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yen

noun · verb

Simple meaning

A yearning for something or to do something.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

yehn
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈjɛn

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. A yearning for something or to do something

  2. The unit of Japanese currency (symbol: ¥) since 1871, divided into 100 sen.

  3. A coin or note worth one yen.

  4. An ancient march, duchy, and kingdom of northeastern China during the Zhou dynasty.

verb

  1. Have a desire for something or someone who is not present

  2. transitive

    To have a strong desire for.

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: A yearning for something or to do something

Used this way, yen is a reasonably familiar word that can pull warm or cold depending on the sentence. It suits reflective writing more than quick conversation.

Emotional tone
Mixed
Formality
Slightly formal
Intensity
Gentle
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Sentimental and reflective
Usage feel
Reflective and slightly elevated

Usage note

The same wording can read approvingly or critically, so the surrounding sentence has to make the intent clear.

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use yen

  • “She had a strong yen for chocolate after a long day.”

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More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

noun

Sense: yearning for something or to do something

yearn

verb

Sense: have a desire for something

yearnlonglanguish

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.