The core idea: one price, built in layers
A Japanese supermarket shelf shows two prices on one tag, and later in the day a sticker on the pack as well. They are not competing prices but layers of one price, added in a fixed order: the shop's base price, then consumption tax, then any sale, then evening markdowns. The layer on top is what the till charges.
So the large number is often the bottom layer, the small zeikomi line is the price with tax, and a sticker on the pack, newer than the shelf tag, wins. The supermarket guide covers the aisles and the money guide saying amounts aloud; this one stays at the shelf. A member of staff is restocking nearby.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| すみません、この値段は一個ですか、一パックですか。 | Sumimasen, kono nedan wa ikko desu ka, hito-pakku desu ka. | Excuse me, is this price for one, or for the pack? |
| この値札はどの商品のですか。 | Kono nefuda wa dono shōhin no desu ka. | Which product is this price tag for? |
| 税込だといくらになりますか。 | Zeikomi da to ikura ni narimasu ka. | How much does it come to with tax? |
| 税込ですと百九十二円ですね。 | Zeikomi desu to hyaku kyūjū ni-en desu ne. | (Staff) With tax, that's 192 yen. |
Reading the shelf tag box by box
Tags differ by chain in colour and layout, but the same five boxes appear on nearly all of them. The everyday word is nefuda (値札), literally price tag; the trade word for a tag on the shelf edge is tanafuda, literally shelf tag. The diagram numbers the boxes from top to bottom. Your eye goes to box 3, the big number; your wallet follows box 4.
| Tag word | Reading | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| 本体価格 | hontai kakaku | Price before tax, literally body price |
| 税込 / 税込価格 | zeikomi / zeikomi kakaku | Price including tax: what the till works from |
| 税抜 / 税別 | zeinuki / zeibetsu | Tax not included; the same as hontai kakaku |
| 100gあたり | hyaku-guramu atari | Unit price per 100 grams, 100 ml or piece |
| 特売 | tokubai | Sale price for a set period, with its dates |
| 当店通常価格 | tōten tsūjō kakaku | This shop's usual price, beside a sale price |
| 内容量 | naiyōryō | Contents: weight, volume or number of pieces |
Why two prices: the 2021 tax-display rule
Since 1 April 2021, any business that shows prices to consumers must show the price including consumption tax. This is sōgaku hyōji (総額表示), literally total-amount display. The rule did not ban the pre-tax number. The Ministry of Finance accepts 9,800 yen (10,780 yen with tax), but warns that stressing the pre-tax figure until shoppers mistake it for the total can breach the law on misleading labels. So many chains kept it large and added a zeikomi line underneath.
Zeikomi and zeinuki are a clean pair. Komu means to pack in, so zeikomi is literally tax packed in: the total. Nuku means to pull out, so zeinuki is literally tax pulled out: the base price. Zeibetsu, tax separate, means the same. A single unlabelled price should be the total, the legal default.
Food and non-alcoholic drinks to take home are taxed at 8 percent, most other goods at 10. The zeikomi line often has decimals, such as 192.24 yen; the shop rounds once for the whole basket, by its own method. In September 2026 the cabinet approved a plan to cut the tax on food to 1 percent for two years from April 2027; it still has to pass the Diet, so trust the tag on the day. At the till, the total looks higher than you expected.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 棚の値段とレジの値段が違うみたいなんですが。 | Tana no nedan to reji no nedan ga chigau mitai na n desu ga. | The shelf price and the till price seem to be different. |
| 確認してまいります。少々お待ちください。 | Kakunin shite mairimasu. Shōshō omachi kudasai. | (Staff) I'll go and check. One moment, please. |
| こちらは税込価格になります。 | Kochira wa zeikomi kakaku ni narimasu. | (Staff) This is the price including tax. |
| 表示価格はすべて税込です。 | Hyōji kakaku wa subete zeikomi desu. | (Sign) All prices shown include tax. |
Unit prices: the small line that settles comparisons
The line at the bottom of the tag, 100g atari (also written 100g当たり), is the unit price, tan'i kakaku (単位価格). Atari means per. Drinks say 100ml atari, and things counted in sheets, such as nori, say ichi-mai atari. It is the only honest way to compare a 400-gram tub with a 250-gram one, because the pack price hides the size.
Practice varies. Tokyo requires unit prices for 68 designated items, such as meat and detergent, in shops of 300 square metres or more; small shops may show none. Some chains base them on the pre-tax price, some on the total. The word for the option that works out cheaper is wariyasu (割安), literally cheap by ratio, which is not the same as yasui, cheap. Two friends are comparing yogurts.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| こっちの方が割安だよ。 | Kotchi no hō ga wariyasu da yo. | This one works out cheaper. |
| 百グラムあたりで比べてみて。 | Hyaku-guramu atari de kurabete mite. | Compare them per 100 grams. |
| 大きい方がお得だね。 | Ōkii hō ga otoku da ne. | The big one's better value. |
| 量のわりに高いね。 | Ryō no wari ni takai ne. | It's pricey for the amount. |
Sale signs: tokubai, limits and multi-buys
Tokubai (特売), literally special sale, is a planned price cut. The tags are printed in advance with the dates it ends, and the weekly flyer, chirashi, announces the same prices. Okaidoku, good value, is looser: a word on a sign, not a promise that the price has dropped.
