Assume you're looking at the EUR/USD pair. The euro is the base currency in this example, and the US dollar is the quote currency. If the EUR/USD pair is trading at 1.3000, it means that a single euro costs $1.30.

When trading forex, you can choose to go long or short. This means determining which currency in the forex pair is considered 'weak' or strong in comparison to the other currency.

If you open a long position, you are betting that the base currency will rise or the quote currency will fall. So, if you expected the US dollar to fall in value or the euro to rise in value, you would buy EUR/USD.

If you were to open a short position, you would do so with the expectation that the value of the base currency would fall against the quote currency. If the US dollar is strong, you should place a sell order on the EUR/USD pair.

A base currency is the first currency listed in a currency pair in forex trading. It represents the value of the other currency. For example, in the EUR/USD pair, the euro (EUR) is the base currency, while the U.S. dollar (USD) is the quote currency. If EUR/USD is 1.10, it means one euro equals 1.10 U.S. dollars. Other examples include GBP/JPY, where the British pound (GBP) is the base currency, and USD/CHF, where the U.S. dollar (USD) is the base currency. The base currency is always equal to one unit, and the quoted currency shows how much it is worth. Traders use base currencies to measure strength, set trades, and compare values between different currencies.