An old British amount of money: three pennies, in the money system Britain used before 1971. It is a historical word — you meet it in old novels, in stories about childhood before the 1970s, and in talk about old coins, but never in a shop today. Before 1971, British money did not work in tens. Twelve pence made a shilling and twenty shillings made a pound, so small amounts had their own names. Threepence was a real everyday sum — the price of a bus ride, a comic, or a bag of sweets for a child. There was a coin for it too, a chunky twelve-sided brass one, and people called it a 'threepenny bit'. The pronunciation is the part that surprises learners: it is not said 'three pence'. It was normally said with a short, swallowed first part — roughly 'THRUP-ənce' or 'THREP-ənce', depending on the speaker and the region. This is why it looks strange written down. The matching adjective is 'threepenny', as in 'a threepenny stamp'. Today, if you want three of the modern pennies, you simply say 'three pence' or '3p' — two clear words, no special form.

三便士（英國一九七一年改制前的舊幣值）。只出現在老小說、舊硬幣和懷舊的談話裡，現在買東西不會這樣說。發音要注意，不是照字面唸「three pence」。