Chinese yuan
The yuan (code: CNY) is, in the Chinese language, the base unit of a number of modern Chinese currencies. The distinction between yuan and renminbi is analogous to that between the pound and sterling.
One yuan is divided into 10 jiao or colloquially feathers (mao). One jiao is divided into 10 fen. In Cantonese, widely spoken in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau, jiao and fen are called ho and sin. Sin is a word borrowed into Cantonese from the English cent.
The symbol for the yuan is also used to refer to the cognate currency units of Japan and Korea, and is used to translate the currency unit dollar; for example, the US dollar is called Meiyuan, or American yuan, in Chinese. When used in English in the context of the modern foreign exchange market, the Chinese yuan most commonly refers to the renminbi (CNY).
