- kaneganai broke, poor, short, skint, having no money
Informal spoken Japanese for complaining about being short on cash right now; too blunt for polite or written contexts.
今週は金がないから外食できない。
Konshuu wa kaneganai kara gaishoku dekinai.
I'm broke this week, so I can't eat out.
金がないのに新しいゲームを買った。
Kaneganai no ni atarashii geemu o katta.
Even though I have no money, I bought a new game.
⚖️ Unlike 貧乏 (binbou), which describes a lasting state of poverty, 金がない refers to a temporary lack of cash.
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💡 Drop い to get the stem: add くない (negative), かった (past), くて (te-form).
Found in a wide range of contexts. Useful for building reading and listening fluency.
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