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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.
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
Anniek Bao, CNBC, 22 May 2025
Japan's second-biggest automaker expects operating income to total 500 billion yen ($3.38 billion) in the year to March 31, 2026, versus 1.21 trillion yen in the year that just ended.
—Daniel Leussink, USA Today, 15 May 2025
The company registered a net loss of 676 billion yen ($4.5 billion) in its fiscal fourth quarter after clocking a 101.3 billion yen profit in the same period a year earlier.
—Kevin Ryan, Quartz, 13 May 2025
That was roughly in line with the 4.75 trillion yen average of 25 analysts surveyed by LSEG.
—Reuters, CNN Money, 8 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for yen
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Noun
The Japanese yen strengthened 0.15% to 143.80 against the U.S. dollar following the release, while the benchmark Nikkei 225 rose modestly.
—Anniek Bao, CNBC, 22 May 2025
Japan's second-biggest automaker expects operating income to total 500 billion yen ($3.38 billion) in the year to March 31, 2026, versus 1.21 trillion yen in the year that just ended.
—Daniel Leussink, USA Today, 15 May 2025
The company registered a net loss of 676 billion yen ($4.5 billion) in its fiscal fourth quarter after clocking a 101.3 billion yen profit in the same period a year earlier.
—Kevin Ryan, Quartz, 13 May 2025
That was roughly in line with the 4.75 trillion yen average of 25 analysts surveyed by LSEG.
—Reuters, CNN Money, 8 May 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 29 May. 2025.
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