How to say "worth" in Japanese
Choosing the right word
- 取り柄とりえnounWorth as personal merit: a person's good points or redeeming qualities — what makes them worthwhile. Typical when sizing someone up, as in saying a person has little to recommend them.
- 価値かちnounWorth as value in the abstract: how valuable, useful, or important something is. The word to reach for when "worth" means general value — of a work, an idea, or a thing — rather than a quantity.
- 甲斐かいnounWorth in doing something: whether an act produces a result that makes the effort worthwhile. Typical when saying that work or trouble paid off, or asking if something is worth doing.
- 値打ちねうちnounWorth as the value of a thing, often in monetary or practical terms — how valuable an object is, or whether it has merit. Typical when appraising goods or weighing what something is worth.
- 分ぶんnoun (suffix)Not about value at all: "worth" here means an amount, as in "two days' worth" of food — how much of something a quantity comes to. Typical when measuring out supplies.
For worth as abstract value use 価値, for a thing's often-monetary worth 「値打ち」, for personal merit 「取り柄」, for an effort proving worthwhile 甲斐, and for amounts like "two days' worth" 分.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Japanese equivalents
See also
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