<p>元/圓 (dollar) is a unit of money, 澳洲元/圓 = Australian Dollar; 美元/圓 = US Dollar</p>

<p><em>圓 is the correct character, 元 is a sound-alike shorthand</em></p>

<p>Japan only use 圓, therefore, 日圓 = Japanese Yen </p>

<p>幣 means 'coin' , referring to currency, 人民幣(People's coin) = China's currency; 新台幣 (New Taiwan coin) = Taiwan's currency</p>

<p>It is correct that choosing 圓 or 幣 mostly based on historical or personal preferences. Historically 圓 is more colloquial, general public would refer foreign coins as 圓; while 幣 is more formal and literary.</p>

<p>Calling 美元 as 美金 is a unique case. No other country's currency is called 金.</p>

<p>Back in the days when US tried to make US dollar the common currency of the world thus enable America to gain control of the world trade, they announced US dollar's value will be hooked with America's gold reserve . It meant America could only issue the amount of currency with equal value of gold in reserve. That effectively made US dollar as trust worthy as gold. American dollar was in effect, American gold. They could do that because at that time they had the largest gold reserve in the world. </p>

<p>Nowadays it is no longer the case, US dollar no longer hooked up with gold's value, it is now based only upon the trust on America's economy </p>

<p>Hong Kong people also use 紙 (as in 銀紙, meaning banknote) colloquially to refer to currency.</p>

<p>加紙, 加圓 and 加幣 all refer to Canadian currency </p>

<p>港紙, 港圓 and 港幣 all refer to Hong Kong's currency</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-07T06:28:58.443Z
`Japanese use 圓 instead of 元 as a unit of money` I'd rather say that *Chinese uses 元 as a shorthand of 圓, because they're pronounced the same in Mandarin*. 元 is non-official.
dROOOze
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-07T06:29:55.227Z
Is 元 vs. 圓 also based on personal preferences? On Hong Kong dollar bank notes, I see 壹佰元, whereas on New Taiwan dollar bank notes, I see 壹佰圓.
Flux
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-07T06:30:20.170Z
圓 and 元 are just difference in character choice,
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-07T06:31:32.307Z
@droooze The Hong Kong dollar uses 元.
Flux
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-07T06:31:51.943Z
元 and 圓 are different words. They're pronounced identically in Mandarin and Cantonese, but not so in some other languages (notably Min topolects).
dROOOze
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-07T06:32:45.963Z
@Flux I'm surprised to hear that actually, but it's definitely non-official for PRC and ROC currency. 圓 is the etymologically correct character used for PRC, ROC, Korean, and Japanese currency in those countries and languages to this very day.
dROOOze
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-09T07:37:30.093Z
This answer is very informative, but I think 金 is not related to the gold standard. After all, we say 現金 for "cash", 資金 for "capital"... 金 just seems to be a general word for "money" and the reason you can say 美金 but not 歐金 or 日金 is probably just convention. After all, the US Dollar is older than most currencies, so it makes sense that there are more words for it.
KWeiss
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-09T16:15:24.620Z
@droooze Currently 元 is also an official unit, thought 圆 is the right form rather than 元.
xenophōn
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-03-21T00:56:32.097Z
@dROOOze I did some crude research by looking at old banknotes, and came up with this: on Hong Kong dollar banknotes, 元 vs. 圓 depends on the issuer. For the 2018 series, all issuers used 元. The Bank of China had always used 圓 until the 2018 series, when it used 元. HSBC used 圓  (or 員) or only English until 1993, when it started to use 元. Standard Chartered used 圓  (or 員) or only English until the 2018 series, when it used 元. The government of Hong Kong SAR has always used 元.
Flux
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-03-21T00:58:53.057Z
@Flux yes, it's really strange. I recently found out that PRC's coins use 元 but their notes use 圓. I'm not gonna fathom why, because the choice is not anything to do with language :)
dROOOze
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-07T06:22:18.067Z
2019-04-08T02:32:54.023Z
2019-04-08T02:32:54.023Z
Tang Ho
<p>In currency exchange booths, and in conversation, I've noticed this:</p>

<ul>
<li>US dollar = 美元, 美金.</li>
<li>Hong Kong dollar = 港幣</li>
<li>Japanese Yen = 日元</li>
<li>Singapore dollar = 新幣</li>
<li>Euro = 歐元</li>
</ul>

<p>There's also 英鎊 for the pound sterling, but I understand where that comes from.</p>

<p>What is the difference between 元 (圓), 幣, and 金? Is there a rule for using one over the other? Or is usage based on historical and/or personal preferences?</p>

