Meaning of 美元
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- American dollar; US dollar
How to use 美元
美元 is the standard written and formal word for US dollars, used in news, prices, and exchange rates. Put the number before it with no measure word. Example: 这个包一百美元。(Zhège bāo yìbǎi měiyuán.) This bag costs one hundred US dollars.
美 (měi) means beautiful and is also short for 美国 (Měiguó), America, the "beautiful country". 元 (yuán) is a unit of money, so 美元 is simply "America's money unit".
Common mistake: Learners often say 美元 when they mean Chinese money, but 元 alone or 人民币 (rénmínbì) is used for yuan. Also keep 美 in third tone and 元 in second tone. Before 元 the third tone of 美 stays low, so do not raise it like a second tone.
美元 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
美 měi · beautiful · 9 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
元 yuán · currency unit · 4 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
Related words
Words that share a character with 美元.
| 完美 | wánměi | perfect |
| 美丽 | měilì | beautiful |
| 美好 | měihǎo | beautiful; fine |
| 美食 | měishí | culinary delicacy; fine food |
| 单元 | dānyuán | unit (forming an entity); element |
| 美术 | měishù | art; fine arts |
| 美女 | měinǚ | beautiful woman |
| 美金 | měijīn | American dollar; US dollar |
| 优美 | yōuměi | graceful; fine |
| 公元 | gōngyuán | CE (Common Era); Christian Era |
| 元旦 | Yuándàn | New Year's Day |
| 元素 | yuánsù | element (key component of sth); (chemistry) element |
Questions about 美元
What does 美元 mean?
美元 (měiyuán) means "American dollar; US dollar" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 美元?
美元 is made of 2 characters: 美 (9 strokes), 元 (4 strokes). That is 13 strokes in total.
Is 美元 an HSK word?
Yes. 美元 is on the HSK 3 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the casual way to say US dollars in spoken Chinese?
In everyday speech many people say 美金 (měijīn) or 美刀 (měidāo), the second being slang. 美元 is the neutral standard term you will see in writing.
How do I say other currencies using the same pattern?
Many follow a similar pattern with a country abbreviation plus 元, such as 日元 (rìyuán) for Japanese yen and 港元 (gǎngyuán) for Hong Kong dollars. The euro is 欧元 (ōuyuán).