Copyright © 2026 Kotomora. All Rights Reserved.
びた一文 (びたいちもん) Japanese meaning | Kotomora
Freq. Frequency Top 100,000 Meanings 1
noun
very small amount of money ; penny ; cent
Used in negative constructions like びた一文もない to mean 'not a single penny'. The word びた comes from 鐚銭 (bitasen), a low-quality coin from the Edo period, so it carries a nuance of something worthless or trivial.
儲もう
から
ない
。
I can't make a single cent from this job.
Written forms びた 一いち 文もん
Most common spelling; uses hiragana for びた and kanji for 一文.
ビタ 一いち 文もん
Katakana variant of びた; sometimes used for emphasis or in informal writing.
鐚びた 一いち 文もん
Full kanji spelling using the rare character 鐚; mostly seen in historical or literary contexts.
ビタいちもん
Kanji 文 sentence, literature, style Etymology From びた (鐚, a low-quality coin) + 一文 (one mon, a small unit of currency). The word びた derives from 鐚銭 (bitasen), a debased coin from the Edo period, giving the phrase a connotation of worthlessness.