Paying and Receiving Change

In this lesson you will learn how to handle the final stages of a shopping transaction — finding out the total price, dealing with the cashier, and addressing situations where you may have been short-changed. You will also learn counters for fruits and vegetables and practice buying produce at a Japanese market.

Dialogues (会話)

Situation 1 — At a neighborhood vegetable store

Ms. Kraft buys oranges, spinach, and lettuce from a vegetable store (yaoya).

Romaji	English
Kurafuto: Kono mikan kudasai. Ikura desu ka?	I’d like these oranges. How much are they?
Yaoya: Hito-yama gohyaku-gojuu-en desu.	550 yen per pile.
Kurafuto: Sorekara, hoorensoo to retasu kudasai.	Then I’d like some spinach and lettuce.
Yaoya: Hoorensoo wa ichi-wa nihyaku-gojuu-en, retasu wa ik-ko nihyaku-en desu.	Spinach is 250 yen a bunch, lettuce is 200 yen a head.
Kurafuto: Zenbu de ikura desu ka?	How much is it in all?
Yaoya: Choodo sen-en ni narimasu. Maido arigatoo gozaimasu.	It comes to exactly 1,000 yen. Thank you very much.

Situation 2 — At a bookstore cashier

Mr. Hunter picks up a few English-language books and takes them to the cashier.

Romaji	English
Hantaa: Kore o kudasai.	I’d like to buy these, please.
Tenin: Kashikomarimashita. Ichiman-en o azukari itashimasu. Shooshoo omachi kudasaimase.	Certainly. I’ve received 10,000 yen. Please wait a moment.
Tenin: Omatase itashimashita. Happyaku-gojuu-en no okaeshi de gozaimasu.	I’m sorry to have kept you waiting. Here is the change, 850 yen.

Situation 3 — Being short-changed

Mrs. Dixon buys vegetables for 380 yen and pays with a 1,000 yen bill. The grocer gives incorrect change.

Romaji	English
Yaoya: Hai, doomo. Hyaku-nijuu-en no otsuri desu.	Here you are. Thank you. This is your change of 120 yen.
Dikuson: Anoo… ima sen-en watashimashita ga…	Uh… I just gave you 1,000 yen.
Yaoya: A, doomo sumimasen.	Oh, I’m sorry.
Yaoya: Sumimasen ne. Mata doozo.	I’m sorry. Please come again.

Key Vocabulary (語彙)

Dialogue Vocabulary

Romaji	English	Kana
hito-yama	a pile	ひとやま
hoorensoo	spinach	ほうれんそう
ichi-wa	a bunch	いちわ
retasu	lettuce	レタス
ik-ko	one (unit counter)	いっこ
zenbu de	altogether	ぜんぶで
narimasu	become	なります
maido arigatoo gozaimasu	thank you very much (shop clerk)	まいどありがとうございます
shooshoo	a little (formal)	しょうしょう
oazukari itashimasu	I’m taking / I’ve received (deferential)	おあずかりいたします
kudasaimase	please (very polite)	くださいませ
omatase itashimashita	I’m sorry to have kept you waiting	おまたせいたしました
okaeshi de gozaimasu	your change is (deferential)	おかえしでございます
otsuri	change (money)	おつり
ima	now	いま
watashimashita	handed over (past tense)	わたしました

Fruits and Vegetables

Romaji	English	Kana
mikan	tangerine, mandarin orange	みかん
nashi	pear	なし
ninjin	carrot	にんじん
kyuuri	cucumber	きゅうり
kyabetsu	cabbage	キャベツ
tomato	tomato	トマト
ringo	apple	りんご

Grammar & Usage Notes

Asking the Total Price

When you’ve bought several items and want the total:

Zenbu de ikura desu ka? — How much is it altogether?

How Clerks Handle Payment

In department stores, the clerk will often state the amount received:

(Amount)-en o azukari itashimasu. — I’ve received (amount) yen.

