Indian numbering system
The Indian numbering system is used in the Indian subcontinent (Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) and in Burma. The terms lakh or lac (100,000 or 1,00,000 in the Indian system) and crore (10,000,000 or 1,00,00,000 in the Indian system)[1] are used in Indian English to express large numbers. For example, in India 150,000 rupees becomes 1.5 lakh rupees, written as ₹1,50,000 or INR 1,50,000, while 30,000,000 (thirty million) rupees becomes 3 crore rupees, written as ₹3,00,00,000 with commas at the thousand, lakh, and crore levels, and 1,000,000,000 (one billion) rupees (one hundred crore rupees or one arab अरब ) is written ₹1,00,00,00,000. While there are specific terms for numbers larger than 1 crore, these are not commonly used, and most practitioners are not familiar with these. In common parlance, the thousand, lakh, crore terminology repeats for larger numbers. Thus 1,000,000,000,000 (one trillion) becomes 1 lakh crore, and is written as 10,00,00,00,00,000.
The Indian numbering is equal to the western numbering system from ones then tens then hundreds then thousand then ten thousand. After ten thousand, the Indian and the western numbering divides into two parts. According to the Indian numbering system after ten thousand, it becomes lakh then ten lakh then crore then ten crore and so on. According to the Western numbering system, after ten thousand, it becomes hundred thousand then million then ten million then hundred million and so on. The two numbering system says that 10,000 (Indian system) = 10,000 (Western system).
Use of separators
The Indian numbering system uses separators differently from the international norm. Instead of grouping digits by threes as in the international system, It groups the rightmost three digits together (till the hundreds place) and thereafter groups by sets of two digits[2]. One trillion would thus be written as 1,00,000,00,00,000 or one lakh crore (or 10 kharab). This makes the number convenient to read using thousand, lakh, crore terminology. Thus:
| Indian system | Western system | In words (Indian) |
|---|---|---|
| 5,00,000 | 500,000 | Five lakhs |
| 12,12,12,123 | 121,212,123 | Twelve crore twelve lakh twelve thousand one hundred and twenty three |
| 1,700,00,00,000 | 17,000,000,000 | One thousand seven hundred crores |
| 67,89,000,00,00,000 | 67,890,000,000,000 | Sixty seven lakh eighty nine thousand crores |
This accords with the Indian numbering system, which has units for thousands, hundreds of thousands, tens of millions, etc.
Names of numbers
The table below follows the short scale usage of one billion being one thousand million. In India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, following former British usage, the long scale was used, with one billion equivalent to one million million.
| Hindi / Urdu / Tamil / Telugu / Bengali / Marathi / Kannada (transliteration) South Asian English |
