EN maru (yen, round)

ASCII Art Representation:

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Character Etymology:

Formerly drawn as a circle encompassing a round kettle to emphasize the idea of roundness and also lending its old pronounciation to express a circle. The meaning of coin (yen in Japan) stems from an association of the round shape of a coin with the meaning of the character.

Other Facts:

A mnemonic to remember the meaning of this character is to visualize the character as a pictograph of a bank-teller's window, from which round coins are issued.

A listing of all on-yomi and kun-yomi readings:

on-yomi: EN
kun-yomi: maru(i) mado(ka) maro(yaka)

Nanori Readings:

Nanori: tsubura nobu madoka mitsu

English Definitions:

1. EN: round coin, Yen (the Japanese currency, ¥)
2. mado(ka) na: round, tranquil.
3. maru(i), maro(yaka) na: round, circular, spherical.
4. tsubura na: round, rotund.
5. tsubura na: circle, coin, money

Unicode Encoded Version:

円

Unicode Encoded Compound Examples:

円形 (enkei): a circle.
百円 (hyakuen): one-hundred yen (100¥).
円満 (emman): perfection, harmony, peace, satisfaction, smoothness, integrity, completeness.
円錐形 (ensuikei): cone.

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