ばら

ば

ら

Freq.FrequencyTop 20,000

Meanings

noun, noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no'

loose items; bulk; individual pieces

usually written using kana alone

Refers to items sold or handled separately, not in a set or package. Often used in retail or logistics contexts.

abbreviationusually written using kana alone

Abbreviation of ばら銭. Refers to loose coins, especially small denominations. Somewhat dated; 小銭 is more common today.

〈物もの〉をばらで売うるto sell something individually rather than as a set
この店みせではお菓か子しをばらで売うっている。
This shop sells the sweets individually.
〈物もの〉をばらで持もつto carry loose change rather than bills
財さい布ふにばらで小こ銭ぜにを入いれている。
I keep loose change in my wallet.
〈物もの〉をばらで買かうto buy something in loose, individual units
たばこをばらで買かうことができる。
You can buy cigarettes individually here.
〈物もの〉をばらにするto break a set into separate, individual pieces
セットを買かってばらにして使つかった。
I bought the set and used the pieces separately.

小こ銭ぜにN2sense 2
小銭 is the everyday word for small change, while ばら (in this sense) is an older, now less common abbreviation of ばら銭.

セットN3sense 1
セット refers to items packaged or sold together as a group, the opposite of ばら, which means loose, individually sold items.
紙し幣へいN3sense 2
紙幣 refers to paper bills, in contrast to ばら, which refers to loose coins or small change.

バラN1
バラ (usually written in katakana) means 'rose', a completely different word from ばら meaning loose items or small change, though the pronunciation is identical.

ばらUsage27%
Usually written in kana. The kanji 散 is rare and may be confused with other readings.
バラUsage73%
kana-only spelling
Katakana spelling is also common, especially in commercial contexts.
散ばら
Kanji form is rarely used; the kana spelling is strongly preferred.

Derived from the stem of the verb 散る (to scatter), referring to things that are separate or loose. The coin sense is a shortening of ばら銭.