Indian figure | Power notation |
International figure[3] | Short scale Western (long scale Western) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| एक / ایک (ek) /ஒன்று/ஏகம் (Ondru/Ekam) / ఒకటి (okati) / এক (êk) / एक / ಒಂದು one |
1 | 100 | 1 | One |
| दस / دس (das) /பத்து (Pathu) / పది (padi) / দশ (dôsh) / दहा / ಹತ್ತು ten |
10 | 101 | 10 | Ten Scientific (SI prefix): deca- |
| सौ / سو (sau) /நூறு (Nooru) / వంద (vandha) / একশ (êkshô) / शंभर / ನೂರು one hundred |
100 | 102 | 100 | One hundred SI prefix: hecto- |
| सहस्र (sahasra) / हज़ार / ہزار (hazār) / ஆயிரம் (Aayiram) / వెయ్యి (Veyyi) / হাজার (hazar) / एक हजार / ಸಾವಿರ one thousand |
1,000 | 103 | 1,000 | One thousand SI prefix: kilo- |
| दस हज़ार / دس ہزار (das hazār) /பத்தாயிரம்/ஆயுதம் (Pathaayiram/Ayutham) / పది వేలు (padi vēlu) /দশ হাজার (dôsh hazar) / दहा हजार / ಹತ್ತು ಸಾವಿರ ten thousand |
10,000 | 104 | 10,000 | Ten thousand |
| लाख / لاکھ (lākh) / இலட்சம்/நியுதம் (Latcham/Niyutham) / లక్ష (Lakṣa) / লাখ (lakh) / एक लाख / ಲಕ್ಷ one lakh (also lac) |
1,00,000 | 105 | 100,000 | One hundred thousand |
| अदन्त / ادنت (adant) / दस लाख / دس لاکھ (das lākh) / பத்து இலட்சம் (Pathu Latcham) /పది లక్షలు (padi Lakṣalu) / দশ লাখ (dôsh lakh) / दहा लाख / ಹತ್ತು ಲಕ್ಷ ten lakh |
10,00,000 | 106 | 1,000,000 | One million SI prefix: mega- |
| करोड़ / کروڑ (karoṛ) / கோடி (Kodi) / కోటి (Kōṭi)/ কোটি (koti) / एक कोटी / ಕೋಟಿ one crore |
1,00,00,000 | 107 | 10,000,000 | Ten million |
| दस करोड़ / دس کروڑ (das karoṛ) / அற்புதம் (Arputham) / పది కోట్లు (Padi kōṭlu)/ দশ কোটি (dôsh koti) / दहा कोटी / ಹತ್ತು ಕೋಟಿ ten crore |
10,00,00,000 | 108 | 100,000,000 | One hundred million |
| अरब / ارب (arab) / सौ करोड़ (sau karoṛ) /நிகற்புதம் (Nigarputham) / వంద కోట్లు (vandha kōṭlu)/ একশ কোটি (êkshô koti) / शंभर कोटी / ನೂರು ಕೋಟಿ one arab / one hundred crore |
100,00,00,000 | 109 | 1,000,000,000 | One billion (one milliard) SI prefix: giga- |
| एक हजार करोड़ (ek hazār karoṛ) / دس ارب (das arab) /கும்பம் (Kumbam) / వెయ్యి కోట్లు (Veyyi kōṭlu)/ এক হাজার কোটি (êk hazar koti) / एक हजार कोटी / ಒಂದು ಸಾವಿರ ಕೋಟಿ one thousand crore / ten arab |
1,000,00,00,000 | 1010 | 10,000,000,000 | Ten billion (ten milliard) |
| खरब / کھرب (kharab) / கணம் (Ganam) /పది వేల కోట్లు (Padi vēla kōṭlu) / দশ হাজার কোটি (dôsh hazar koti) / दहा हजार कोटी / ಹತ್ತು ಸಾವಿರ ಕೋಟಿ ten thousand crore / one kharab / one hundred arab |
10,000,00,00,000 | 1011 | 100,000,000,000 | One hundred billion (one hundred milliard) |
| एक लाख करोड़ (ek lākh karoṛ) / دس کھرب (das kharab) / கற்பம் (Karpam) / లక్ష కోట్లు (Lakṣa kōṭlu) / এক লাখ কোটি (êk lakh koti) / एक लाख कोटी / ಒಂದು ಲಕ್ಷ ಕೋಟಿ one lakh crore / ten kharab / one thousand arab |
1,00,000,00,00,000 | 1012 | 1,000,000,000,000 | One trillion (one billion) SI prefix: tera- |
| नील / نیل (nīl) /நிகற்பம் (Nikarpam) / పది లక్షల కోట్లు (Padi Lakṣala kōṭlu) / দশ লাখ কোটি (dôsh lakh koti) / दहा लाख कोटी / ಹತ್ತು ಲಕ್ಷ ಕೋಟಿ ten lakh crore / one neel / one hundred kharab / ten thousand arab |
