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

Fast Retailing said it aims to grow revenue in each of its markets of North America and Europe to 1 trillion yen, equivalent to $6.31 billion, in the coming years.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026

The ceasefire also led to a sharp drop in the dollar, which had become the safe-haven while the war raged, with the yen, euro and pound all strengthening.

From Barron's • Apr. 8, 2026

The Ministry of Finance is scheduled to hold two auctions during the week, selling about 600 billion yen of 30-year JGBs on Tuesday and around 2.5 trillion yen of five-year sovereign notes on Thursday.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

The brokerage initiates coverage of the stock with an outperform rating and a target price of 1,900 yen.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

Probably he had some endearing trait: he whistled, offkey, in the shower, he had a yen for truffles, he called his dog Liebchen and made it sit up for little pieces of raw steak.

From "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood