割賦

• Reading: かっぷ
• Romaji: kappu
• Kanji breakdown: 割 (katsu/wari) — divide, apportion; 賦 (fu) — levy, instalment payment
• Pronunciation: /kap.pɯ/

Meaning

Instalment plan; hire purchase; a payment arrangement in which the total cost is divided into regular periodic payments. Common in consumer finance and formal contracts.

Used when purchasing goods or services by spreading costs over time, with or without interest. 割賦 is the formal, legal term; everyday speech favours 分割払い. Frequently appears in written contracts for vehicles, home appliances, and commercial equipment, as well as in instalment-sale legislation (割賦販売法).

Examples

1. この冷蔵庫は割賦で購入できるため、初期費用を抑えることができる。 This refrigerator can be purchased on an instalment plan, keeping the initial outlay low.
2. 割賦の残高をできるだけ早期に完済したいと思っている。 I would like to pay off the remaining instalment balance as early as possible.
3. 割賦販売制度を活用して、高額な医療機器を導入した病院が増えている。 An increasing number of hospitals have introduced expensive medical equipment by making use of instalment-sale schemes.

Usage Guide

Context: consumer finance, contracts, retail, banking

Tone: neutral

Origin & History

Sino-Japanese compound: 割 (to divide, apportion) + 賦 (to levy, assign payment). Together they express the idea of apportioning a debt into instalments due over time.

Cultural Context

Era: Modern

Generation: Adults

Social background: General