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一文半銭 (いちもんはんせん) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

一いち文もん半銭きなか

also: いちもんきなか

い

ち

も

ん

は

ん

せ

ん

Meanings

1

noun

paltry sum; trifling amount of money

yojijukugo (four-character idiom)

A yojijukugo meaning a very small, almost worthless amount of money. Often used in negative contexts to emphasize poverty or stinginess.

彼かれは一いち文もん半はん銭せんも出だし渋しぶった。
He grudged even a penny.
一いち文もん半はん銭

せん

の

蓄たくわ

え

も

ない

。

I don't have a single cent saved.

Written forms

一文半銭
- いちもんはんせん
  Standard kanji form; the reading いちもんはんせん is the most common.
- いちもんきなか
  Rare reading; the きなか reading is archaic and seldom used in modern Japanese.
いちもんきなか

Kanji

一one, one radical (no.1)
文sentence, literature, style
半half, middle, odd number
銭coin, .01 yen, money

Similar words

一いっ銭せん
一銭 is a single mon (old currency unit), also used to mean a tiny amount of money, but 一文半銭 is more emphatic and idiomatic.
一いち文もん
一文 is a single mon, often used in phrases like 一文無し (penniless). 一文半銭 intensifies the notion of a meager sum.

Etymology

Compound of 一文 (one mon, a small old coin) and 半銭 (half a sen, another small coin), literally 'one mon and half a sen', emphasizing a very small amount of money.