利子

• 読み: りし
• ローマ字: rishi
• 漢字の分解: 利 (ri) — profit, interest, benefit; 子 (shi) — child, offspring
• 発音: /ɾi.ɕi/

意味

Interest. The charge or return on a financial deposit or loan, expressed as a percentage of the principal.

A noun referring to interest in financial contexts. Nearly synonymous with 利息 (risoku), though 利子 is slightly more common in everyday conversation while 利息 appears more in formal banking documents. Common collocations include 利子がつく (interest accrues), 利子を払う (to pay interest), and 低利子 (low interest). Also used figuratively in the expression 利子をつけて返す (to return with interest, i.e. with extra).

例文

1. 住宅ローンの利子だけで毎月かなりの額になる。
2. この定期預金は利子が高くてお得だ。
3. 借りたお金は利子をつけて返さなければならない。

使い方ガイド

場面: banking, personal finance, daily life

トーン: neutral

起源と歴史

From Sino-Japanese: 利 (ri, profit/interest/benefit) + 子 (shi, child/offspring). Metaphorically, interest is the 'child' born from the principal — money generating more money.

文化的背景

時代: Pre-modern

世代: All ages

社会的背景: Universal