How to say "worthwhile" in Japanese

• 有意義ゆういぎCommon
  na-adjectiveThe common word for 'worthwhile' as 'meaningful, rewarding': a worthwhile day, use of time, or experience. It stresses that the time was meaningfully spent, not that a cost paid off.
  大学だいがくでの生活せいかつは有意義ゆういぎである。↗

  The life in the university is significant.
• 価値あるかちある
  prenominal modifierA less common way to say something is worthwhile in the sense of valuable, worthy, or worth doing; it presents the thing as having value and often overlaps with 有意義.
• だけのことはある
  expression, godan verb (irregular)Really the idiom 'not ... for nothing; no wonder' — something lives up to expectations or an effort proves justified. As a translation of 'worthwhile' it is marginal; use it only for that 'not in vain' sense.
  彼かれはさすが大学だいがくに行いっただけのことはある。↗

  He did not go to college for nothing.
• やりがいのある
  expression, prenominal modifierWorthwhile in the sense of rewarding or satisfying to do: work or activities that give you fulfillment. Use it when the point is what the doing gives you, not whether a cost is justified.
• それだけの価値があるそれだけのかちがある
  expression, godan verb (irregular)Worthwhile as a judgment that something repays the cost, effort, or price — 'it's worth it', 'worth every penny'. Use it when weighing whether the result justifies what you put in.
  その小説しょうせつを読よむことはそれだけの価値かちがある。↗

  It is worthwhile reading the novel.

Use 有意義 for meaningful, rewarding use of time, 「やりがいのある」 for satisfying things to do, 「それだけの価値がある」 for 'it's worth it' judgments, 「価値ある」 for things of value, and 「だけのことはある」 mainly for 'not for nothing'.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

• 有意義ゆういぎsignificant
• 価値あるかちあるvaluable
• だけのことはあるnot ... for nothing
• やりがいのあるworth doing
• それだけの価値があるそれだけのかちがあるit's worth it