 yen.”
- ～から — from: 五百円から “from 500 yen.”
- ～ずつ — each: 百円ずつ “100 yen each.”
- ～以下 / 以上 — under / over: 千円以下, 一万円以上.
Registers across Japan run on a small set of ultra-predictable phrases. Learn the rhythms and you will understand checkout talk even in noisy stores.
At the register
- ◯◯円になります。 — “That will be ◯◯ yen.” (polite, neutral)
- ◯◯円でございます。 — ultra-polite version in department stores.
- お会計は◯◯円です。 — “Your total is ◯◯ yen.”
- ポイントカードはお持ちですか。 — “Do you have a points card?”
- レシートはご入用（にゅうよう）ですか。 — “Do you need the receipt?”
Paying and receiving change
- ◯◯円お預（あず）かりします。 — “Taking ◯◯ yen (from you).” said as the cashier accepts your cash.
- お釣（つ）りは◯◯円です。 — “Your change is ◯◯ yen.”
- ちょうどです。 — “Exact change.” (hand this over and they will skip counting change back)
- 袋（ふくろ）はご入（い）りますか。 — “Would you like a bag?” (Plastic bags often cost a few yen.)
If you prefer to pay by card or transit IC, say カードで or スイカで (with Suica). The cashier will point to the reader. Many QR apps are supported; you will be told こちらにお願いします “please scan here.”
Grocery and market signage uses short, information-dense lines that pack the unit price, the size, and whether tax is included. Once you learn the standard layout, you can scan a shelf and compare quickly.
Typical supermarket tag anatomy
- 本体価格 — the product price before tax (literally “body price”).
- 税込価格 — price including tax (the number you actually pay).
- ○○g / 100g / 1個 / 1本 — size or per-unit information: grams, per 100 grams, one piece, one bottle/stick, etc.
- 産地（さんち） — place of origin for produce.
- 見切（みき）り / 値下（ねさ）げ — markdown / discounted.
Per-100g pricing
Meat and fish are commonly priced “per 100g.” A tray might say 100g当（あ）たり128円 and the sticker on the package will print the net weight and the extended price. If the tray weighs 356g, multiply 128 × 3.56 ≈ 455. You’ll see a printed total already—just recognize why the numbers differ between the shelf tag and package sticker.
Multi-buy deals
Look for ◯点（てん）で◯円 (“◯ items for ◯ yen”) or よりどり (“mix and match”). Example: 3点で1,000円. If you buy two, the unit price is the regular price; buy three and the register applies the deal automatically.
Restaurant menus and service charges
Menus often omit 円 after the number when a column clearly lists prices. Chains usually print tax-included amounts. Some izakaya add a small お通（とお）し cover charge per person; it appears on the receipt as a separate line, not in the menu price. In hotels and higher-end restaurants you may see サービス料 (service charge). These are always printed on receipts; the total you are asked to pay still follows the same yen reading rules.
Numbers are the skeleton; collocations are the muscle. The short expressions below appear constantly in ads, conversations, and signs. Memorize them whole so you don’t translate in your head.
Everyday collocations
- 送料（そうりょう）込み — shipping included.
- 送料別 — shipping charged separately.
- 定価（ていか） — list price / MSRP.
- 割引（わりびき） / 値引（ねび）き — discount.
- 半額（はんがく） — half price.
- 在庫（ざいこ）限（かぎ）り — while supplies last.
- 現金（げんきん）のみ — cash only.
- 分割（ぶんかつ）払い — pay in installments.
Asking and negotiating
- これはいくらですか。 — “How much is this?”
- もう少（すこ）し安（やす）くなりますか。 — “Could it be a little cheaper?” (Polite, works at flea markets or big-ticket counters.)
- ～円までなら出（だ）せます。 — “I can go up to ~ yen.”
- 領収書（りょうしゅうしょ）をお願いします。 — “Receipt, please.” (formal invoice style)
Bargaining is rare in chain stores but normal at second-hand shops, markets, and when buying used electronics. Always stay polite and smile; even a small discount often appears if you ask gently.
Japanese materials mix several notations. You should be comfortable with all of them so price tags never surprise you.
- 1,280円 — comma thousands, 円 after the number (most common in consumer contexts).
- ￥1,280 — yen symbol before the number (websites, international packaging).
- 1280円 — no comma; fast signage and menus.
- 12万8千円 — mixed kanji units for large amounts (finance headlines, real estate flyers).
- 12.8万円 — ten-thousands with a decimal (appliance & car ads, auction sites).
When a tag uses “万,” speak using まん. If you translate it to thousands in your head you will hesitate when talking. Train yourself to think in units of ten-thousand while in Japan.
Japan still loves cash for everyday purchases. Even with widespread cards and mobile pay, you will often hand coins and bills through a small tray by the register. Knowing what is expected keeps the line moving and makes everyone happy.
- Coin trays: place your money in the tray; the cashier counts it in view and returns お釣り there. Avoid passing cash hand-to-hand unless the cashier does so.
- Exact change: stores appreciate exact amounts; saying ちょうどです (exact) is friendly and speeds things up.
- Charging IC cards: transit cards like Suica/PASMO can be reloaded at ticket machines and many registers; you will see チャージ可 signs.
- Splitting the bill: the phrase is 割（わ）り勘（かん）. At casual restaurants, each person takes their receipt to the register; at sit-down places you can say 別々（べつべつ）で at payment.
- Tipping: there is no tipping culture. If you leave money on a table, staff will likely chase you to return it.
The only time you might handle “sub-yen” amounts is in utility bills where fractions are rounded. You never say or pay part-yen amounts at stores.
Speak these examples out loud using the exact patterns above. Treat each unit boundary as a beat—steady, not rushed.
Consumer prices
- 980 → きゅうひゃくはちじゅうえん
- 1,480 → せんよんひゃくはちじゅうえん
- 2,980 → にせんきゅうひゃくはちじゅうえん
- 12,000 → いちまんにせんえん
- 39,800 → さんまんきゅうせんはっぴゃくえん
Big-ticket and ads
- 12.8万円 → じゅうにまんはっせんえん
- 3.98万円 → さんまんきゅうせんはちひゃくえん
- 128万円 → ひゃくにじゅうはちまんえん
- 2,450,000 → にひゃくよんじゅうごまんえん
Repeat them until the words are automatic. If a number feels long, break it at まん, say the chunk, then continue. With a few sessions you will read price tags as fast as you read them in your native language.
