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22. Big Numbers & Money

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すみません、これは何円ですか
Excuse me, how many yen is this?
三百円です
It is 300 yen
えー、安い
Oh, that is cheap
買います
I will buy it
この水も安いですか
Is this water also cheap?
ええ、百円です
Yes, it is 100 yen
あれも見ますか
Do you want to look at that too?
ええ、あれは千円です
Yeah, that one is 1,000 yen
千円ですか
1,000 yen?
ちょっと高い
A little expensive
百円のも千円のもあります
There are 100-yen ones and 1,000-yen ones
安い物が好きです
I like cheap things
お金は少しあります
I have a little money
あれは五千円です
That one is 5,000 yen
えー、五千円
Wow, 5,000 yen
本当に高いです
It is really expensive
一万円の物もあります
There are 10,000-yen things too
一万円！
10,000 yen!
お金は大丈夫ですか
Is your money okay?
はい、大丈夫です
Yes, it is fine
一万円あります
I have 10,000 yen
ご飯も買いますか
Will you buy food too?
高い物は買いません
I will not buy expensive things
安い物がいいです
Cheap things are good
何を買いますか
What will you buy?
百円の物を買います
I will buy the 100-yen one
友達の物も買いますか
Will you buy something for your friend too?
ええ、何がいいですか
Yeah, what would be good?
ここの物は安いです
The things here are cheap
百円の水はどうですか
How about the 100-yen water?
いいですね、買います
That sounds good, I will buy it

Cultural Notes

Japan's 10,000-yen note

Japan's largest common bill is the 10,000-yen note (ichiman en). Unlike many countries, Japan still uses cash heavily, especially at smaller shops and restaurants. You will hear ichiman en a lot in daily life.

Saying prices out loud

When saying prices, Japanese drops the thousands separator. 3,500 yen is sanzen gohyaku en, not san sen go hyaku en. Some numbers change sound when combined with hyaku and sen — for example, 300 is sanbyaku, not sanhyaku, and 3,000 is sanzen, not sansen.

Takai means both expensive and tall

The word takai can mean expensive or tall depending on context. If you are talking about a price or a thing you might buy, it means expensive. If you are describing a building or a person, it means tall. Context makes it clear.