チャージ
ちゃーじ
noun
cover charge; recharge
1.
cover charge; seating fee
A fee charged at bars, clubs, or some restaurants simply for entering or being seated, separate from food and drink costs.
チャージ料は500円です。
The cover charge is 500 yen.
このバーはチャージがかかる。
This bar has a cover charge.
チャージなしのお店を探している。
I'm looking for a place without a cover charge.
2.
recharge; top-up
Adding money to a prepaid card, electronic wallet, or rechargeable transport card.
Suicaにチャージする。
To recharge my Suica card.
残高が少ないからチャージしよう。
My balance is low, so let me top it up.
オートチャージを設定しておくと便利だ。
It's convenient to set up auto-recharge.
チャージ is a loanword from English "charge" with two distinct meanings in Japanese that correspond to different English senses.
SENSE 1 — COVER CHARGE:
A fee at bars, clubs, or some restaurants for entry or seating, separate from food/drink costs. Common at Japanese bars and izakaya.
- チャージ料: cover charge fee
- チャージなし: no cover charge
- 席チャージ: seating charge
SENSE 2 — RECHARGE/TOP-UP:
Adding money to prepaid IC cards (Suica, PASMO, etc.) or electronic wallets.
- チャージする: to recharge/top up
- オートチャージ: auto-recharge
- チャージ金額: recharge amount
- チャージ残高: remaining balance
NOTE:
The English sense of "charging" a battery is not チャージ — use 充電 instead.