激安
gekiyasu
The Japanese phrase for very cheap is 激安 (gekiyasu).
激安 is used to describe something sold at an extremely low price. You will most commonly see this term in advertising, on storefront signs or in supermarket flyers to denote massive discounts.
Which one should you use?
While 激安 is a punchy and sensational marketing term, you might also encounter other ways to express low prices depending on the setting. For instance, 超安い means 'super cheap', めっちゃ安い means 'crazy cheap' and めちゃくちゃ安い means 'ridiculously inexpensive'.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
激安 is a colloquial and marketing-oriented term. If you need to be formal, use 非常に安価 to mean 'extremely inexpensive' or 非常に手ごろ to mean 'extremely affordable'. In casual, informal situations, you can use 超安い, めっちゃ安い or めちゃくちゃ安い.
How do you pronounce it?
gekiyasu
Did you know?
- The term 激安 is a combination of two kanji where 激 means 'extreme' or 'violent' and 安 means 'cheap'. It literally suggests a price that is so low it is almost aggressive or turbulent.
- The character 激 in 激安 is also used in the word 激辛 to describe 'extremely spicy' food. In both cases, it acts as a linguistic amplifier to signal an intense or extreme quality.
- In Japanese retail culture, you might see the term 激安 written in much larger, bolder fonts than any other text on a sign. This is a deliberate visual tactic to trigger an impulse purchase through sensory overload.
Examples in context
- その本はとても安いです。That book is very cheap.
- そのチケットは非常に安価です。That ticket is extremely inexpensive.
- このホテルは非常に手ごろな価格です。This hotel is extremely affordable.
- あの店の服は超安いよ！That shop's clothes are super cheap!
- このスマートフォン、めっちゃ安いで！This smartphone is crazy cheap!
- あのレストランのランチはめちゃくちゃ安いぞ！That restaurant's lunch is ridiculously inexpensive!
- すごく安いExtremely cheap
- そのバッグはすごく安いです。That bag is really cheap.
- このノートパソコンはめちゃくちゃ安くてびっくりです。This laptop is ridiculously inexpensive.
- この車の値段は超安いよ。The price for this car is super cheap.
- この靴は本当に安いです。These shoes are really cheap.
- この市場の果物はすごくてめちゃくちゃ安いですよ。The fruits at this market are amazing and ridiculously inexpensive.
- あのホテルはすごく手ごろです。That hotel is incredibly affordable.
- この店は激安だ。Kono mise wa gekiyasu da.This shop is very cheap.
- 激安のトマトを見つけた。Gekiyasu no tomato o mitsuketa.I found some very cheap tomatoes.
Example conversation
Yui and Yota are talking about shopping at a supermarket.
- 結衣 Yuiこの卵、激安だよ！Kono tamago, gekiyasu dayo!These eggs are very cheap!
- 陽太 Yota本当だ、すごく安いね。Hontou da, sugoku yasui ne.You're right, they are really cheap.
- 結衣 Yui陽太君、これ買っておこう。Yota-kun, kore katte okou.Yota, let's buy these.
- 陽太 Yota了解、買っておくよ。Ryoukai, katte oku yo.Roger, I'll buy them.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry 激安, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
