Japanese Onomatopoeia for Money and Shopping: Pātto, Chimachima, Gappori

Four money words to learn first

These four cover the full money cycle: payday, scrimping, a windfall and the empty piggy bank at the end of the month. Pātto, chimachima and gappori are gitaigo, describing a manner. Karakara is giongo here: the rattle of a few coins in something mostly empty.

All four are casual. Use them with friends and family, and in relaxed chat with coworkers you know well.

Splashing out: pātto and pon to

Pātto is the word for spending freely, all at once, without counting. It often has a feeling of release: after a hard week, after a bonus, after exams. People use it for going out for a big meal or drinks, for shopping and for celebrations. It also describes things spreading widely and suddenly, such as a rumour or a smile.

Pon to describes handing over a large sum casually, as if it were nothing. It suggests generosity or surprising ease: a grandparent who hands over money for a gift, or a customer who pays for something expensive in cash on the spot. It is often used with admiration or surprise.

Earning or losing a lot: gappori and hokuhoku

Gappori describes a large amount taken in one go, and it works in both directions. You can earn gappori, which sounds like raking it in, or have money taken gappori, by tax, fees or a pricey restaurant. It is casual and slightly vivid, the kind of word you see in gossip and headlines.

Hokuhoku is a food word for steaming, fluffy potatoes and chestnuts, but it has a second life in money talk: feeling warm and pleased after a gain. Hokuhokugao, a satisfied face, is what someone wears after a great bargain or a win.

Saving in small amounts: chimachima

Chimachima describes something small, fiddly and narrow in scale. In money talk it means saving or spending in tiny amounts: cutting coupons, switching off every light, choosing the cheaper drink every time. It can sound affectionate when you talk about yourself, but it often carries a little criticism: petty, small-minded, not seeing the bigger picture.

If you want to praise steady saving, use kotsukotsu instead, which means steadily and patiently, bit by bit. Kotsukotsu chokin suru, to save steadily, is positive; chimachima setsuyaku suru, to scrimp on tiny things, is more mixed.

Coins, wallets and empty shops

Coins have their own sounds. Charin is the clink of one coin, dropping on the floor or into a vending machine slot. Jarajara is the jingle of many coins together, and Japan's one-yen and five-yen coins mean many wallets are full of it. Karakara, a hollow rattle, is what a nearly empty piggy bank sounds like, and sukkarakan means completely empty: the wallet at the end of the month.

Garagara is a related word for places that are almost empty, such as a shop, a restaurant or a train. Shop staff and customers use it all the time. Note that garagara has other meanings too: gargling, and a baby's rattle toy.

Grammar and register at a glance

Most money words go straight before a verb. Gappori and pātto are typical: gappori kasegu, pātto tsukau. Charin and karakara often take to when they describe a sound. States such as sukkarakan, garagara and hokuhoku take da or desu, or no before a noun.

Payday conversation between friends

Here the words come together in one short chat. Two friends meet on payday and decide how to celebrate without repeating last month's mistakes. The talk is casual throughout, which is where these words belong.

Common learner mistakes

• Using gappori in a business setting. In a meeting or email, say kanari no rieki, a considerable profit, instead.
• Praising someone's saving as chimachima. It can sound like you are calling them petty; kotsukotsu is the compliment.
• Using pātto for a sensible purchase. Pātto implies a fun, generous splurge; for a planned purchase, just say katta.
• Saying sukkarakan to a shop clerk or a landlord. It is a joke among friends; in polite talk, say chotto kibishii desu.
• Confusing garagara with gyūgyū. Garagara is nearly empty; gyūgyū is packed tight, like a rush-hour train.

Rehearse a payday chat

Money words live in conversation, so practise them out loud. Start in the chat with Mocchi: paste the payday dialogue above and type /explain, and Mocchi breaks each line down, from the casual n da yo ne ending to why ni natta follows sukkarakan. Ask for two new lines that reuse the words, and Mocchi will add them to the notes it keeps on your vocabulary.

Then speak it. Ask Ibuki-sensei in AI Sensei to play a friend planning a payday night out, or a clerk at a busy sale, and try to fit in pātto, chimachima and garagara naturally. Ask the Sensei to switch to polite speech halfway, so you also practise saying the same thing without the casual words.