円

The counter 円（えん） is used to express the value of Japanese currency. The symbol ¥ is often used in writing, but it is always read as えん. Note that Japanese has no plural form, so '1 yen' and '100 yen' both use えん.

1. Asking for the Price:
To ask 'How much?', it is most natural to use いくら rather than 何円（なんえん）.

2. Number Readings:
It uses a mix of Sino-Japanese numbers, substituting Native Japanese readings for 4 and 7. Note these specific readings:

• 4 yen: よえん or よんえん. Never use しえん. Note that 40 yen is strictly よんじゅうえん (never よじゅうえん) and 400 yen is strictly よんひゃくえん (never よひゃくえん).
• 7 yen: ななえん (Usually preferred over しちえん).
• 9 yen: きゅうえん.
• 100 yen: ひゃくえん (Never いちひゃくえん).
• 10,000 yen: いちまんえん (You must include the いち for 10,000, unlike 1,000 which is just せんえん).

3. Phonetic Changes:
Remember the standard phonetic changes for hundreds and thousands when counting money:

• 300 yen: さんびゃくえん
• 600 yen: ろっぴゃくえん
• 800 yen: はっぴゃくえん
• 3,000 yen: さんぜんえん
• 8,000 yen: はっせんえん

4. Value vs. Physical Objects:
Use 円 to talk about the price or the amount of money. To specify physical currency, use the suffixes 札（さつ） for bills and 玉（だま） for coins. For example, a 1,000 yen bill is 千円札（せんえんさつ）, a 100 yen coin is 百円玉（ひゃくえんだま）, and a 500 yen coin is 五百円玉（ごひゃくえんだま）.

When counting the physical items:

• Bills: Use 枚（まい）.
• Coins: Use 枚（まい）, 個（こ）, or the general つ counter.

5. Pronunciation:
While written as 'Yen' in English, the Japanese pronunciation is strictly えん. There is no 'Y' sound at the beginning.