penny

音标发音

penny是英国的货币单位,意为“便士”,在1971年前是1先令的1/12,在1971年后指一英镑的1/100。penny在美国和加拿大,还可作“美分”“加拿大分”解,相当于cent,复数形式均为pennies。penny引申还可表示“少量的钱”,一般用于否定句。
penny的复数有两种形式：pennies和pence。在指钱数多少即“面值”时用pence,在指一个一个硬币时用pennies。
“六便士硬币”是six pence,“6个一便士的硬币”是six pennies,“总共六便士”是six pence。
在非正式文体中尤其是口语里, penny可用缩略式p,且其单复数同形。

the smallest unit of money in the UK, of which there are 100 in a pound, or a small coin worth this much. You use "pence" or, more informally, "p" when you are talking about the units of money and pennies when you are talking about the coins themselves.

A penny is one cent, or a coin worth one cent.
If you say, for example, that you do not have a penny, or that something does not cost a penny, you are emphasizing that you do not have any money at all, or that something did not cost you any money at all.