yen

¹

[yen]

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.

yen

²

[yen]

noun

1. a desire or craving.

   I had a yen for apple pie.

   Synonyms: appetite, hunger, hankering, longing

verb (used without object)

yenned, yenning 

1. to have a craving; yearn.

yen

¹

/ jɛn /

noun

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

verb

1. (intr) to yearn

yen

²

/ jɛn /

noun

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

Word History and Origins

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of yen¹

perhaps from Chinese (Cantonese) yăn a craving, addiction

Origin of yen²

C19: from Japanese en , from Chinese yüan circular object, dollar

Idioms and Phrases

see have a yen for.

Example Sentences

Attracted by a weak yen, they splashed out the equivalent of $3.7 billion in the third quarter.

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The clearest sign of such a twist of the liquidity tap in Tokyo would be action to halt the slide in the yen’s exchange rate, which hit 158 to the dollar Thursday.

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The clearest sign of such a twist of the liquidity tap in Tokyo would be action to halt the slide in the yen’s exchange rate, which hit 158 to the dollar Thursday.

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The yen has depreciated against almost every major currency this year.

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The direction of travel for the yen is crucial for the carry trade, in which traders short low or negative-yielding Japanese assets to fund long positions in risk-on assets elsewhere.

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When To Use

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.