費用
hiyō[çijo̞ː]
The English word 'cost' is translated into Japanese as 費用 (hiyō).
費用 is used to refer to the amount of money spent for a specific purpose, such as the overall expenses or costs required for a project or a service.
Meaning: amount of money spent for a purpose (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The word 費用 is composed of the kanji 費 (expense/spend) and 用 (use/application).
Related words
How do you pronounce it?
hiyō
When do people say it?
In Japan, the currency unit is the yen (円). When shopping or discussing costs, you might use the phrase いくらですか? to ask 'How much is it?' or 値引きできますか？ to ask 'Can you give me a discount?' In the context of online shopping, the term 送料 refers to the shipping fee and 代引き denotes cash on delivery.
Did you know?
- In some contexts, the 'cost' of a mistake is expressed using the word 代償, which implies a heavy emotional or physical price paid rather than money.
- When discussing the cost of a meal, Japanese people may use 割り勘 to describe the custom of splitting the cost exactly equally among all participants.
- If you want to describe something as 'cost-effective', you would use the phrase コスパがいい (kosupa ga ii), a shortened version of 'cost performance'.
Examples in context
- 費用は総額５千円でした。The cost amounted to five thousand yen.This sentence shows how to state a total cost using 費用.Tatoeba #11035493 by bunbuku, translation #317916 by CK
- 問題は費用よりむしろ時間だ。The problem is not so much the cost as the time.This sentence uses 費用 to contrast cost with time.Tatoeba #79806 by small_snow, translation #323911 by CK
- 費用は何千ドルにも達するだろう。The cost will run into thousands of dollars.This sentence uses 費用 to describe a cost that will reach a high amount.Tatoeba #85799 by KK_kaku_, translation #317914 by CM
- この商品の価格はいくらですか？What is the cost/price of this product?
- プロジェクトの全体的な費用はいくらですか？What is the overall cost of the project?
- この洋服の値段はいくらだった？What was the cost/price of this clothing?
- お昼ご飯の代金はどのくらいですか？How much is the cost for lunch?
- 最安値のホテルThe cheapest hotel
- 15 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two colleagues are discussing the budget for a new project.
- 蓮 Renこのプロジェクトの費用はいくらですか？Kono purojekuto no hiyou wa ikura desu ka?How much is the cost for this project?
- 陽葵 Himari予想より費用がかかりそうです。Yosou yori hiyou ga kakarisou desu.It looks like the cost will be higher than expected.
- 蓮 Ren陽葵さんは予算を調べましたか？Himari-san wa yosan o shirabemashita ka?Himari, did you check the budget?
- 陽葵 Himariはい、すぐに確認します。Hai, sugu ni kakunin shimasu.Yes, I will check it right away.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “cost” translations and entries 費用, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