10,00,000,00,00,000 | 1013 | 10,000,000,000,000 | Ten trillion (ten billion) |
| एक करोड़ करोड़ (ek karod karod) / دس نیل (das nīl) / பதுமம் (Padhumam) /కోటి కోట్లు (Kōṭi kōṭlu)/ শত লাখ কোটি (shôtô lakh koti) / ಒಂದು ಕೋಟಿ ಕೋಟಿ one crore crore / ten neel |
1,00,00,000,00,00,000 | 1014 | 100,000,000,000,000 | One hundred trillion (one hundred billion) |
| पद्म / پدم (padma) / சங்கம் (Sangam) /పది కోటి కోట్లు (Padi Kōṭi kōṭlu) / হাজার লাখ কোটি (hajar lakh koti) / ಹತ್ತು ಕೋಟಿ ಕೋಟಿ one padma / one hundred neel / ten crore crore |
10,00,00,000,00,00,000 | 1015 | 1,000,000,000,000,000 | One quadrillion (one billiard) SI prefix: peta- |
| दस पद्म / دس پدم (das padm) /வெள்ளம்/சமுத்திரம் (Vellam/Samuthiram) / వంద కోటి కోట్లు (Vandha Kōṭi kōṭlu) / দশ হাজার লাখ কোটি (dôsh hajar lakh koti) / ನೂರು ಕೋಟಿ ಕೋಟಿ ten padma / one hundred crore crore |
100,00,00,000,00,00,000 | 1016 | 10,000,000,000,000,000 | Ten quadrillion (ten billiard) |
| शङ्ख (शंख) / شنکھ (śaṅkh) / அந்நியம் (Anniyam) / వెయ్యి కోటి కోట్లు (Veyyi Kōṭi kōṭlu) / শত হাজার লাখ কোটি (shôtô hajar lakh koti) / ಒಂದು ಸಾವಿರ ಕೋಟಿ ಕೋಟಿ one shankh / one hundred padma / one thousand crore crore / one lakh lakh crore |
1,000,00,00,000,00,00,000 | 1017 | 100,000,000,000,000,000 | One hundred quadrillion (one hundred billiard) |
| गुलशन / گلشن (Gulshan) / அர்த்தம் (Artham) / పది వేల కోటి కోట్లు (Padi vēla Kōṭi kōṭlu) / দশ শত হাজার লাখ কোটি (dôsh shôtô hajar lakh koti) / ಹತ್ತು ಸಾವಿರ ಕೋಟಿ ಕೋಟಿ (ten shankh / ten thousand crore crore) |
10,000,00,00,000,00,00,000 | 1018 | 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 | One quintillion (one trillion) SI prefix: exa- |
Vedic numbering systems
There are various systems of numeration found in various ancient Vedic literatures of India. The following table gives one such system used in the TAMIL ANCIENT NUMBERING SYSTEM
| Indian figure | Power notation |
Equivalent numeric representation | Short scale Western | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| एक (eka) | 1 | 100 | 1 | One |
| दश (daśa) | 10 | 101 | 10 | Ten |
| शत (śata) | 100 | 102 | 100 | One hundred |
| सहस्र (sahasra) | 1,000 | 103 | 1,000 | One thousand |
| अयुत (ayuta) | 10,000 | 104 | 10,000 | Ten thousand |
| लक्ष (lakṣa) | 1,00,000 | 105 | 1,00,000 | One hundred thousand |
| नियुत (niyuta) | 1,00,000 daśa | 106 | 10,00,000 | One million |
| कोटि (koṭi) |
1,00,000 śata | 107 | 1,00,00,000 | Ten million |
| शङ्कु (śaṅku) | 1,00,000 koṭi | 1012 | 1,00000,00,00,000 | One trillion |
| महाशङ्कु (mahā-śaṅku) | 1,00,000 śaṅku | 1017 | 1,00000,00000,00,00,000 | One hundred quadrillion |
| वृन्द (vṛnda) | 1,00,000 mahā-śaṅku | 1022 | 1,00000,00000,00000,00,00,000 | Ten sextillion (ten trilliard) |
| महावृन्द (mahā-vṛnda) | 1,00,000 vṛnda | 1027 | 1,00000,00000,00000,00000,00,00,000 | One octillion |
