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Although yen suggests no more than a strong desire these days (as in "a yen for a beach vacation"), at one time someone with a yen was in deep trouble: the first meaning of yen was an intense craving for opium. The word comes from Cantonese yīn-yáhn, a combination of yīn, meaning "opium," and yáhn, "craving." In English, the Chinese syllables were translated as yen-yen.
Synonyms of yen
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Noun (2)
Verb
Examples of yen in a Sentence
Noun (2)
I have a strange yen to take the day off from work
Verb
what car lover doesn't yen for a new car at the start of every model year
Recent Examples on the Web
Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 9 Nov. 2025
Japan’s government is positioning anime and related media as a core industry under its ‘New Cool Japan Strategy’, setting an ambitious target of reaching 20 trillion yen (or US$130BN) by 2033.
—Liz Shackleton, Deadline, 30 Oct. 2025
Risk-sensitive currencies like the Australian and New Zealand dollars climbed against the greenback in early trading, outperforming major peers, while havens including the Swiss franc and Japanese yen edged lower.
—Jason Ma, Fortune, 26 Oct. 2025
People needing dollars, euros, yen or yuan must offer more pesos to get them.
—Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 26 Oct. 2025
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Noun
Several Japanese companies, including Toyota, are investing roughly $7 billion (1 trillion yen) in local battery production, supported by government certifications such as METI approval for domestic manufacturing of solid-state batteries.
—Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 9 Nov. 2025
Japan’s government is positioning anime and related media as a core industry under its ‘New Cool Japan Strategy’, setting an ambitious target of reaching 20 trillion yen (or US$130BN) by 2033.
—Liz Shackleton, Deadline, 30 Oct. 2025
Risk-sensitive currencies like the Australian and New Zealand dollars climbed against the greenback in early trading, outperforming major peers, while havens including the Swiss franc and Japanese yen edged lower.
—Jason Ma, Fortune, 26 Oct. 2025
People needing dollars, euros, yen or yuan must offer more pesos to get them.
—Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 26 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for yen
Cite this Entry
“Yen.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/yen. Accessed 10 Nov. 2025.
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