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 uncertainty also weighed on the dollar, which was well down against the yen, pound and euro.

From Barron's

On Friday, the Ministry of Finance is scheduled to auction 2.8 trillion yen of two-year sovereign notes.

From The Wall Street Journal

The same mystery donor had previously given 500,000 yen in cash for municipal waterworks, he added.

From BBC

While BOJ officials expect food inflation to moderate, a weak yen threatens to increase the cost of imports.

From The Wall Street Journal

Previously Chinese visitors were the biggest contingent, contributing to a tourism boom in the land of cherry blossom and Mount Fuji that was fuelled by a weak yen making shopping cheap.

From Barron's