Nobel-prize-winning economist Paul Krugman, writing in the New York Times in October, noted that no-one seemed to mind if you talked about the pound's value, but talking about the yuan's value would sometimes draw disapproval.

"I sometimes think that the whole renminbi/yuan issue is a sinister plot by the Chinese designed specifically to deter people from discussing Chinese currency policy," he joked.

The plot, if it is one, goes further than this.

Jiao and mao

As it happens, Chinese people rarely talk about renminbi or yuan.
100 yuan notes A fistful of kuai

The word they use is "kuai", which literally means "piece", and is the word used historically for coins made of silver or copper.

Also common is "10 kuai qian", literally "10 pieces of money".

"Kuai" is colloquial, like "quid" in the UK and "buck" in the US, but it is the word used in everyday Mandarin, whether you are in Beijing or Taiwan - which, of course, has its own currency, the new Taiwanese dollar, also known as the yuan.

The same thing happens again when you break down your yuan into smaller units, the jiao and the fen (one yuan is equal to 10 jiao and one jiao is equal to 10 fen).

There is nothing wrong with the word jiao, it is just that most people use the word mao instead.

Anyone suspecting a link between the mao and Chinese former communist leader Mao Zedong would be mistaken.

The character is the same as Mao's surname, but the word was used long before he came to prominence.

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