Translation guide
This guide covers how to talk about coins in Japanese, from physical currency to idiomatic expressions.
Referring to a piece of metal money.
Standard word for 'coin' as physical currency. Used in formal and everyday contexts.
この自動販売機は硬貨しか使えません。
This vending machine only accepts coins.
財布の中に硬貨がたくさんある。
I have a lot of coins in my wallet.
Loanword from English, commonly used in casual speech and for coin-operated things.
コインランドリーに行ってくる。
I'm going to the coin laundry.
ゲームセンターでコインを使う。
Use coins at the arcade.
Refers to small change, loose coins. Very common in daily conversation.
小銭が足りなくて、お釣りをもらった。
I didn't have enough change, so I got some coins back.
小銭入れを持っていますか？
Do you have a coin purse?
Archaic or literary term for money or coin. Rarely used alone in modern Japanese except in compounds.
彼は悪銭身につかずという言葉を知っている。
He knows the saying 'ill-gotten gains never prosper' (lit. bad coins don't stick to the body).
Referring to the action of flipping a coin to decide something.
Literally 'throw a coin'. The most direct way to say 'flip a coin'.
どっちにするか決められないなら、コインを投げよう。
If you can't decide, let's flip a coin.
Noun meaning 'coin toss'. Often used in sports or decision-making contexts.
試合の前にコイントスで先攻を決める。
Before the match, we decide who goes first by coin toss.
Idiomatic expression meaning two things that seem different but are closely related.
Means 'two sides of the same coin' or 'inseparable'. Commonly used in formal and written contexts.
自由と責任は表裏一体だ。
Freedom and responsibility are two sides of the same coin.
More literal translation of 'two sides of a coin'. Understandable but less idiomatic than 表裏一体.
愛と憎しみはコインの裏表のようなものだ。
Love and hate are like two sides of the same coin.
Referring to digital coins or tokens.
Used for cryptocurrency coins (e.g., Bitcoin). Same loanword as physical coin.
ビットコインは代表的な仮想通貨のコインです。
Bitcoin is a representative cryptocurrency coin.
Sometimes used to distinguish tokens from coins in blockchain contexts.
硬貨 is the formal term for coin (as opposed to bill). コイン is a casual loanword often used in compounds like コインロッカー (coin locker). 小銭 specifically means small change or loose coins, and is very common in daily speech.
In formal or official contexts, use 硬貨 instead of コイン. For example, on a sign: 硬貨のみ (coins only), not コインのみ.
This project issued its own token.