Translation guide
How to express the act of using money to buy things or pay for services in Japanese, with attention to natural phrasing and common patterns.
To say that someone spends money, in a general sense.
The most common and neutral way to say 'spend money'. Literally 'use money'.
彼は毎月たくさんお金を使う。
He spends a lot of money every month.
Don't spend money wastefully.
A more formal or literary verb meaning 'to spend (money, time, effort)'. Often used in written contexts.
彼はそのプロジェクトに多額の資金を費やした。
He spent a large amount of money on the project.
A more casual or blunt version of お金を使う, using 金 (かね) instead of お金. Common in informal speech.
あいつはいつも無駄に金を使ってる。
That guy is always wasting money.
To express spending money on a particular item or purpose.
Use the particle に to mark the purpose or item. This is the standard pattern.
彼は車にたくさんお金を使った。
He spent a lot of money on his car.
趣味にお金を使いすぎている。
I'm spending too much money on my hobbies.
Literally 'to put money into something'. Implies investing or spending a significant amount, often with a sense of commitment.
彼は教育に金をかけている。
He spends money on education.
To express excessive or wasteful spending.
The standard way to say 'waste money'. 無駄遣い means 'wasteful spending'.
お金を無駄遣いしないようにしている。
I try not to waste money.
A somewhat formal or literary term meaning 'to squander money'. Often used in writing.
彼は散財して借金を作った。
He squandered money and got into debt.
To describe spending money on activities rather than physical goods.
Still the most natural way. Context clarifies it's about experiences.
旅行にたくさんお金を使った。
I spent a lot of money on the trip.
Literally 'to drop money', meaning to spend money at a place (like a restaurant or store). Often used from the perspective of the business.
観光客が街でたくさんお金を落としてくれる。
Tourists spend a lot of money in the town.
To talk about regular expenses or the act of spending in a routine context.
A noun/verb meaning 'expenditure' or 'to spend'. More formal and often used in financial contexts.
今月は予想以上の出費があった。
We had more expenses than expected this month.
The English verb 'spend' can be used for both time and money. In Japanese, 使う (つかう) works for money, but for time, you usually use 過ごす (すごす) or 費やす (ついやす). Do not use 使う for time unless it's a specific context like 'spend time on a task' (時間を使う).
お金を使う is general 'spend money'. お金をかける implies investing or putting money into something with a purpose, often with a nuance of effort or large amount. かける is not used for trivial purchases.
昼食に1000円使った。
I spent 1000 yen on lunch. (neutral)
子供の教育に金をかけている。
I'm investing money in my child's education.