現金
Meaning in Englishcash, ready money
Animated kanji stroke order
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Word context
What it means
現金 (genkin) means cash — physical, immediately spendable money such as coins and banknotes; it refers to money you can use on the spot rather than credit or electronic funds and is commonly contrasted with non-cash payment methods in everyday and business contexts.
Main meanings
- 1. Emphasis on payment method: used to indicate transactions settled with physical notes/coins rather than cards or transfers.
- 2. Liquidity concept: refers to readily available funds held for immediate use in personal or business finance contexts.
- 3. Figurative/behavioral meaning: used as a na-adjective to describe someone pragmatic, opportunistic, or unmoved by sentimental concerns.
How to use it
Used across daily life, retail, accounting and legal contexts to specify cash transactions, cash holdings, or cash-only conditions; appropriate in both formal documents (receipts, invoices, business statements) and casual speech (asking how to pay), and can appear as a noun or as a na-adjective describing behavior in conversational Japanese.
Variants and close terms
- キャッシュ (kyasshu) — loanword for cash (often used in katakana).
- 現ナマ (gennama) — colloquial/slang for physical cash.
- 預金 (yokin) — deposit, banked funds (contrast/alternative to cash).
- カード (kaado) — card (non-cash payment method, antonym in usage).
Composition
- 現 (gen) — present, existing, appearing.
- 金 (kin) — metal, gold, money.
- The compound literally conveys the idea of money that is present/available right now — i.e., cash on hand.
Origin
The modern sense of referring to physical currency became prominent after Japan's Meiji-era monetary reforms (late 19th century) when the yen and standardized coins/banknotes were adopted; the lexical use of the compound to distinguish immediate money from credit and deposits grew with modern banking and commercial practices.
Word class
noun; na-adjective (名詞、形容動詞（ナ形容詞）)