貨幣|かへいkahei[1]atamadaka (head-high)

JLPT N1approx.Common
Definitions
  1. nounmoney; currency; coin
    この代用だいよう貨幣かへいでは、会社かいしゃの直営店ちょくえいてんに行いき、その店みせで食料品しょくりょうひんや衣料いりょうを買かうことしかできませんでした。↗
    With the token they could only go to the company shop and buy food or clothing from that shop.
Synonyms & antonyms
  • Synonym通貨つうかNeutralThe money circulating in a country, or a particular currency, as in 「通貨危機」 and 「外国通貨」; stresses circulation and which currency, while 「貨幣」 stresses money itself.
  • SynonymカレンシーNeutralLoanword for a currency unit, as in 「カレンシーボード」; mostly financial jargon — in everyday use say 「通貨」.
  • Synonymお金おかねNeutralThe everyday, polite word for money, as in 「お金を払う」; 「貨幣」 belongs to economics and academic contexts.
  • SynonymマネーNeutralLoanword for money or funds, as in 「マネーゲーム」 and 「電子マネー」; mostly used in compounds, rarely on its own.
  • Related金かねCasualCasual word for money, as in 「金がない」; used mostly by men. 「貨幣」 is an economics term for coins and banknotes as a medium of exchange.
  • Related金銭きんせんNeutralFormal-leaning word for money in set phrases like 「金銭感覚」 and 「金銭トラブル」; covers money matters broadly, while 「貨幣」 points to the medium of exchange itself.
  • Related銭金ぜにかねCasualColloquial word for money, as in 「銭金の問題じゃない」; often used in negative emphatic statements and never in academic writing.
  • Related金員きんいんWrittenWritten, legal-document term for a sum of money, as in 「金員を支払う」; not used in everyday speech.

Use 「貨幣」 for money as a medium of exchange — coins and banknotes — in economic or academic contexts. In daily life say 「お金」; for a country's currency or currency units say 「通貨」; for formal money matters say 「金銭」.

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

Japanese definitions
  1. 物ものやサービスの流通りゅうつう価値かちを化体かたいした物質ぶっしつ。通貨つうかを物質ぶっしつ化かしたもの。お金かね。紙幣しへい・硬貨こうかなど。
  2. (経済けいざい)交換こうかん手段しゅだん、価値かち表示ひょうじ手段しゅだん、価値かち貯蔵ちょぞう手段しゅだんとしての機能きのうをあわせ持もつ財ざい。価値かち基準きじゅん財ざい(ニュメレール)。日本にっぽんにおいては、過去かこに米べいが貨幣かへいとして利用りようされたという歴史れきしがある(参考さんこう:日本銀行にっぽんぎんこう金融きんゆう研究所けんきゅうしょ貨幣かへい博物館はくぶつかん『貨幣かへいの散歩さんぽ道どう』)。
Kanji in this word
English equivalents

JLPT vocabulary levels are community estimates, not official (no official lists have been published since the 2010 revision).

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