Ways to say it
| Japanese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| これは幾らですか | kore wa ikura desu ka? |
| いくらですか | ikura desu ka? |
The phrase is used to ask about the cost or price of an item. The core word いくら (ikura) means "how much" regarding quantity or price. You can use いくら alongside counters to ask for the price of a specific unit, such as asking how much a single bottle costs.
What does it mean word for word?
The word 幾ら (ikura) literally means "how much".
Which one should you use?
これは幾らですか specifically asks "how much is this?", while いくらですか is a more general "how much is it?"
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
いくらですか is a standard polite way to ask for a price in shops or restaurants. For a more informal version used only with people you know well, you can simply say いくら? by dropping the desu ka.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In the Kansai region, people often use ikura ya? to mean "how much?"
How does it change in a sentence?
The particle は in これは幾らですか identifies これ (this) as the topic of the question. Adding desu ka to いくら turns the word into a polite question.
How do you pronounce it?
kore wa ikura desu ka?
Did you know?
- The word いくら (ikura) is a homophone for a popular Japanese food: salmon roe. While 'how much' is a common question, saying 'ikura' in a different context will lead people to think of fish eggs.
- While いくら (ikura) asks for a price, the word どのくらい (dono kurai) is used when asking 'how much' in terms of time or distance.
- When asking いくらですか (ikura desu ka) in a shop, Japanese customers often point to the item or hold it up rather than using the word これ (kore) for 'this'.
Examples in context
- いくらですか？How much is it?This sentence is useful for asking how much something is using いくらですか.Tatoeba #5332 by bunbuku, translation #2418 by brauliobezerra
- 一箱いくらですか？How much is it per box?This sentence shows how to ask for the price per a specific unit using いくらですか.Tatoeba #2416577 by tommy_san, translation #961669 by Eevee
- これいくらですか？How much does this cost?This sentence shows how to ask how much something costs using いくらですか.Tatoeba #2852684 by tommy_san, translation #432824 by aliene
- 125 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
A man and a woman are shopping at a local market.
- 陽太 Yotaこれは幾らですか。Kore wa ikura desu ka.How much is this?
- 美咲 Misaki五百円ですよ。Gohyaku-en desu yo.It is five hundred yen.
- 陽太 Yotaじゃあ、これをください。Jaa, kore o kudasai.Then, I will take this, please.
- 美咲 Misakiありがとうございます。Arigatou gozaimasu.Thank you very much.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “how much” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
