Japanese Yen Symbol

Update: Feb 20, 2024

Japanese Yen SymbolJapanese Yen Symbol PNG

The ¥ is a special sign for yen, the money used in Japan. It looks a bit like the letter Y with two lines across it. People use this sign when they talk about money in Japan, which is called the yuan for money in China. A long time ago, in 1953, a big group called the International Monetary Fund said the yen is really important money, just like dollars or euros. They decided how much yen was worth in gold, which was a big deal. So, whenever you see the ¥, you know it’s talking about money in Japan (and sometimes China, too!).

The Japanese yen, or JPY, is the money used in Japan. It started being used in 1871. The symbol for the yen is ¥, and sometimes people write it as JP¥ to make sure it’s not mixed up with the Chinese yuan, which looks kind of similar. The yen is busy and popular in the world’s money market. It’s the third most traded currency after the US dollar and the euro. Also, when countries save money for the future, the yen is the fourth favorite choice after the US dollar, euro, and British pound.

How do I make the yen symbol ¥ with the keyboard?

Type the yen character

The Japanese yen, the money used in Japan, is called ¥ for short. When people talk about it worldwide, they use the letters JPY to say it’s from Japan. The symbol ¥ is made from Japanese writing that means “yen” (円) and looks a bit like the Chinese word for “yuan” (元) because they come from similar ideas. How you put the ¥ sign into what you’re writing might change based on the computer or program you’re using.

On a Windows Computer:

  1. Make sure Num Lock is on.
  2. Hold down the Alt key.
  3. Type 0165 on the number pad on the right side of your keyboard.
  4. Let go of the Alt key. The ¥ symbol will appear.

In Microsoft Word:

  1. Type 00A5.
  2. Then press Alt + X together. The ¥ symbol will show up.

Japanese Yen in Word

On a Mac:

  1. Switch your keyboard to Unicode Hex Input in system preferences.
  2. Hold down the Option key and type 00A5.

For a Bigger Yen Symbol:

  1. On Windows, press Alt and type 65509.
  2. On Mac, press Option and type FFE5. This makes the ¥ symbol wider, which some people prefer.

Japanese Yen in Windows

On Websites with HTML:

  1. You can use ¥ ¥ or ¥ to add the yen symbol to your website.

In CSS for Web Design:

  1. Use the code \00A5 in your CSS file to style something with the yen symbol, like this: content: “\00A5”;

Japanese Yen Symbol