Money & Shopping

Introduction

From ガチャ (gacha = loot box mechanic) to コスパ (cost performance = value for money), Japanese slang reflects a culture that thinks carefully about spending — and has fun doing it.

This chapter covers slang related to money, shopping, and consumer culture in Japan.

Themes

All Japanese Slang in This Chapter (80)

1. 課金 かきん Spending real money on in-app purchases, especially in mobile games and gacha games.
2. ぼったくり ぼったくり A rip-off; being outrageously overcharged for goods or services.
3. 爆買い ばくがい A massive buying spree; shopping in enormous quantities, originally describing Chinese tourists' shopping habits in Japan.
4. 衝動買い しょうどうがい Impulse buying; making an unplanned purchase driven by sudden desire rather than need.
5. 散財 さんざい Splurging; blowing money recklessly on non-essentials, often with a tone of gleeful or guilty abandon.
6. 浪費 ろうひ Wasteful spending; squandering money on things of little value.
7. 節約 せつやく Saving money; being frugal and cutting expenses in daily life.
8. 貯金 ちょきん Savings; the act of putting money away in a bank account or saving up for a goal.
9. 投資 とうし Investment; putting money into stocks, funds, or other financial instruments to grow wealth.
10. NISA ニーサ Japan's tax-free investment account system, similar to a British ISA or American Roth IRA.
11. iDeCo イデコ Japan's individual defined contribution pension plan, offering tax deductions on contributions for retirement savings.
12. 積み立て つみたて Regular automatic investment contributions; dollar-cost averaging through systematic monthly purchases.
13. ポイ活 ポイかつ The hobby of maximizing loyalty points through strategic use of credit cards, apps, and shopping routes.
14. ペイ活 ペイかつ Optimizing mobile payment usage to maximize cashback rewards and promotional offers.
15. キャッシュレス キャッシュレス Cashless payment methods including credit cards, mobile payments, and e-money; going without physical cash.
16. QR決済 キューアールけっさい QR code-based mobile payment, the dominant cashless method in Japan led by apps like PayPay.
17. PayPay ペイペイ Japan's dominant mobile payment app, owned by SoftBank/Z Holdings, used for QR code payments.
18. メルカリ メルカリ Japan's largest flea market app for buying and selling secondhand items between individuals.
19. 転売ヤー てんばいヤー A reseller or scalper who buys popular items to flip them at inflated prices for profit.
20. せどり せどり Retail arbitrage; the practice of buying underpriced goods at stores and reselling them online for profit.
21. 限定品 げんていひん A limited-edition item; a product available only in restricted quantities or for a limited time.
22. コラボ商品 コラボしょうひん Collaboration merchandise; a product created through a partnership between two brands, characters, or franchises.
23. 廃課金 はいかきん Spending insane, ruinous amounts of money on gacha game microtransactions — whale-level spending.
24. 微課金 びかきん Light spending on in-app purchases; paying small amounts occasionally in mobile games.
25. 無課金 むかきん Free-to-play; spending absolutely zero real money on a mobile game and playing entirely for free.
26. 天井 てんじょう The pity system ceiling in gacha games; the maximum number of pulls guaranteed to get the featured character.
27. リセマラ リセマラ Rerolling a gacha game by repeatedly creating new accounts to get the best possible starter characters.
28. 石 いし Premium currency 'gems' or 'crystals' in gacha games, used to pull for characters and items.
29. サブスク貧乏 サブスクびんぼう Being financially strained from subscribing to too many subscription services.
30. 値上げ ねあげ A price increase; raising the price of goods or services, especially when it impacts daily life.
31. インフレ インフレ Inflation; the rising cost of living that erodes purchasing power over time.
32. 実質値上げ じっしつねあげ Shrinkflation; keeping the same price but reducing quantity or quality — a stealth price increase.
33. 貧困 ひんこん Poverty; serious financial hardship and inability to meet basic living needs.
34. 格差 かくさ Disparity or gap, especially the wealth gap and economic inequality between social groups.
35. ワーキングプア ワーキングプア Working poor; people who are employed full-time but still cannot escape poverty due to low wages.
36. 闇バイト やみバイト An illegal or shady part-time job, often recruited through social media, involving crime like fraud or theft.
37. お金の教育 おかねのきょういく Financial literacy education; teaching people about money management, investing, and personal finance.
38. マネーリテラシー マネーリテラシー Money literacy; the knowledge and skills needed to make informed financial decisions.
39. 老後2000万 ろうごにせんまん The controversial claim that Japanese retirees need 20 million yen in savings beyond their pension to live comfortably.
40. 年金 ねんきん The public pension system; retirement income from government and employer pension plans.
41. クーポン クーポン A coupon or discount code used for shopping, dining, or online purchases.
42. タイムセール タイムセール A flash sale or limited-time discount, often lasting just a few hours.
