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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
Examples of yen in a Sentence
Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 11 Apr. 2024
That’s on top of some 330 billion yen ($2.17 billion) in subsidies already pledged by the government.
—Junko Ogura, CNN, 10 Apr. 2024
The dollar remained strong against the Japanese yen and Chinese yuan, a trend that has unsettled regulators in both Tokyo and Beijing.
—Elaine Kurtenbach, Quartz, 28 Mar. 2024
The company reported net sales of 95 billion yen ($628 million) for the six months ending Dec 31.
—Lionel Lim, Fortune Asia, 21 Mar. 2024
Ticket revenue and other spending related to the four shows in Japan are estimated to have an economic impact of 34 billion yen ($230 million), according to the Economic Impact Research Laboratory.
—Andee Capellan, NBC News, 10 Feb. 2024
Nissan Motor also fully met its labor union’s demands, agreeing to an average 18,000 yen ($121) increase in monthly pay.
—William Gavin, Quartz, 13 Mar. 2024
Rates start from 460,000 Japanese yen, which is currently about $3,115 per person.
—Rachel Chang, Travel + Leisure, 13 Mar. 2024
Starting this October, the government will also offer 15,000 yen ($102) a month to households after the birth of a first and second child until the age of 2, and then continue providing 10,000 yen ($68) till high school.
—Lionel Lim, Fortune Asia, 12 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'yen.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near yen
Cite this Entry
“Yen.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/yen. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.
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