値段

• Reading: ねだん
• Romaji: nedan
• Kanji breakdown: 値 (ne) — value, price; 段 (dan) — step, grade, level
• Pronunciation: /ne.daɴ/

Meaning

Price; cost. The amount of money asked for goods or services.

A noun used in everyday conversation when discussing how much something costs. More casual than 価格 (kakaku), which is used in formal or written contexts. Commonly paired with adjectives: 値段が高い (expensive) and 値段が安い (cheap). Essential vocabulary for shopping situations.

Examples

1. この服の値段を教えてください。 Could you tell me the price of these clothes?
2. 値段が安いので二つ買いました。 The price was low, so I bought two.
3. あの店は値段が高いですが、おいしいです。 That restaurant is pricey, but the food is delicious.

Usage Guide

Context: shopping, markets, comparing products

Tone: neutral

Origin & History

A compound of 値 (ne, value/price) and 段 (dan, step/grade). Together they express the level or grade of a price. The kanji 値 combines 人 (person) and 直 (straight/value).

Cultural Context

Era: Edo

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal