Did you know?
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
James Peckham, PC Magazine, 10 June 2025
The Japanese yen weakened 0.29% against the dollar to 143.10, after Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda indicated his intention to continue to raise interest rates if the central bank is convinced that economic and price growth will re-accelerate after a period of price stagnation.
—Amala Balakrishner, CNBC, 2 June 2025
For 20 years now, Tokyo has looked after its corporate giants with a weak yen.
—William Pesek, Forbes.com, 29 May 2025
In one particular case, the defendant girl was ordered by a judge to pay several thousand yen in damages.
—Josh Slater-Williams, IndieWire, 22 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for yen
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
That’s up from 12,100 yen on the Switch OLED and 9,900 yen on the original models.
—James Peckham, PC Magazine, 10 June 2025
The Japanese yen weakened 0.29% against the dollar to 143.10, after Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda indicated his intention to continue to raise interest rates if the central bank is convinced that economic and price growth will re-accelerate after a period of price stagnation.
—Amala Balakrishner, CNBC, 2 June 2025
For 20 years now, Tokyo has looked after its corporate giants with a weak yen.
—William Pesek, Forbes.com, 29 May 2025
In one particular case, the defendant girl was ordered by a judge to pay several thousand yen in damages.
—Josh Slater-Williams, IndieWire, 22 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 19 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share