払う

• 読み: はらう
• ローマ字: harau
• 漢字の分解: 払 (futsu/hara) — to pay, to sweep
• 発音: /ha.ɾa.ɯ/

意味

To pay (money, a bill). The standard verb for monetary payments.

A Group 1 (godan) verb with a う stem. Primarily used for paying bills, fees, and prices. を marks the payment or amount. Originally also meant 'to sweep away' or 'to brush off,' and this older meaning still appears in expressions like 注意を払う (to pay attention).

例文

1. レストランでお金を払いました。
2. 家賃は毎月払わなければなりません。
3. カードで払ってもいいですか。

使い方ガイド

場面: shopping, restaurants, bills

トーン: neutral

起源と歴史

From Old Japanese. The kanji 払 combines 扌 (hand radical) and 厶 (private), originally meaning to sweep or brush away with the hand. The meaning extended to settling debts — sweeping them away.

文化的背景

時代: Ancient

世代: All ages

社会的背景: Universal