投(な)げ銭(せん)機能(きのう)

なげせんきのう
noun
tipping feature; donation function (on a live-streaming or social media platform)
technologyfinance
1. tipping feature; donation function (on a live-streaming platform)
An online feature that allows viewers to send money to a streamer, creator, or performer in real time while watching or reading their content. Common on live-streaming sites, video platforms, and social media, where it serves as direct viewer-to-creator financial support.
投(な)げ銭(せん)機能(きのう)を使(つか)う。
To use the tipping feature.
このサービスには投(な)げ銭(せん)機能(きのう)がある。
This service has a tipping feature.
Streamers earn income through the tipping feature.
Recent video platforms are putting in place systems to support creators by introducing tipping features.

Composed of 投(な)げ銭(せん) (tossing a coin; tip, historically a coin tossed to street performers) and 機能(きのう) (function; feature). The original 投(な)げ銭(せん) referred to coins thrown to traveling musicians and street performers; the modern digital usage extends this image to online platforms.

Usage

A 21st-century tech term. You will see it on service-description pages, news articles about streamers, and in conversations about YouTube, Twitch, niconico, and similar platforms. The 機能(きのう) part can be dropped when context is clear — people often just say 投(な)げ銭(せん)をもらう (to receive a tip). On English-language platforms, the feature often has brand names like "Super Chat," "Bits," or "Tips," which in Japanese are grouped under 投(な)げ銭(せん)機能(きのう).

Common collocations

Similar words

  • 投(な)げ銭(せん): tip; money tossed to a performer — the base noun, used alone or as a verb with する
  • チップ: tip (foreign-style gratuity) — used for tipping in restaurants and services rather than online content
  • スーパーチャット: Super Chat — a specific implementation of 投(な)げ銭(せん)機能(きのう) on YouTube Live
  • 課金(かきん): paid usage; in-app purchases — broader concept covering any payment to a service