Forex Trading Must-Know: List of Currency Symbols and Quick Input Tips

2025-12-24 14:43:30

Why Are Currency Symbols Important? Essential Knowledge for Traders

When trading in the foreign exchange market, correctly identifying each country’s currency symbol is not only a fundamental requirement but also crucial for trading accuracy. Currency symbols serve as a quick visual shorthand, allowing for rapid identification of different countries and regions’ currencies. As a trader, mastering currency symbols can help you quickly recognize currency pairs, track value fluctuations, and improve trading efficiency.

Compared to writing out “40 US dollars,” directly using “$40” or “USD$40” is obviously more convenient and efficient. This simplified identification method is especially critical in high-frequency trading and market analysis.

Quick Reference Table of Major Global Currency Symbols

The following table covers major trading currencies worldwide and their corresponding symbols:

Region	Country	Currency Name	Code	Symbol
Americas	USA	US Dollar	USD	$
	Canada	Canadian Dollar	CAD	$
	Brazil	Brazilian Real	BRL	R$
Asia	China	Renminbi	CNY	￥/元
	Taiwan	New Taiwan Dollar	TWD	NT$
	Hong Kong	Hong Kong Dollar	HKD	$/HK$
	Japan	Japanese Yen	JPY	¥
	Singapore	Singapore Dollar	SGD	$
	South Korea	South Korean Won	KRW	₩
	India	Indian Rupee	INR	₹
	Indonesia	Indonesian Rupiah	IDR	Rp
	Thailand	Thai Baht	THB	฿
	Vietnam	Vietnamese Dong	VND	₫
Oceania	Australia	Australian Dollar	AUD	$
	New Zealand	New Zealand Dollar	NZD	$
Europe	UK	British Pound	GBP	£
	Eurozone	Euro	EUR	€
	Russia	Russian Ruble	RUB	₽
	Turkey	Turkish Lira	TRY	₺
Middle East & Africa	Israel	New Shekel	ILS	₪
	South Africa	South African Rand	ZAR	R

Quick Methods to Input Common Currency Symbols on Computers

In daily trading and documentation, the following shortcuts can help you quickly input major currency symbols:

Currency	Code	Symbol	Mac Shortcut	Windows Shortcut
Euro	EUR	€	Shift+Option+2	Alt+E
Pound Sterling	GBP	£	Option+3	Alt+L
US Dollar	USD	$	Shift+4	Shift+4
Japanese Yen	JPY	¥	Option+Y	Hold Alt+165

Mac users can customize shortcuts in system preferences to speed up input, while Windows users can use Alt+numeric keypad combinations or copy-paste symbols into documents.

Guide to Distinguishing Confusing Currency Symbols

The Double Identity of ￥ Symbol

The “￥” symbol represents different currencies in different countries. Japan uses it to denote the Yen (JPY), while China uses it for the Renminbi (CNY). To avoid confusion, transaction documents should clearly specify: CNY￥100 for “100 Yuan Renminbi,” and JPY￥100 for “100 Yen.”

Widespread Use of $ Symbol

The “$” symbol does not only stand for the US dollar. Over 30 countries and regions use it as their local currency symbol, including:

Currency Name	Standard Notation
US Dollar	US$
New Taiwan Dollar	NT$
Canadian Dollar	C$
Brazilian Real	R$
Hong Kong Dollar	HK$
Singapore Dollar	S$
Australian Dollar	A$
New Zealand Dollar	NZ$

In international transactions, prefixing with the country abbreviation can effectively prevent misunderstandings.

฿ Symbol’s Dual Meaning

The “฿” symbol in forex indicates the Thai Baht, but in the cryptocurrency market, it represents Bitcoin. Always interpret based on the trading context to understand its true meaning.

Meaning and Application of Forex Currency Pairs

Forex currency pairs reflect the exchange rate between two currencies. For example, EUR/USD represents the Euro to US Dollar rate, GBP/JPY the British Pound to Japanese Yen rate.

Taking USD/GBP as an example, this pair indicates how many British Pounds one US Dollar can buy. The symbol before the pair is called the “base currency” (USD), and the one after is the “quote currency” or “counter currency” (GBP). Traders buy or sell one currency to obtain the other, seeking profit from price differences.

Mastering the currency symbol system is fundamental for conducting international forex trading and can significantly enhance trading efficiency and information accuracy.

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