銭

音読おんよみ: セン

訓読くんよみ: ぜに

画数かくすう: 14 strokes

部首ぶしゅ: 金(かねへん)

Meaning

Coin, money, or small change.


  • 小銭こぜに — small change
  • 銭湯せんとう — public bath
  • 古銭こせん — old coins
  • 無銭むせん — without money

銭 is made of the radical 金 (metal, money) and the phonetic element 戔. The character originally related to tools or thin metal, and later evolved to refer to coins and small amounts of money. The kun-yomi ぜに has deep cultural associations with Edo-era commerce and everyday life.

小銭こぜにっていますか?
Do you have any small change?

むかし銭湯せんとうかよっていました。
People used to go to public baths in the past.

銭 is read as セン in on-yomi and ぜに in kun-yomi. The kun-yomi is common in everyday Japanese, especially in set phrases and historical terms.

◀︎ Full List ▶︎