財さい布ふ

さ

い

ふ

Common wordJLPTN5Freq.FrequencyTop 5,000

Meanings

1

noun

wallet; purse; coin purse

General term for a small personal container for money and cards; can refer to both men's wallets and women's purses.

財さい布ふを家いえに忘わすれ

て

き

た

。

I left my wallet at home.

新あたらしい財さい布ふを買かった。

I bought a new wallet.

Usage patterns

財さい布ふを落おとすto drop/lose one's wallet
電でん車しゃの中なかで財さい布ふを落おとしてしまった。
I lost my wallet on the train.
財さい布ふを拾ひろうto find/pick up a wallet
道みちで財さい布ふを拾ひろって交こう番ばんに届とどけた。
I found a wallet on the street and took it to the police box.
財さい布ふに〈物もの〉を入いれるto put something in one's wallet
財さい布ふにお札さつを入いれた。
I put some bills in my wallet.
財さい布ふから〈物もの〉を出だすto take something out of one's wallet
財さい布ふから小こ銭ぜにを出だして払はらった。
I took some coins out of my wallet and paid.
財さい布ふが軽かるいto be low on money (lit. one's wallet is light)
給きゅう料りょう日び前まえで財さい布ふが軽かるい。
My wallet is light since payday hasn't come yet.

Expressions

財さい布ふの紐ひもpurse strings
財さい布ふの紐ひもを握にぎるhold the purse strings; control the finances
財さい布ふの紐ひもを締しめるtighten the purse strings; tighten one's belt
財さい布ふの紐ひもを緩ゆるめるloosen the purse strings; spend freely

Kanji

財property, money, wealth
布linen, cloth, spread

Related words

札さつ入いれ
財布 is the general word for a wallet or purse, while 札入れ refers specifically to the compartment or case for paper bills.
小こ銭ぜに入いれ
財布 covers wallets and purses in general, whereas 小銭入れ is a small purse used just for coins.
懐ふところN1
財布 is the literal wallet a person carries, while 懐 figuratively refers to the money or financial state one currently has, as in 懐が寒い.

Don't confuse with

ハンドバッグN4
財布 is a wallet or coin purse for money, whereas ハンドバッグ is the larger bag that often holds the 財布 along with other personal items.

Counted with

個こN5
counter for small objects; counter for pieces · counter for military units · individual; one person · counter for years of age difference; counter for school years

Word family

皮かわ財ざい布ふ
leather wallet
長なが財ざい布ふ
long wallet
仮か想そう財さい布ふ
virtual wallet
電でん子し財さい布ふ
e-wallet; electronic wallet

Written forms

財さい布ふUsage91%
Standard kanji spelling; high-frequency word.
サイフUsage6%
さいふUsage2%
Kana spelling is common in casual writing and for learners.

Etymology

Compound of 財 (sai, 'wealth, money') and 布 (fu, 'cloth'), originally referring to a cloth pouch for money. The reading さいふ is the on'yomi of both characters.