| पद्म (padma) | 1,00,000 mahā-vṛnda | 1032 | 1,00000,00000,00000,00000,00000,00,00,000 | One hundred nonillion |
| महापद्म (mahā-padma) | 1,00,000 padma | 1037 | 1,00000,00000,00000,00000,00000,00000,00,00,000 | Ten undecillion |
| खर्व (kharva) | 1,00,000 mahā-padma | 1042 | 1,00000,00000,00000,00000,00000,00000,00000,00,00,000 | One tredecillion |
| महाखर्व (mahā-kharva) | 1,00,000 kharva | 1047 | 1,00000,00000,00000,00000,00000,00000,00000,00000,00,00,000 | One hundred quattuordecillion |
| समुद्र (samudra) | 1,00,000 mahā-kharva | 1052 | 1,00000,00000,00000,00000,00000,00000,00000,00000,00000,00,00,000 | Ten sexdecillion |
| ओघ (ogha) | 1,00,000 samudra | 1057 | 1,00000,00000,00000,00000,00000,00000,00000,00000,00000,00000,00,00,000 | One octodecillion |
| महौघ (mahaugha) | 1,00,000 ogha | 1062 | 1,00000,00000,00000,00000,00000,00000,00000,00000,00000,00000,00000,00,00,000 | One hundred novemdecillion |
Usage in different languages
- In Punjabi, a lakh is called lakkh (Shahmukhi: لکھ, Gurmukhi: ਲੱਖ) and a crore is called karoṛ (Shahmukhi: کروڑ, Gurmukhi: ਕਰੋੜ).
- In Bengali, a lakh is also called লক্ষ lokkho (ardha-tatsama), or laakh (tadbhava) and a crore is called কোটি koti.
- In Gujarati, a lakh is called લાખ lākh and a crore is called કરોડ karoḍ. A hundred crore is called અબજ abaj.
- In Sylheti, a lakh is called লাখ lakh (lax) and a crore is called কোটি kuti.
- In Kannada, a lakh is called ಲಕ್ಷ lakṣha and a crore is called ಕೋಟಿ kōṭi.
- In Malayalam, a lakh is called ലക്ഷം laksham and a crore is called കോടി kodi.
- In Marathi, a lakh is called लाख lākh and a crore is called कोटी koṭi or करोड karoḍ, and an arab (109) is called अब्ज abja.
- In Nepali, a lakh is called लाख lākh and a crore is called करोड karoḍ.
- In Odia (Oriya), a lakh is called ଲକ୍ଷ lakhya and a crore is called କୋଟି koti.
- In Sinhalese, a lakh is called ලක්ෂ lakṣa and a crore is called කෝටි kōṭi.
- In Tamil, a lakh is called நூறாயிரம் nooRaayiram as well as இலட்சம் 'ilatcham and a crore is called கோடி kodi.
- In Telugu, a lakh is called లక్ష lakṣa and a crore is called కోటి kōṭi.
- In Urdu, a lakh is called لاکھ lākh and a crore is called کروڑ karoṛ. A billion is called "arab"ارب . And hundred billion/ arab (ارب) is called "kharab"( کھرب).
- Lakh has entered the Swahili language as "laki" and is in common use.
- In Burmese, crore is called ကုဋေ [ɡədè]. Lakh is used in Burmese English.
References
- ↑ "Knowing our Numbers". Department Of School Education And Literacy. National Repository of Open Educational Resources. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
- ↑ Emmons, John (2018-03-25). "UNICODE LOCALE DATA MARKUP LANGUAGE (LDML) PART 3: NUMBERS". Unicode.org. Archived from the original on 2018-07-25. Retrieved 2018-03-25.
- ↑ Use of separator in digit grouping is following customs in most English speaking countries. For international standard and details cf. Decimal mark