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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
Nathan Lewis, Forbes.com, 8 July 2025
As reported by The Athletic, an agreement for the 20-year-old Japan international was reached for £5million ($6.8m, 1billion Japanese yen), which represents a record fee for a player in the J League — the top division of Japanese football — moving overseas.
—Jay Harris, New York Times, 8 July 2025
The Japanese yen, South Korean won and South African rand all weakened against the dollar.
—John Towfighi, CNN Money, 8 July 2025
Afternoon tea is huge in Tokyo, with diners shelling out nearly 90 billion yen each year to nibble scones and petit-fours.
—Jessica Kozuka, Travel + Leisure, 6 July 2025
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Noun
By 1957, the threshold of the 55% tax rate had risen to 10 million yen – thirty-three times higher.
—Nathan Lewis, Forbes.com, 8 July 2025
As reported by The Athletic, an agreement for the 20-year-old Japan international was reached for £5million ($6.8m, 1billion Japanese yen), which represents a record fee for a player in the J League — the top division of Japanese football — moving overseas.
—Jay Harris, New York Times, 8 July 2025
The Japanese yen, South Korean won and South African rand all weakened against the dollar.
—John Towfighi, CNN Money, 8 July 2025
Afternoon tea is huge in Tokyo, with diners shelling out nearly 90 billion yen each year to nibble scones and petit-fours.
—Jessica Kozuka, Travel + Leisure, 6 July 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 18 Jul. 2025.
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