When giving change, the clerk may say:

• X-en no otsuri de gozaimasu. — Here’s your change of X yen.
• X-en no okaeshi de gozaimasu. — Here’s your change of X yen. (okaeshi literally means “return”)

When You Are Short-Changed

If you believe the change is incorrect, state how much you gave:

Ima X-en watashimashita ga… — I just gave you X yen…

The clerk will then recheck and correct the amount.

Counters for Fruits and Vegetables

Japanese requires counters between numbers and nouns. Common produce counters:

Counter	Used for	Example
yama	piles of apples, oranges, cucumbers, etc.	hito-yama (one pile)
wa	bunches of spinach, carrots	ichi-wa (one bunch)
ko	heads of lettuce/cabbage, individual fruits	ik-ko (one unit)
hon	individual cucumbers, carrots (cylindrical)	ip-pon (one piece)

Counter forms by number:

Number	yama	wa	ko	hon
1	hito-yama	ichi-wa	ik-ko	ip-pon
2	futa-yama	ni-wa	ni-ko	ni-hon
3	mi-yama	san-wa/ba	san-ko	san-bon
4	—	—	yon-ko	yon-hon
5	—	—	go-ko	go-hon
6	—	—	rok-ko	rop-pon
7	—	—	nana-ko	nana-hon
8	—	—	hachi-ko	hap-pon
9	—	—	kyuu-ko	kyuu-hon
10	—	—	juk-ko	jup-pon

Kanji for Counters

Kanji	Romaji	English
一山	hito-yama	one pile
一本	ip-pon	one (cylindrical object)
一個	ik-ko	one unit
一把	ichi-wa	one bunch
大	dai	large
中	chuu	medium
小	shoo	small

Practice Exercises (練習)

A. Production and Comprehension

Ask the total price, listen to the answer, repeat, and write it down:

Zenbu de ikura desu ka? → Instructor answers → Repeat and write the amount.

B. Substitution Exercise

Base: Ima gosen-en watashimashita ga… (I just gave you 5,000 yen…)

Practice with: ¥10,000 / ¥8,000 / ¥20,000 / ¥50,000 / ¥15,000 / ¥30,000

C. Comprehension — Receiving Change

Listen to the clerk return change, thank them, and write down the amount:

Instructor: Omatase itashimashita. Nisen-sanbyaku-en no okaeshi de gozaimasu. Student: Doomo. (writes down 2,300)

D. Ordering Produce

Request fruits or vegetables and ask the price:

You say	Clerk responds
Kono kyuuri kudasai. Ikura desu ka?	Ip-pon yonjuu-en desu.
Ano ninjin kudasai. Ikura desu ka?	Hito-yama sanbyaku-gojuu-en de gozaimasu.
Kyabetsu kudasai. Ikura desu ka?	Ik-ko hyaku-hachijuu-en.

E. Translation and Substitution

Translate and order the following:

1. Two bunches of spinach and one head of lettuce → Hoorensoo ni-wa to retasu hitotsu kudasai.
2. One cabbage and a pile of cucumbers → Kyabetsu hitotsu to kyuuri hito-yama kudasai.
3. Three apples and two pears → Ringo mittsu to nashi futatsu kudasai.
4. A pile of tomatoes and one cabbage → Tomato hito-yama to kyabetsu hitotsu kudasai.

Cultural Notes

A different way of giving change: Japanese clerks typically hand you all the change at once, rather than counting it out coin by coin as is common in the U.S. This is not meant to be inconsiderate — Japanese customers are generally skilled at mental arithmetic and can quickly verify the amount with a glance. When a customer pays for a ¥1,150 purchase with a ¥10,000 note, they have already calculated in their head that the change should be ¥8,850.

Leaving the store: When you leave, the clerk will likely say one of: Arigatoo gozaimashita (Thank you), Maido doomo (Thanks, come again), or Mata doozo (Please come again). You may simply say Sayonara or nothing at all in reply.