43. 福袋 ふくぶくろ Lucky bag or mystery grab bag sold at New Year's, containing random assorted goods at a discounted total value.
44. 初売り はつうり The first sale of the New Year, held by retail stores on January 1st to 3rd with special deals and lucky bags.
45. ブラックフライデー ブラックフライデー Black Friday; the American-originated shopping event now widely adopted in Japan with major discounts in late November.
46. Amazonセール アマゾンセール Amazon sales events in Japan including Prime Day, time sales, and seasonal discount campaigns.
47. 楽天経済圏 らくてんけいざいけん The Rakuten ecosystem; a strategy of using multiple Rakuten services to maximize point rewards and savings.
48. ふるさと納税 ふるさとのうぜい Hometown tax donation program allowing taxpayers to donate to any municipality in exchange for local specialty gifts and tax deductions.
49. 確定申告 かくていしんこく Annual tax filing; the process of declaring income and expenses to the tax office, required for freelancers and those with side income.
50. 推し活費 おしかつひ Money spent on supporting and promoting your favorite idol, character, or celebrity — the financial cost of being a dedicated fan.
51. グッズ代 グッズだい Money spent on merchandise and fan goods — the cost of buying official or fan-made items related to your interests.
52. 遠征費 えんせいひ Travel costs incurred to attend concerts, events, or sports matches in distant cities — the expense of going on a fan pilgrimage.
53. ワリカン ワリカン Splitting the bill equally among everyone in the group, regardless of what each person ordered.
54. おごり おごり Treating someone to a meal, drink, or purchase — paying for someone else as a gesture of generosity.
55. お車代 おくるまだい Transportation money given as a courtesy, typically to guests who travel a long distance for weddings, events, or performances.
56. ご祝儀 ごしゅうぎ A monetary gift given in a decorative envelope to celebrate weddings, births, or other joyous occasions.
57. ご祝儀貧乏 ごしゅうぎびんぼう Being broke from giving too many wedding gifts — the financial strain of attending multiple weddings in a short period.
58. シェアハウス シェアハウス Shared housing where residents rent individual rooms but share common spaces like kitchen, living room, and bathroom.
59. 家賃 やちん Monthly rent for housing — one of the biggest fixed expenses in Japanese life, especially in cities.
60. 固定費 こていひ Fixed monthly expenses that stay the same regardless of usage — rent, insurance, subscriptions, and phone bills.
61. 変動費 へんどうひ Variable expenses that fluctuate month to month — food, entertainment, clothing, and discretionary spending.
62. 家計簿 かけいぼ A household budget tracker or spending journal used to record and categorize daily income and expenses.
63. お金が飛ぶ おかねがとぶ Money flies away — an expression meaning your money disappears rapidly and seemingly without trace.
64. カツカツ カツカツ Barely scraping by financially; living paycheck to paycheck with almost no financial cushion.
65. 金欠 きんけつ Being broke or short on cash — a temporary state of having no spending money.
66. 借金 しゃっきん Debt; money that is borrowed and owed — carries a heavy social stigma in Japan.
67. リボ払い リボばらい Revolving credit card payments where you pay a fixed monthly amount regardless of total balance — widely regarded as a dangerous debt trap.
68. 詐欺 さぎ Scam or fraud — also used hyperbolically to mean something is so good or so different from expectations that it feels like deception.
69. 情弱ビジネス じょうじゃくビジネス Business that preys on people who are digitally uninformed or information-illiterate — exploiting those who don't know better.
70. マルチ商法 マルチしょうほう Multi-level marketing (MLM) or pyramid scheme — a business model widely regarded as predatory in Japan.
71. お得 おとく A good deal; getting great value for your money — the satisfying feeling of scoring a bargain.
72. プライスレス プライスレス Priceless; something whose value transcends money — an experience or feeling that can't be bought.
73. 100均 ひゃっきん 100-yen shop; a store where most items cost around 100 yen, like Daiso, Seria, or Can★Do.
74. 即ポチ そくポチ Impulse one-click buying online; instantly hitting the purchase button without thinking.
75. 値段設定バグ ねだんせっていバグ When the price is so unbelievably cheap it seems like a software glitch — used to praise ridiculously good deals.
76. 沼課金 ぬまかきん Spending money endlessly on a hobby, game, or obsession you're addicted to — sinking into a spending swamp.
77. サイレント値上げ サイレントねあげ A stealth price hike where a product's quantity or size shrinks while the listed price stays the same or barely changes.
78. 新NISA しんニーサ Japan's revamped tax-free investment account system launched in 2024, generating massive buzz among young investors.
79. コスパ最強 コスパさいきょう The ultimate cost performance; the absolute best value for money — the highest possible praise for a product's price-to-quality ratio.
80. ラテマネー ラテマネー Latte money; small daily expenses like coffee that seem trivial individually but add up to significant amounts over time.