Meaning
幣 began as cloth. In ancient China and Japan, precious fabric — silk especially — was laid before deities as offerings. Fine cloth ranked among the most valuable trade goods of the era, so the concept stretched: sacred gift and unit of exchange collapsed into the same idea, and 幣 came to cover both. Today it splits across two domains: financial vocabulary (currency, coins, banknotes) and Shinto ritual (the paper streamers and cloth offerings used in purification ceremonies).
The structure encodes this history. 幣 combines 敝 — originally depicting worn, tattered cloth — atop 巾 (きん), meaning cloth or towel. The image of fabric offered and exchanged is visible in the character itself.
幣 has 15 strokes and appears on the JLPT N1 exam. One visual trap: 弊 (also ヘイ) looks nearly identical but means "evil," "harm," or serves as a humble prefix (弊社 = our company). Same sound, opposite valence — worth distinguishing from the start.
Readings
On'yomi (音読み) — Chinese-derived readings
ヘイ (HEI) is the sole on'yomi and appears only in compound words — never standalone. Nearly all compounds touch on finance or formal ritual.
- 貨幣 (kahei) — money, currency, coin; the standard formal word for currency
- 紙幣 (shihei) — paper money, banknote; literally "paper currency"
- 造幣 (zouhei) — minting of coins, coinage
- 幣帛 (heihaku) — offerings to the gods consisting of cloth, silk, or paper
- 幣制 (heisei) — monetary system, currency system
ヘイ links 幣 to a broader East Asian monetary vocabulary. Chinese 币 (bì) and Korean 폐 (pye) descend from the same Sino-xenic root — a shared financial heritage visible across the region.
Kun'yomi (訓読み) — Native Japanese readings
ぬさ (nusa) is a native Japanese word for the cloth or paper strips offered to Shinto deities during purification ceremonies. Outside shrine vocabulary and classical literature, it's rarely heard in modern speech.
- 幣 (nusa) — Shinto cloth or paper offerings presented to the gods
- 幣束 (nusataba) — a bundled arrangement of offerings
ぬさ appears throughout the Man'yōshū and classical poetry. Travelers on mountain roads would scatter cloth offerings at roadside shrines to pray for safe passage — a custom captured in celebrated classical poems and still faintly echoed in modern shrine practices.
Common Words & Compounds
Currency and Money:
- 貨幣 (kahei) — currency, money, coins; the most common formal word for "currency" in Japanese
- 紙幣 (shihei) — paper money, banknote; the standard word for bills and notes
- 金幣 (kinpei) — gold coin or gold offering
- 銀幣 (ginpei) — silver coin or silver offering
- 幣制 (heisei) — monetary system; the framework of a nation's currency
Minting and Financial Institutions:
- 造幣 (zouhei) — coin minting, coinage; the act of manufacturing coins
- 造幣局 (zouheikyoku) — the Mint; Japan's official bureau for coin production, located in Osaka
- 正幣 (seihei) — standard currency, legal tender
Shinto and Religious Offerings:
- 幣帛 (heihaku) — offerings to the gods consisting of cloth, silk, food, or other valuables
- 御幣 (gohei) — the iconic zigzag white paper streamers used in Shinto purification rituals; a sacred object wielded by priests
- 幣束 (heisoku) — a bound bundle of offerings placed at a shrine altar
- 国幣 (kokuhei) — national shrine offerings; presented by the government to major shrines in pre-modern Japan
Example Sentences
明治の貨幣改革により、日本は円を基準通貨として採用した。
Meiji no kahei kaikaku ni yori, Nihon wa en wo kijun tsuuka toshite saiyou shita.
Through the Meiji currency reforms, Japan adopted the yen as its standard currency.
財布の中に紙幣が一枚しか残っていない。
Saifu no naka ni shihei ga ichimai shika nokotte inai.
There is only one banknote left in my wallet.
造幣局では毎年、新しい硬貨が製造される。
Zouheikyoku de wa maitoshi, atarashii kouka ga seizou sareru.
New coins are manufactured every year at the Mint Bureau.
神社の境内に御幣が飾られていた。
Jinja no keidai ni gohei ga kazararete ita.
Sacred paper streamers (gohei) were displayed within the shrine grounds.
急速なインフレにより、貨幣の購買力が大幅に低下した。
Kyuusoku na infure ni yori, kahei no koubairyoku ga oohaba ni teika shita.
Rapid inflation caused a significant drop in currency purchasing power.
古代では、布が貨幣の役割を果たしていた。
Kodai de wa, nuno ga kahei no yakuwari wo hatashite ita.
In ancient times, cloth played the role of currency.
神主は幣帛を神前に捧げた。
Kannushi wa heihaku wo shinzen ni sasageta.
The Shinto priest offered heihaku (sacred cloth offerings) before the deity.
外国旅行の際は、貨幣の両替が必要になる。
Gaikoku ryokou no sai wa, kahei no ryougae ga hitsuyou ni naru.
When traveling abroad, currency exchange becomes necessary.
日本の紙幣には歴史的な人物の肖像が描かれている。
Nihon no shihei ni wa rekishiteki na jinbutsu no shouzou ga egakarete iru.
Portraits of historical figures are depicted on Japanese banknotes.
幣を手に持った巫女が神楽を舞った。
Nusa wo te ni motta miko ga kagura wo matta.
A shrine maiden holding sacred cloth offerings (nusa) performed a kagura ritual dance.
Memory Tip
幣 = worn cloth (敝) over a towel (巾). Ancient priests laid their finest fabric before the gods — and because that cloth was precious enough to give to a deity, it was precious enough to trade. Offering → value → currency. The whole semantic journey lives in the character.
Don't mix up 弊, which shares the ヘイ reading but means "harm," "evil," or humble prefix (弊社 = our company, 弊害 = harmful effect). Both kanji have the same top component (敝) — the difference is at the bottom: 幣 ends with 巾 (cloth), 弊 ends with 廾. Check the base when writing.