払(はら)い

はらい
noun
payment; sweeping; purification
moneyreligion
1. payment; settling of accounts
The act of paying money. Often used in compounds to specify payment methods or timing.
カード払(ばら)いでお願(ねが)いします。
I'd like to pay by card, please.
分割払(ぶんかつばら)いと一括払(いっかつばら)い、どちらになさいますか。
Would you like to pay in installments or all at once?
今月(こんげつ)の家賃(やちん)の払(はら)いがまだだった。
I still haven't paid this month's rent.
2. sweeping motion; brushing away; purification
A sweeping or brushing action to remove something. In Shinto contexts, refers to ritual purification to ward off evil spirits or impurity.
神社(じんじゃ)で厄払(やくばら)いをしてもらった。
I had a purification ritual performed at the shrine.
煤払(すすはら)いは年末(ねんまつ)の大掃除(おおそうじ)のことだ。
Susuharai means the big year-end cleaning.
節分(せつぶん)の豆(まめ)まきは、昔(むかし)からの厄払(やくばら)いの行事(ぎょうじ)だ。
Throwing beans at Setsubun is an old custom for driving away bad luck.

Derived from the verb 払(はら)う. In sense 1, commonly used in compound forms: カード払(はら)い (card payment), 現金払(げんきんばら)い (cash payment), 分割払(ぶんかつばら)い (installment payment), 一括払(いっかつばら)い (lump-sum payment), 後払(あとばら)い (pay later). Note that in compounds, 払(はら)い often voices to ばらい. In sense 2, the Shinto term 大祓(おおはらえ) refers to the grand purification ceremony held twice yearly.

Watch out

For Shinto purification the usual spelling is 祓(はら)い, and a shrine's purification rite is お祓(はら)い. 厄払(やくばら)い is written either way.

general
Added 2026.3.23 10:59 · Revised 2026.10.11 17:05
18500/18738_harai