What does “okane” mean in Japanese?
Native speakers say “okane” to mean ‘money’ in Japanese. Probably, many Japanese learners know this word as it is often used in Japanese conversations. In this blog post, however, I will explain this word in detail based on its grammatical components. And also, I will explain how to use it through example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners to understand “okane” more clearly. Then, let’s get started!
Contents
Definition and meaning of “okane”
Let me start with the definition and meaning of “okane”.
- okane – お金 (おかね) : a noun meaning ‘money’ in Japanese.
Again, but native speakers use this noun to refer to money in Japanese. They quite often use this in daily conversations.
The definition and meaning are very simple and clear, I think. To understand this noun more clearly, however, let me explain its grammatical components in detail, one by one.
Components of “okane”
“Okane” consists of the following two components:
- o – お : a prefix making its following word polite.
- kane – 金 (かね) : a noun meaning ‘money’ in Japanese.
From these two components, we can understand that “okane” is literally the polite expression for ‘money’. And actually, it is. Japanese people normally show their respect to money. They are slaves of capitalism.
When we meet new Japanese words, we should check their components in detail to understand their meanings clearly and deeply. In many cases, grammatical components tell us a lot about the meanings of the words they form. Actually, here, we could get the better understanding of “okane” through the detailed check above.
So far, I’ve explained the definition and meaning of “okane” together with its grammatical components. Then, let me explain how to use it through the example sentences below.
Example #1: how to say “money” in Japanese
boku wa takusan okane wo tsukat ta – 僕はたくさんお金をたくさん使った (ぼくはたくさんおかねをつかった)
I spent a lot of money.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- boku – 僕 (ぼく) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese. This is used mainly by boys and young males.
- wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works after “boku” to make the subject in the sentence.
- takusan – たくさん : an adverb of degree meaning ‘a lot’, ‘many’, ‘much’, or such in Japanese.
- wo – を : a case particle used to make the object word in a sentence. In the example, this is used after “okane” to make the object in the sentence.
- tsukat – 使っ (つかっ) : one conjugation of the verb, “tsukau“, which means ‘to use’ in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
- ta – た : an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its past tense form. Probably, this is well known as a part of Japanese ta form. In the example, this is used after “tsukat” to make its past tense form, “tsukat ta”.
This is a typical usage of “okane”. In this example, it works as a part of the commonly-used phrase, “okane wo tsukat ta”, which literally means ‘to have used money’ in Japanese. This phrase is normally translated into English as ‘to have spent money’, though.
Example #2: another usage of “okane”
kore wa okane no mondai desu – これはお金の問題です (これはおかねのもんだいです)
This is a matter of money.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- kore – これ : a demonstrative pronoun referring to a thing close to the speaker. In the example, this works to mean ‘this’ in Japanese.
- no – の : a case particle used to join two nouns. Normally, the first one can work as a modifier to describe the second. In the example, this is used to join “okane” and “mondai”. The formed phrase literally means a ‘matter of money’ in Japanese. Word orders in Japanese and English are different, but the role of this case particle is similar to that of the English preposition, “of”.
- mondai – 問題 (もんだい) : a noun meaning ‘problem’, ‘matter’, or such in Japanese. This can also work as plural. Learn more about Japanese plural.
- desu – です : an auxiliary verb used after a noun or adjective to make it polite. Probably, this is well known as a part of Japanese desu form. In the example, this is used after the noun phrase, “okane no mondai”, to make it sound polite.
This is another typical usage of “okane”. In this example, it works as a part of the noun phrase, “okane no mondai”, which literally means a ‘matter of money’ in Japanese. When we want to say “money” in Japanese, anyway, this noun is always a very good option.
Summary
In this blog post, I’ve explained the definition and meaning of “okane” in detail based on its grammatical components. And also, I’ve explained how to use it through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.
- okane – お金 (おかね) : a noun meaning ‘money’ in Japanese. “O” is a prefix making its following word polite; “kane” means ‘money’ in Japanese. So, this is literally the Japanese polite expression for ‘money’. And actually, it is. Japanese people normally show their respect to money. They are slaves of capitalism. When we want to say “money” in Japanese, anyway, this noun is always a very good option.
Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.