Tokubai and mikirihin (見切り品) are easy to mix up because both are cheap. The difference is the reason. Tokubai is ordinary stock sold cheaply on purpose, decided days ahead. Mikirihin is stock the shop has decided to clear today: close to its date or in a dented box. Mikiru means to give up on, so mikirihin is literally goods given up on. These are the signs you will meet.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 本日限り。 | Honjitsu kagiri. | (Sign) Today only. |
| お一人様二点限り。 | Ohitori-sama ni-ten kagiri. | (Sign) Limit of two per customer. |
| よりどり三点で千円。 | Yoridori san-ten de sen-en. | (Sign) Any three for 1,000 yen. |
| 全品百円均一。 | Zenpin hyaku-en kin'itsu. | (Sign) Everything at 100 yen. |
| ただいま、お惣菜売り場にてタイムサービスを行っております。 | Tadaima, osōzai uriba nite taimu sābisu o okonatte orimasu. | (Announcement) A time sale is now on at the ready-meals counter. |
Beyond the basics: discount stickers and how to do the sum
Late in the day, staff walk the fresh counters with a label gun. A sticker sits on the pack, so it is the newest layer. Ready meals go first, then sushi, fish and meat; bread and tofu may get a flat yen discount. Times differ by shop and by day, with the deepest cuts in the last hour or two before closing.
The trap is the second sticker. In most shops the new sticker goes over the old one and replaces it, calculated from the original label price, not the reduced one. The diagram shows the sum.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 半額シールは何時ごろ貼りますか。 | Hangaku shīru wa nan-ji goro harimasu ka. | Around what time do you put the half-price stickers on? |
| だいたい七時過ぎからですね。 | Daitai shichi-ji sugi kara desu ne. | (Staff) Usually from a little after seven. |
| これ、レジで半額になりますか。 | Kore, reji de hangaku ni narimasu ka. | Will this come up half price at the till? |
| あ、半額になってる！ | A, hangaku ni natteru! | Oh, it's gone half price! |
| Sticker | Reading | Meaning | A 600-yen pack becomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 半額 | hangaku | Half price, literally half amount | 300 yen |
| 3割引 | san-wari-biki | 30% off; wari counts tenths | 420 yen |
| 20%引 | nijuppāsento biki | 20% off, as a percentage | 480 yen |
| 100円引 | hyaku-en biki | A flat 100 yen off | 500 yen |
| 値引 | nebiki | Reduced, literally price pulled; new price below | The printed price |
The till adds tax after the cut if the label price was before tax. Some shops advertise an extra cut on top, sara ni, further, on a sign; without one, assume stickers do not stack.
At the till: point cards and what the cashier asks
Most chains run a point card or app, and the question comes before scanning, often without the wa. Pointo 10-bai printed on a tag means extra points for buying that item, not a lower price.
You do not need a card to shop. Daijōbu desu, with a small wave of the hand, is the normal way to decline; here it means no, thank you, not I am fine. A cashier at a busy evening till runs through the questions.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ポイントカードはお持ちですか。 | Pointo kādo wa omochi desu ka. | (Staff) Do you have a point card? |
| お作りしましょうか。 | Otsukuri shimashō ka. | (Staff) Shall I make one for you? |
| 大丈夫です。 | Daijōbu desu. | No, thank you. |
| ポイントはお使いになりますか。 | Pointo wa otsukai ni narimasu ka. | (Staff) Would you like to use your points? |
| 今日は貯めておきます。 | Kyō wa tamete okimasu. | I'll just collect them today. |
| 本日はポイント五倍デーです。 | Honjitsu wa pointo go-bai dē desu. | (Staff) Today is a five-times points day. |
Common mistakes at the shelf and the sticker basket
Budgeting with the big number. At home the largest figure is the price, so the habit is natural, but here it is often hontai kakaku, and 8 to 10 percent on a full basket adds several hundred yen. Add the zeikomi figures instead.
Reading san-wari-biki as 3 percent off. Wari looks like a percentage but counts tenths, so it is 30 percent. San-wari alone is simply 30 percent; biki, from hiku, to pull, turns it into a reduction.
Multiplying stickers together. When hangaku covers 20% biki, learners used to stacking coupons expect 60 percent off. Stickers replace each other; work out the top one from the label price.
Taking the unit price for the pack price. On meat the 100 g figure is often the roundest number, so it looks like the price. Read the kakaku line on the pack label.
Asking staff to reduce a pack in your hand. It feels friendly, but in a supermarket it is haggling, which Japanese shops do not do. Ask when the stickers go on, or come back later.