1.
three mon (old copper coin unit); a pittance; trifling amount
Literally 'three mon' — three units of an old copper coin worth almost nothing. Now used figuratively in idioms to mean 'a trifle', 'a cheap thing', or 'a small but real benefit'.
文 was a unit of old Japanese copper coinage; three of them was a very small sum. In modern Japanese the word survives almost exclusively in fixed phrases meaning 'cheap' or 'trifling'.
Common expressions
- 早起きは三文の得: 'rising early is worth three mon' — the early bird gets a small benefit
- 三文小説: pulp novel; trashy fiction
- 三文役者: third-rate / hack actor
- 三文文士: hack writer
- 二束三文: dirt cheap (two bundles for three mon)
Usage
Rarely used as a literal price in modern Japanese — almost always appears as part of an idiom or set expression with a 'cheap, worthless, or trivial' nuance.