yuan

Everyday

1. The yuan is the money of China; one yuan is divided into ten jiao or a hundred fen. tree →
2. The Yuan (with a capital Y) was a dynasty, a family of rulers, that ruled China, started by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan. tree →
3. (Mandarin, pinyin) «yuán» also means «round» or «first, original» in Chinese; as money it sounds like «yoo-AN» to an English ear. tree →

In the lessons

In maths problems about money around the world, prices may be given in yuan instead of dollars or pounds, and you may have to change one currency into another with an exchange rate. In geography and history lessons about China, the Yuan dynasty is the time when the Mongols ruled. Phrases: Chinese yuan, ten yuan, the Yuan dynasty, renminbi (the official name of the money).

Examples

• A bowl of noodles cost twenty yuan in Beijing. tree →
• The yuan is the money used in China. tree →
• If one pound buys nine yuan, how many yuan do you get for five pounds? tree →
• Grandad brought back some yuan notes with Mao's face on them. tree →
• Kublai Khan started the Yuan dynasty. tree →
• Marco Polo is said to have visited China during the Yuan dynasty. tree →
• She paid with her phone, not with yuan coins. tree →
• The shop sign showed the price in yuan. tree →

Note

The plural is usually the same: «one yuan, fifty yuan» (not «yuans», though you may see it). Pronounced «yoo-AN». The official name of China's money is «renminbi» (RMB); «yuan» is its unit, a bit like «sterling» and «pound». The symbol is ¥, the same sign as the Japanese yen, so check which country a price is from. In maths: to change yuan to another money, multiply or divide by the exchange rate given in the problem.