Meanings
yuan1
plural yuans · alternative yüan
- hobbiesThe basic unit of money in China.
In Pinggu, a suburb of Beijing, residents were told that they would receive 50-yuan ($7.60) prizes in cash or merchandise once they had been fully vaccinated.
2021 April 5, Lily Kuo, Lyric Li, “China’s covid vaccine drive is lagging. Free food could help turn things around.”, in The Washington Post, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 05 Apr 2021, Asia & Pacific5 more examples
Sung paused to show me some of the notes. They were in issues of five yuan (a Chinese dollar, equal at this time to a little less than one American dollar), one yuan, twenty and ten cent denominations.
1940, Evans Fordyce Carlson, “Test Tube for New China”, in Twin Stars of China: A Behind-the-Scenes Story of China's Valiant Struggle For Existence By A U. S. Marine who Lived & Moved with The People, New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, →OCLC, page 219The Nanchiaoshan Co-operative in Kuangling County originally had 14 households. But they became dissatisfied and 7 withdrew because nothing was done when the production-team leader (a rich peasant) and the bookkeeper made away with some 60 yuan of public money.
中国农村的社会主义高潮(选本)
1978 [1955 June 24], Yenpei Prefectural Party Committee, “A Stern Struggle Must be Waged Against Graft and Theft”, in General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, editor, Socialist Upsurge in China's Countryside [中国农村的社会主义高潮(选本)], First edition, Peking: Foreign Languages Press, →OCLC, page 481A ticket to these Saturday and Sunday night dances costs 15 yuan, or $5.35, which is a lot when one considers that the average Peking worker makes 60 to 70 yuan ($21 to $25) a month.
1985 April 29, Daniel Southerl, “Saturday Night Fever in Peking”, in The Washington Post, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 27 Aug 2023Donations to the mosque come from a village considered fairly poor by regional standards, with an average annual income of 300 yuan (about U.S. $100) per household. The 1982 average per capita annual income in Yongning County was substantially higher, 539 yuan according to the Population Census Office (1987:206).
1998, Dru C. Gladney, “Getting Rich is Not So Glorious: Contrasting Perspectives on Prosperity Among Muslims and Han in China”, in Robert W. Hefner, editor, Market Cultures: Society and Morality in the New Asian Capitalisms, Westview Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 110The provincial government has designated thirty-four counties in Henan as officially impoverished (pinkun xian) according to the provincial criterion: an average annual per capita income below 500 yuan and total household assets valued at less than 8,000 yuan, based on 1990 prices.
2002, Kellee S. Tsai, “Creative Capitalists in Henan”, in Back-Alley Banking: Private Entrepreneurs in China, Cornell University Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 185
yuan2
plural yuans · alternative yüan
- TaiwangovernmentOne of the five branches of the government of the Republic of China.
Yuan3
alternative Yüan
- The Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China from 1279 to 1368.
1 more example
[...]the Founder of that Family, who took the Name of Yuen, and who is known in Europe by the Name of Zing hi, or Zing his kan, but whom the Chineſe Hiſtory calls Tchin bi ſe, and Tai tſou, after he had conquer’d the King had thoughts of carrying the War into Corea: His General, called Leou co immediately made himſelf Mafter of the Towns ſituated upon the Eaſt of the River Ya lou;[...]
[1739 [1735], P. Du Halde, “Geographical Obſervations on the Kingdom of Corea”, in The General History Of China, 2nd edition, volume IV, →OCLC, page 391 - A surname from Chinese.
Yuan4
Synonyms & antonyms
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
yuan · noun
From Mandarin 元 (yuán), from 圓/圆 (yuán, “circle > round coin”) referring to the piece of eight. Compare Japanese 円(えん) (en), Korean 원(圓) (won). Doublet of yen and won.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic يُوَان
- يُوَان (yuwān)basic unit of money in China
Bulgarian юа́н
- юа́н (juán)basic unit of money in China
Catalan iuan
- iuanbasic unit of money in China
Chinese Cantonese 元, 蚊
- 元 (jyun⁴)basic unit of money in China
- 蚊basic unit of money in China
Chinese Mandarin 圓 /圆, 元
- 圓 /圆 (yuán)basic unit of money in China
- 元 (yuán)basic unit of money in China
- 塊 /块 (kuài)basic unit of money in China
- 人民幣 /人民币 (rénmínbì)basic unit of money in China
Czech jüan
- jüanbasic unit of money in China
Dutch yuan
- yuanbasic unit of money in China
Esperanto juano
- juanobasic unit of money in China
Estonian jüaan
- jüaanbasic unit of money in China
Finnish juan, yuan
- juanbasic unit of money in China
- yuanbasic unit of money in China
French yuan
- yuanbasic unit of money in China
German Yuan
- Yuanbasic unit of money in China
Hebrew יוּאָן
- יוּאָן (yuán)basic unit of money in China
Hindi युआन
- युआन (yuān)basic unit of money in China
Hungarian jüan
- jüanbasic unit of money in China
Italian yuan
- yuanbasic unit of money in China
Japanese 元, ユアン
- 元 (gen)basic unit of money in China
- ユアン (yuan)basic unit of money in China
- 人民元 (jinmingen)basic unit of money in China
Korean 원, 유안
- 원 (won)basic unit of money in China
- 유안 (yuan)basic unit of money in China
- 위안 (wian)basic unit of money in China
Latvian juaņs
- juaņsbasic unit of money in China
Lithuanian juanis
- juanisbasic unit of money in China
Malay yuan
- yuanbasic unit of money in China
Māori wāna
- wānabasic unit of money in China
Persian یوان
- یوان (yuân)basic unit of money in China
Polish juan
- juanbasic unit of money in China
Portuguese yuan
- yuanbasic unit of money in China
Russian юа́нь
- юа́нь (juánʹ)basic unit of money in China
Slovak jüan
- jüanbasic unit of money in China
Spanish yuan
- yuanbasic unit of money in China
Thai หยวน
- หยวน (yǔuan)basic unit of money in China
Ukrainian юа́нь
- юа́нь (juánʹ)basic unit of money in China
Vietnamese nguyên
- nguyênbasic unit of money in China
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with yuan
All rhymes →Sounds the same
Anagrams
Cite this entry
yuan. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/yuan
“yuan.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/yuan. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “yuan,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/yuan.
Source: yuan on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.