<p>I've personally never seen anyone use "日幣", "歐金", etc.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-07T05:47:31.313Z
日圓 is most likely due to it being 圓 (円) in Japanese.
dROOOze
<word-choice><usage><difference>
What is the difference between 元 (圓), 幣, and 金?
# What is the difference between 元 (圓), 幣, and 金?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-04-07)

In currency exchange booths, and in conversation, I've noticed this:

* US dollar = 美元, 美金.
* Hong Kong dollar = 港幣
* Japanese Yen = 日元
* Singapore dollar = 新幣
* Euro = 歐元

There's also 英鎊 for the pound sterling, but I understand where that comes from.

What is the difference between 元 (圓), 幣, and 金? Is there a rule for using one over the other? Or is usage based on historical and/or personal preferences?

I've personally never seen anyone use "日幣", "歐金", etc.

**Tags:** word-choice, usage, difference

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: 日圓 is most likely due to it being 圓 (円) in Japanese.  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2019-04-07. Score: 4 | Accepted answer

元/圓 (dollar) is a unit of money, 澳洲元/圓 = Australian Dollar; 美元/圓 = US Dollar

*圓 is the correct character, 元 is a sound-alike shorthand*

Japan only use 圓, therefore, 日圓 = Japanese Yen

幣 means 'coin' , referring to currency, 人民幣(People's coin) = China's currency; 新台幣 (New Taiwan coin) = Taiwan's currency

It is correct that choosing 圓 or 幣 mostly based on historical or personal preferences. Historically 圓 is more colloquial, general public would refer foreign coins as 圓; while 幣 is more formal and literary.

Calling 美元 as 美金 is a unique case. No other country's currency is called 金.

Back in the days when US tried to make US dollar the common currency of the world thus enable America to gain control of the world trade, they announced US dollar's value will be hooked with America's gold reserve . It meant America could only issue the amount of currency with equal value of gold in reserve. That effectively made US dollar as trust worthy as gold. American dollar was in effect, American gold. They could do that because at that time they had the largest gold reserve in the world.

Nowadays it is no longer the case, US dollar no longer hooked up with gold's value, it is now based only upon the trust on America's economy

Hong Kong people also use 紙 (as in 銀紙, meaning banknote) colloquially to refer to currency.

加紙, 加圓 and 加幣 all refer to Canadian currency

港紙, 港圓 and 港幣 all refer to Hong Kong's currency

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: `Japanese use 圓 instead of 元 as a unit of money` I'd rather say that *Chinese uses 元 as a shorthand of 圓, because they're pronounced the same in Mandarin*. 元 is non-official.  
> **username_0**: Is 元 vs. 圓 also based on personal preferences? On Hong Kong dollar bank notes, I see 壹佰元, whereas on New Taiwan dollar bank notes, I see 壹佰圓.  
> **username_2**: 圓 and 元 are just difference in character choice,  
> **username_0**: @username_1 The Hong Kong dollar uses 元.  
> **username_1**: 元 and 圓 are different words. They're pronounced identically in Mandarin and Cantonese, but not so in some other languages (notably Min topolects).  
> **username_1**: @username_0 I'm surprised to hear that actually, but it's definitely non-official for PRC and ROC currency. 圓 is the etymologically correct character used for PRC, ROC, Korean, and Japanese currency in those countries and languages to this very day.  
> **username_3**: This answer is very informative, but I think 金 is not related to the gold standard. After all, we say 現金 for "cash", 資金 for "capital"... 金 just seems to be a general word for "money" and the reason you can say 美金 but not 歐金 or 日金 is probably just convention. After all, the US Dollar is older than most currencies, so it makes sense that there are more words for it.  
> **username_4**: @username_1 Currently 元 is also an official unit, thought 圆 is the right form rather than 元.  
> **username_0**: @username_1 I did some crude research by looking at old banknotes, and came up with this: on Hong Kong dollar banknotes, 元 vs. 圓 depends on the issuer. For the 2018 series, all issuers used 元. The Bank of China had always used 圓 until the 2018 series, when it used 元. HSBC used 圓  (or 員) or only English until 1993, when it started to use 元. Standard Chartered used 圓  (or 員) or only English until the 2018 series, when it used 元. The government of Hong Kong SAR has always used 元.  
> **username_1**: @username_0 yes, it's really strange. I recently found out that PRC's coins use 元 but their notes use 圓. I'm not gonna fathom why, because the choice is not anything to do with language :)  

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