Japanese word of the day: 払う (Harau)

What does 払う (Harau) mean?

払う (Harau) (verb, godan, transitive) – To pay (money, a bill, a fee), to clear away, to brush off, or to drive away. While the most common meaning is “to pay,” 払う can also be used for physically or metaphorically sweeping or removing something.

Kanji details for 払

Character: はら — pay, clear out, prune, banish, dispose of
Radical: hand 手 (扌龵)

Example sentences with 払う (Harau)

• 今月の家賃を払うのを忘れた。
  (Kongetsu no yachin o harau no o wasureta.)
  💸 I forgot to pay my rent this month.

• 君は本の代金を払ったのか。
  (Kimi wa hon no daikin o haratta no ka.)
  📚 Did you pay for the book?

• それはあとで私が払ってもいいですか。
  (Sore wa atode watashi ga haratte mo ii desu ka.)
  🧾 Can I pay for it later?

Confused about how to conjugate 払う? Our conjugation tables can help.

払う (Harau) in context

払う is your go-to word for paying money-whether it’s rent, a restaurant bill, taxes, or school fees. You’ll hear it in daily life any time money changes hands. But 払う isn’t just about cash: it’s also used for actions like brushing dust off your clothes (服のほこりを払う), or even for abstract things like “paying attention” (注意を払う).

For payments, use 払う for one-time or regular expenses. If you want to talk about “paying” in the sense of settling a bill, it’s interchangeable with 支払う (shiharau), though 支払う is a bit more formal and common in written Japanese.