チャージ

ちゃーじ
noun
cover charge; recharge
consumptionfinance
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(りょう)は500円(えん)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(みせ)を探(さが)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(ざんだか)が少(すく)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(せってい)しておくと便利(べんり)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.

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(きんがく): recharge amount
  • チャージ残高(ざんだか): remaining balance

Usage

The English sense of "charging" a battery is not チャージ — use 充電(じゅうでん) instead.

Related Words

Related: お通(とお)し (appetizer)
general
Added 2026.2.3 16:19 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:01
09500/09729_chaaji