Explore the language of rice trading in an Edo-period setting.

The idea

米 means rice, 商人 a merchant, and 問屋 a wholesaler. 値段 is a price and 帳簿 a ledger. Rice moved between domains and commercial centers; these examples use modern polite Japanese to describe trade.

Patterns to compare
JapaneseMeaning
米こめrice
商人しょうにんmerchant
値段ねだんprice
問屋とんやwholesaler
帳簿ちょうぼledger

Examples

  • 江戸えど時代じだい、米こめは大切たいせつな商品しょうひんでした。In the Edo period, rice was an important commodity.
  • 商人しょうにんは藩はんから米こめを買かいました。A merchant bought rice from a domain.
  • 米こめは船ふねで大阪おおさかへ運はこばれました。The rice was carried by boat to Osaka.
  • 商人しょうにんは市場いちばで値段ねだんを調しらべました。The merchant checked the price at the market.
  • 問屋とんやは小売商こうりしょうに米こめを売うりました。The wholesaler sold rice to retailers.
  • 店みせは取引とりひきを帳簿ちょうぼに記録きろくしました。The shop recorded the transaction in a ledger.

Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.

Watch out

米 is rice, not a price; 値段 refers to the amount charged. A 問屋 is a wholesaler, not necessarily a retail shop.

Try it yourself

  1. Choose the word for merchant: （商人しょうにん／米こめ）

    Show answer or example answer

    商人

    商人 means merchant; 米 means rice.

  2. Fill in the word for price: 米こめの＿を調しらべました。

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    値段

    値段 means price, so 米の値段 is the price of rice.

  3. Choose the word for wholesaler: （問屋とんや／帳簿ちょうぼ）

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    問屋

    問屋 is a wholesaler; 帳簿 is a ledger.

Use it today

Describe an imagined rice transaction using 商人 and 値段.