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The lowdown on the Chinese yuan renminbi

Knowing exactly what to call the Chinese currency can get a bit confusing. The renminbi(RMB) is China’s official currency, while the yuan is its main unit—similar to how pounds sterling is the currency in the UK, but people usually just say pounds.

The currency symbol for the yuan is ¥, which is also the sign used by the Japanese yen, so context matters when you see it.

What is the Chinese yuan renminbi?

The term renminbi means “people’s currency” and was introduced in 1949 when the People’s Republic of China was founded. The yuan is widely used in mainland China but is not the official currency in Hong Kong or Macau, where different currencies apply, although yuan may still be accepted in some places.

In some regions, the yuan is known by other names: in Tibet it’s called a gor, and in Mongolia, sometimes a tugreg or yuani. Most commonly, though, locals say kuai or kuai qian—informal terms meaning “piece” or “pieces of money,” similar to saying “buck” when referring to the Australian dollar or “quid” in the UK.

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