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• yuan
  yuan

  noun

  a copper coin of the Republic of China, equal to 100 cents; dollar.
• Yuan
  Yuan

  noun

  (in the Republic of China) a department of government; council.
• Yüan
  Yüan

  noun

  the Mongol dynasty in China, 1260–1368, founded by Kublai Khan.

yuan

¹ American  

[yoo-ahn, yyahn] / juˈɑn, jüɑn /

noun

• yuan
  plural

1. Also called yuan dollar. a copper coin of the Republic of China, equal to 100 cents; dollar.

2. a paper money, brass or cupronickel coin, and monetary unit of the People's Republic of China, equal to 10 jiao or 100 fen.

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Yuan ² American  

[yoo-ahn, yyahn] / juˈɑn, jüɑn /

noun

(sometimes lowercase)

1. (in the Republic of China) a department of government; council.

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Yüan ³ American  

[yoo-ahn, yyahn] / juˈɑn, jüɑn /

noun

1. the Mongol dynasty in China, 1260–1368, founded by Kublai Khan.

2. Yuan.

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Yüan ¹ British  

/ ˈjuːˈæn /

noun

1. the imperial dynasty of China from 1279 to 1368

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adjective

1. of or relating to the Chinese porcelain produced during the Yüan dynasty, characterized by the appearance of under-glaze blue-and-white ware

Yüan ² British  

/ ˈjuːˈæn, ˈjuːˈɛn /

noun

1. a river in SE central China, rising in central Guizhou province and flowing northeast to Lake Tungting. Length: about 800 km (500 miles)

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yuan ³ British  

/ ˈjuːˈæn /

noun

1. Also called: renminbi, renminbi yuan. the standard monetary unit of China, divided into 10 jiao and 100 fen

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• yuan
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of yuan

1915–20; < Chinese yuán literally, round, circular; cf. yen ¹

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Explanation

The yuan is the Chinese equivalent of an American dollar or a British pound. When you're traveling in China, you'll need yuan to pay for meals, museums, hotels, and souvenirs. In Mandarin, yuán means a "round object" or "round coin," and in the Qing Dynasty, the yuan was a round, silver coin. Today in China, money is issued in both coins and banknotes, which are printed in amounts ranging from one to 100 yuan. It takes ten jiao to make one yuan, or 100 fen — so if you pay in cash, your change may come in yuan, jiao, and fen.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

yuan Yuan Yüan

Ticket prices range from 20 to 90 yuan, bringing the number sold to a few thousand at most.

From Barron's ● Oct. 23, 2026

In a separate filing, Chairman Zhu Yiming proposed a one billion yuan to two billion yuan buyback over 12 months to fund employee incentive plans or reduce the company’s registered capital.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026

Nursery executive principal Zhi Jinglin was sentenced to 15 years in prison and fined 300,00 yuan.

From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026

Citi opens a 30-day upside catalyst watch and keeps its buy rating with a target price of 10.31 yuan.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

He offered Shin food, lodging, and five yuan a day— about sixty cents—if he was willing to tend pigs.

From "Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West" by Blaine Harden

The executive, Zhao Yuan, said it was tough to compete with China’s long-established bottled-water makers, and that the company had racked up big losses in its initial years of operation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026

"People used to compare who had spent more," dance teacher Yuan told AFP at a new retail space in central Shanghai filled with luxury handbags, belts and jewellery items -- all second hand.

From Barron's ● Oct. 18, 2026

In court, Xu’s defense team presented a report from a toxicologist concluding that it was unlikely Yuan would continue to suffer adverse health effects from cadmium, according to the Standard.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026

Yuan said she’d dealt with years of chronic health issues and believed her dad’s death last September was due to some of the contaminated water he ingested.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026

The third emperor of the Ming dynasty, known Yuan Lo Ta Tien. as Yung Lo, A.D. 1403-1425, issued a commission for the production of a work on a scale which was colossal even for China.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 2 "Chicago, University of" to "Chiton" by Various

I have already laid stress on the overladen composition which developed in the Yüan epoch.

From Chinese Painters A Critical Study by Frances Seaver

He seems to have penetrated even further than Ma Yüan along the path of daring simplifications, and to have approached at times the calligraphic style.

From Chinese Painters A Critical Study by Frances Seaver

The first part of the main economic text is translated and annotated by H. F. Schurmann, Economic Structure of the Yüan Dynasty, Cambridge, Mass., 1956. p.

From A history of China., [3d ed. rev. and enl.] by Wolfram Eberhard

Yen Yüan asked how to rule a kingdom.

From The Sayings Of Confucius by Leonard Arthur Lyall

The Yüan epoch, therefore, appears in the light of a transition period connecting the fifteenth century of Ming with the thirteenth century of Sung.

From Chinese Painters A Critical Study by Frances Seaver

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