yen

¹ American  

[yen] / yɛn /

noun

plural

yen

1. an aluminum coin and monetary unit of Japan, equal to 100 sen or 1000 rin. ¥; Y

2. a former silver coin of Japan.

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yen ² American  

[yen] / yɛn /

noun

1. a desire or craving.

   I had a yen for apple pie.

   Synonyms:

   appetite, hunger, hankering, longing

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verb (used without object)

yenned, yenning

1. to have a craving; yearn.

yen ¹ British  

/ jɛn /

noun

1. a passionate, ardent, or intense longing or desire

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verb

1. (intr) to yearn

yen ² British  

/ jɛn /

noun

1. the standard monetary unit of Japan, (notionally) divided into 100 sen

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yen Idioms  

1. see have a yen for.

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Usage

What does yen mean? Yen is a monetary unit of Japan similar to a dollar. It comes in the form of a coin that’s also called a yen.The symbol for yen is ¥. Like a dollar, it can be divided into 100 parts called sen (though sen are not used in practice).The plural of yen is yen.Unrelatedly, yen is a slang term meaning a strong craving, desire, or yearning. It’s especially used in the phrase have a yen for. It can also be used as a verb meaning to crave or strongly desire.Example: Ever since I came back from Italy, I’ve had a yen for fresh pasta.

Etymology

Origin of yen¹

1870–75; < Japanese ( y ) en < Chinese yuán yuan

Origin of yen²

1905–10, probably < dialectal Chinese (OAGuangdong) yáhn, akin to Chinese yǐn craving, addiction

Example Sentences

The Japanese owner of 7-Eleven said Thursday that net profit increased more than sixfold from a year earlier to 76.66 billion yen, equivalent to $489 million, for the three months ended November.

From The Wall Street Journal

The yen's weakness has devalued remittances sent home and there is increasing competition from labour markets such as South Korea, denting Japan's reputation among Vietnamese, immigration expert Jotaro Kato told AFP.

From Barron's

Last year, the first tuna at the auction was bought for 207 million yen by Onodera Group, another food company that owns a sushi chain.

From BBC

The 510.3 million yen price at the new year's auction was the highest since comparable data started being collected in 1999.

From Barron's

According to a Goldman Sachs breakdown, a common driver was a sharp increase in valuations, or how much each yen, pound or euro of earnings was valued at in the market.

From The Wall Street Journal