Translation guide
This guide covers how to talk about coins in Japanese, from physical currency to idiomatic expressions.
Referring to a piece of metal money.
Standard word for 'coin' as physical currency. Used in formal and everyday contexts.
This vending machine only accepts coins.
I have a lot of coins in my wallet.
Loanword from English, commonly used in casual speech and for coin-operated things.
I'm going to the coin laundry.
Use coins at the arcade.
Refers to small change, loose coins. Very common in daily conversation.
I didn't have enough change, so I got some coins back.
Do you have a coin purse?
Archaic or literary term for money or coin. Rarely used alone in modern Japanese except in compounds.
He knows the saying 'ill-gotten gains never prosper' (lit. bad coins don't stick to the body).
Referring to the action of flipping a coin to decide something.
Idiomatic expression meaning two things that seem different but are closely related.
Means 'two sides of the same coin' or 'inseparable'. Commonly used in formal and written contexts.
Freedom and responsibility are two sides of the same coin.
More literal translation of 'two sides of a coin'. Understandable but less idiomatic than 表裏一体.
Love and hate are like two sides of the same coin.
Referring to digital coins or tokens.
硬貨 is the formal term for coin (as opposed to bill). コイン is a casual loanword often used in compounds like コインロッカー (coin locker). 小銭 specifically means small change or loose coins, and is very common in daily speech.
In formal or official contexts, use 硬貨 instead of コイン. For example, on a sign: 硬貨のみ (coins only), not コインのみ.
試合の前にコイントスで先攻を決める。
Before the match, we decide who goes first by coin toss.
This project issued its own token.