Forex traders rarely say "euro–US dollar". On trading floors, in chat rooms and in broker commentary the major pairs have nicknames and two-letter shorthands. Knowing them makes forums, analyst notes and social media posts much easier to follow.
Nicknames for currency pairs
| Pair | Nickname | Shorthand | Background |
|---|---|---|---|
| EUR/USD | Fiber | EU | Origin of the nickname is unclear. EUR/USD is the most traded currency pair in the world. |
| GBP/USD | Cable | GU | From the transatlantic telegraph cable through which sterling–dollar rates were sent between London and New York in the 19th century. |
| USD/JPY | Gopher, Ninja | UJ | "UJ" is simply U(SD) + J(PY). The nicknames are much less common than the shorthand. |
| USD/CHF | Swissy | UCHF / UF | CHF stands for Confoederatio Helvetica franc. |
| USD/CAD | Loonie | UCAD / UC | The Canadian $1 coin shows a loon, so the Canadian dollar is the "loonie". |
| AUD/USD | Aussie | AU | — |
| NZD/USD | Kiwi | NU | After New Zealand's national bird, which appears on the $1 coin. |
| EUR/GBP | Chunnel | EG | After the Channel Tunnel between England and France. |
| GBP/JPY | Guppy, Geppy, "the Beast" | GJ | Known for wide daily ranges compared with the majors. |
| EUR/JPY | Yuppy | EJ | — |
| EUR/CHF | Euro-Swissy | EC / ECHF | The Swiss National Bank capped this pair at 1.20 from 2011 until 15 January 2015. |
| AUD/JPY | Aussie-yen | AJ | Often discussed as a risk-sentiment pair. |
Nicknames are informal and not standardised — you will see variations, and some (like "Gopher" or "Ninja") are much less common than "Cable" or "Fiber".
Nicknames for currencies
| Currency | Common nicknames |
|---|---|
| US dollar (USD) | Greenback, buck, "the dollar" |
| British pound (GBP) | Sterling, quid (colloquial), "the pound" |
| Canadian dollar (CAD) | Loonie |
| Australian dollar (AUD) | Aussie |
| New Zealand dollar (NZD) | Kiwi |
| Swiss franc (CHF) | Swissy |
Other trading-floor slang
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Pip | The standard unit of price movement: 0.0001 for most pairs, 0.01 for yen pairs. See what is a pip. |
| Pipette / point | One tenth of a pip — the fifth decimal (third on yen pairs). |
| Big figure / handle | The leading digits of a price that change rarely. In EUR/USD 1.0850 the big figure is 1.08. |
| "The figure" | A price ending in 00 pips, e.g. 1.0800. |
| Yard | One billion units of currency (from the French "milliard"). |
| Long / short | Bought / sold the base currency. See long vs short. |
| Square / flat | No open position. |
| Majors, crosses, exotics | Pairs with USD and another major currency; pairs of two non-USD majors; pairs with an emerging-market currency. See currency pairs. |
| Risk-on / risk-off | Market moods where investors favour higher-yielding, growth-sensitive currencies (risk-on) or traditional safe havens such as JPY, CHF and USD (risk-off). |
For definitions of more than a hundred forex terms, see the forex glossary.
Last reviewed: October 4, 2026