Practical guide
How to read Japanese prices
The Japanese Dollar gives you a smaller number to use when reading a price in yen. Count every ¥100 as $1 JPD and ¥1,200 reads as $12 JPD.
Read a price in three steps
- Find the amount in yen (¥ or 円, read en).
- If the price contains Japanese number units, expand them: 万 (man) means 10,000 and 億 (oku) means 100,000,000.
- Divide the yen amount by 100 to express it in JPD. This rule stays fixed.
| Written price | Amount in yen | JPD reading |
|---|---|---|
| ¥350 | ¥350 | $3.50 JPD |
| ¥1,200 | ¥1,200 | $12 JPD |
| 8万円 (hachiman en) | ¥80,000 | $800 JPD |
| 350万円 (sanbyaku gojūman en) | ¥3,500,000 | $35,000 JPD |
JPD versus JPY and USD
In Japan you pay in yen (JPY). JPD is a shorthand for reading that yen amount in hundreds. When you want to know what the price works out to in US dollars, New Zealand dollars or euros, you need the current exchange rate. The converter on the homepage shows those amounts alongside the JPD reading.
For more about how Japanese prices use ten-thousand and hundred-million units, see the guide to 万円 (man-en) and 億円 (oku-en). Or enter a yen price in the converter to see both its JPD reading and separate live currency conversions.