Word
財布
Meaning in Englishwallet, purse
Animated kanji stroke order
Sentence
Related sentences
Word context
What it means
財布 means a wallet or purse. It's a small, portable container used to carry money, cards, and other small personal items, typically kept in a pocket or bag for everyday transactions.
Main meanings
- Primary sense: a personal container used to carry cash, credit cards, and receipts
- Figurative use: funds or a person’s available money or budget in discussions of finances
How to use it
Used in both casual and formal contexts to name the object that stores money and payment cards; common in everyday speech, travel discussions, shopping contexts, and personal finance talks; used when talking about losing, finding, or budgeting with money.
Variants and close terms
- サイフ (saifu) — katakana variant
- 札入れ (ふだいれ, fudaire) — wallet mainly for banknotes
- 長財布 (ながさいふ, nagasaifu) — long wallet
- 二つ折り財布 (ふたつおりさいふ, futatsubori saifu) — bifold wallet
Composition
- 貝: money, wealth; shells historically used as currency in ancient Japan
- 帚: broom; here functioning as a phonetic element to yield the reading
Etymology
From 貝 money and 帚 broom, a two-kanji combination whose historical sense centers on a container for money, giving rise to the modern wallet meaning.
Word class
Noun (名詞)
Word
Related words by kanji and components
N1
財
zai
fortune, riches
N1
財源
zaigen
source of funds, resources, finances
N1
財政
zaisei
economy, financial affairs
N1
配布
haifu
distribution
N1
布巾
fukin
dish cloth
N1
布告
fukoku
edict, ordinance, proclamation
N1
文化財
bunkazai
cultural assets, cultural property
N2
座布団
zabuton
cushion (Japanese)
N2
分布
bumpu
distribution
Kanji