1.
unlimited time plan; all-you-can-use time; free-time package
A pricing plan for time-based services under which a customer pays a set fee for unlimited or extended use within a given session — most commonly advertised at karaoke boxes, internet cafés, billiards halls, and manga cafés. Despite the English loan, this is a wasei-eigo term not used this way in English.
フリータイムでお願いします。
I'll take the unlimited time plan, please.
The unlimited-time plan is cheap on weekday afternoons, so I often use it with my friends.
A Japanese-coined English expression (和製英語) combining 'free' (as in 'free of restriction', not 'no cost') and 'time'. In English, the phrase 'free time' means leisure time, so this Japanese usage does not translate directly — a native speaker would say 'unlimited time plan' or 'all-you-can-use package'.
Usage
Most commonly seen on the menu boards of karaoke chains, internet/manga cafés (ネットカフェ / 漫画喫茶), billiards halls, and similar time-rental businesses. The customer pays a flat fee for a long block of time (often several hours or until closing), in contrast with hourly pricing.
Common collocations
- フリータイムで入る: to enter on the unlimited-time plan
- フリータイム料金: the unlimited-time rate
- 平日フリータイム: weekday unlimited-time plan
- 土日フリータイム: weekend unlimited-time plan
Similar words
- 時間制: by-the-hour pricing — the opposite model, where the customer is charged per hour
- パック料金: package rate — a set fee for a defined block of time (e.g., a 3-hour pack)
- 延長料金: extension fee — charged when staying past the end of a timed block
- 食べ放題: all-you-can-eat — parallel 'all-you-can-...' concept for food, using a native Japanese suffix
Related Words
Compare:
食べ放題 (all-you-can-eat)