I was looking at hotel reviews (planning a trip, yay!) yesterday and came across this word that reminded me of my intense dislike for it…
“YENS”.
Omg, I really hate to see it! Seriously! It’s so painful! I flinch (mostly mentally, but sometimes physically) every time I see it.
It’s like, because it’s dollar and dollars, so naturally must be yen and yens is it?!
To me it’s as stinging to the eye as “one dollars”. It’s also on the same scale of disgusting-ness as “stuffs”, “inputs”, and what have you.
Yen is both singular and plural! 1 yen, 100 yen, 1 bajillion yen.
NO YENS!!!
-shudder-
“No matter how many of us there are, we are still yen!”
I guess tourists cannot really be blamed (but I secretly blame them all the same for causing me trauma), but I especially hate it when people who have LIVED HERE use it.
I’ve come across countless “Sayonara sales” (where someone puts their furniture, etc up for sale when they are leaving Japan for good) ads where that hated word was used.
Now that we have cleared up how to use it, I shall throw in a bonus.
Let me teach you the Japanese way to pronounce it…
YEN is pronounced:
“EN” (as in “enter”) not “YEN”!
I’m not kidding.
Ok, I’ve done my part in spreading the word. Oh, and also finished ranting, of course.
I feel better now :)
5 Comments
The english pronounciation is “yen”! [/rant]
@frooze
Lol, yeah, I think the “yen” pronunciation is forever ingrained in English speakers. It’s not really “incorrect”, but why not use the proper one now that I’ve so kindly taught it to you? XD It’s not even difficult to remember – it’s a subset of what you already know!
Sticking to “yen” is kinda like insisting on pronouncing bonjour “bon-jor” after someone teaches you the correct pronunciation, no?
no, no, the proper pronounciation is “yen” in english and “en” in japanese. Just like “doh-lar” in malay and “dollar” in english. Or “destination” in english and “desti-neigh-tyion” in french. Just because the word originated from a japanese word doesn’t mean its japanese pronounciation still applies. Pronounciation depends on the language being spoken, not the language of origin.
Bonjour is a purely french word and does not exist in the english dictionary, so you would be correct if you wanna be a nazi about bonjour :)
@frooze
Point taken. I suppose the sentence in the post should then be revised to:
“Let me teach you the correct way to pronounce it *in Japanese*”
Also, I believe “When in Japan, do as the Japanese do” ;D
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