noun
BAD : The salary is 800 yen an hour.
GOOD : The pay/wage is 800 yen an hour.
BAD : The basic salary is £60 per week.
GOOD : The basic pay/wage is £60 per week.
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A salary is the amount of money that someone earns for a year's work, usually paid once a month directly into their bank account: 'I'll pay you back at the end of the month when I get my salary.' 'She's on a salary of £23,000 a year.'
If someone is paid once a week, they receive wages . In the past, wages were always paid in cash: 'He opened the envelope and counted his wages.' When you are thinking about rates or levels of payment (rather than actual coins and bank notes), use wage : 'She earns a pretty good wage.' 'They're demanding a 20 per cent wage increase.' 'They've raised the minimum wage from $4.25 an hour to $5.50.'
Pay is a general word for the (amount of) money people get for the work they do: 'He's lost a month's pay.' 'They've been given a pay rise of £20 a week.'
Note that in informal styles these words are often used with the same meaning.