yen

Language: en

🇬🇧 /ˈjɛn/ 🇺🇸 /ˈjɛn/

📖 Definitions

  1. noun
    The basic monetary unit of Japan, equal to 100 sen.; A strong desire or craving for something; a longing.
  2. verb
    To have a strong desire or craving for something.

🔗 Details

Word forms

countable Plural: yen 3rd sing.: yens Past: yenned Past part.: yenned Pres part.: yenning

Collocations

yen forJapanese yenhave a yen fora strong yen

Derivatives

yenning

Synonyms

yearninglongingcravinghankeringdesire

Commonly confused

yearn
EN: 'Yearn' is the standard verb meaning to long for something; 'yen' as a verb is informal and rare, while 'yen' as a noun (currency or desire) is common.
yuan
EN: 'Yuan' is the Chinese currency unit; 'yen' is the Japanese currency unit.

Spelling tips

EN: The plural of the currency is 'yen' (invariable, not 'yens'). When used as a verb, the 'n' doubles: 'yenned', 'yenning'.

💬 Examples

  1. The meal cost about two thousand yen.

  2. He had a yen to travel the world after retirement.

  3. She was yenning for a taste of home after months abroad.