Translation guide
A ledger is a book or digital record for keeping financial accounts. In Japanese, the most common word is 台帳 (daichō), but other terms are used depending on the context, such as accounting, banking, or historical records.
ledger (general)
bank passbook
A book or digital record for keeping financial accounts, such as in a business or organization.
The most common and general term for a ledger or register. Used in business and administrative contexts.
Please check the accounting ledger.
Refers to account books or financial records in general. Often used in accounting contexts.
Specifically the general ledger in double-entry bookkeeping. More technical accounting term.
A record of transactions for a bank account, often a physical book.
An official record or register, such as for land, population, or historical events.
A digital record, especially in cryptocurrency or distributed systems.
台帳 is a general ledger or register, used for various records. 帳簿 refers to account books collectively, often in bookkeeping. 元帳 is specifically the general ledger in double-entry accounting.
Enter in the ledger.
We record all transactions in this ledger.
帳簿をつけるのは大変です。
Keeping the books is tough.
総勘定元帳に転記してください。
Please post to the general ledger.
Bank passbook or bankbook. Commonly used for personal savings accounts.
I updated my bank passbook at the bank.
Deposit passbook; more formal term for a bank passbook.
Do you have your deposit passbook?
Also used for official registers, such as land registers or family registers.
We need to check the land register.
Specifically a legal register, such as a real estate registry.
Please obtain a certified copy of the register.
Also used for digital ledgers, including blockchain. Often combined with 分散 (distributed).
Blockchain is a distributed ledger technology.
In accounting software, 元帳 refers to the general ledger module.
Check the general ledger in the accounting software.
帳簿を整理する。
Organize the books.
Post to the general ledger.
通帳 is the standard term for a bank passbook. It is still widely used in Japan, even as digital banking grows. You can say 通帳記入 (passbook update) or 通帳アプリ (passbook app).