- 小銭 — small change
- 銭湯 — public bath
- 古銭 — old coins
- 無銭 — 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.
小銭を 持っていますか?
Do you have any small change?
昔は 銭湯に 通っていました。
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.