South Asian numbering system
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The South Asian numbering system, used today in the Indian subcontinent (comprising India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal), is based on grouping by two decimal places, rather than the three decimal places commonplace in most parts of the world. This system of measurement introduces separators into numbers in places appropriate to the two-digit grouping. The terms lakh and crore are widely used today in Indian English and Pakistani English.
For example, 30 million (3 crore) rupees would be written as 
3,00,00,000, with commas at the thousand, lakh, and crore levels, instead of 30,000,000; 1 billion (100 crore) is written as 1,00,00,00,000. Very large sums are almost always expressed in terms of lakh and crore.
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[edit] Names of large numbers
The table below follows the short scale usage of billion being a thousand million. In India, following former British usage, the long scale was used, with one billion equivalent to one million million.
| Hindi (transliteration) South Asian English |
Indian figure | Power notation |
English figure | Short scale English (long scale English) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| एक (ek) one |
1 | 100 | 1 | one |
| दस (das) ten |
10 | 101 | 10 | ten |
| सौ (sau) one hundred |
100 | 102 | 100 | one hundred |
| सहस्र (sahasra) / हज़ार (hazār) one thousand |
1,000 | 103 | 1,000 | one thousand Scientific (SI prefix): Kilo- |
| लाख (lākh) one lakh |
1,00,000 | 105 | 100,000 | one hundred thousand |
| करोड़ (karoṛ) one crore |
1,00,00,000 | 107 | 10,000,000 | ten million |
| अरब (arab) one hundred crore |
1,00,00,00,000 | 109 | 1,000,000,000 | one billion (one milliard) SI prefix: Giga- |
| खरब (kharab) ten thousand crore |
1,00,00,00,00,000 | 1011 | 100,000,000,000 | one hundred billion (one hundred milliard) |
| नील (neel / nīl) ten lakh crore |
1,00,00,00,00,00,000 | 1013 | 10,000,000,000,000 | ten trillion (ten billion) |
| पद्म (padma) ten crore crore |
1,00,00,00,00,00,00,000 | 1015 | 1,000,000,000,000,000 | one quadrillion (one billiard) SI prefix: Peta- |
| शङ्ख (shankh / śaṅkh) one thousand crore crore |
1,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,000 | 1017 | 100,000,000,000,000,000 | one hundred quadrillion (one hundred billiard) |
| महाशङ्ख (mahā śaṅkh / ald / udpadha) | 1,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,000 | 1019 | 10,000,000,000,000,000,000 | ten quintillion (ten trillion) |
| अङ्क (ank / maha udpadha) | 1,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,000 | 1021 | 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 | one sextillion (one trilliard) SI prefix: Zetta- |
| जल्द (jald / padha) | 1,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,000 | 1023 | 100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 | one hundred sextillion (one hundred trilliard) |
| मध (madh) | 1,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,000 | 1025 | 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 | ten septillion (ten quadrillion) |
| परार्ध (parārdha) | 1,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,000 | 1027 | 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 | one octillion (one quadrilliard) |
| अन्त (ant) | 1,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,000 | 1029 | 100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 | one hundred octillion (one hundred quadrilliard) |
| महा अन्त (mahā ant) | 1,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,000 | 1031 | 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 | ten nonillion (ten quintillion) |
| शिष्ट (shisht / śiṣṭ) | 1,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,000 | 1033 | 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 | one decillion (one quintilliard) |
| सिङ्घर (siṅghar) | 1,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,000 | 1035 | 100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 | one hundred decillion (one hundred quintilliard) |
| महासिङ्घर (mahā siṅghar) | 1,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,000 | 1037 | 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 | ten undecillion (ten sextillion) |
| अदन्त सिङ्घर (adant siṅghar) | 1,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,000 | 1041 | 100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 | one hundred duodecillion (one hundred sextilliard) |
- Neel, Padma, Shankh are more commonly found in old sections of Indian Mathematics.
- Instead of saying the higher numbers, it is more common to use lakh and crore repeatedly or in combination, e.g. saying 1 lakh crore for 1012 or one trillion. The terms such as arab or kharab are rarely used.
- The term crore (کرور [Korur] in Persian) was also used in Iran until recent decades, but with the meaning of 500,000.
[edit] 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 Valmiki Ramayana.[1]
| Sanskrit (transliteration) | Indian figure | Power notation |
English figure | Short scale English |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| एक (eka) | 1 | 100 | 1 | one |
| दश (daśa) | 10 | 101 | 10 | ten |
| शत (śata) | 100 | 102 | 100 | hundred |
| सहस्र (sahasra) | 1,000 | 103 | 1,000 | one thousand |
| अयुत (ayuta) | 10,000 | 104 | 10,000 | ten thousand |
| लक्ष (lakṣa) one lakh | 1,00,000 | 105 | 100,000 | one hundred thousand |
| कोटि (koṭi) one crore | 1,00,00,000 | 107 | 10,000,000 | ten million |
| शङ्कु (śaṅku) | 1,00,000 koṭi | 1012 | 1,000,000,000,000 | one trillion |
| महाशङ्कु (mahā-śaṅku) | 1,00,000 śaṅku | 1017 | 100,000,000,000,000,000 | one hundred quadrillion |
| वृन्द (vṛnda) | 1,00,000 mahā-śaṅku | 1022 | 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 | ten sextillion |
| महावृन्द (mahā-vṛnda) | 1,00,000 vṛnda | 1027 | 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 | one octillion |
| पद्म (padma) | 1,00,000 mahā-vṛnda | 1032 | 100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 | one hundred nonillion |
| महापद्म (mahā-padma) | 1,00,000 padma | 1037 | 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 | ten undecillion |
| खर्व (kharva) | 1,00,000 mahā-padma | 1042 | 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 | one tredecillion |
| महाखर्व (mahā-kharva) | 1,00,000 kharva | 1047 | 100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 | one hundred quattuordecillion |
| समुद्र (samudra) | 1,00,000 mahā-kharva | 1052 | 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 | ten sexdecillion |
| ओघ (ogha) | 1,00,000 samudra | 1057 | 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 | one octodecillion |
| महौघ (mahaugha/mahā-ogha) | 1,00,000 ogha | 1062 | 100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 | one hundred novemdecillion |
[edit] Usage in different languages
- In Gujarati a Lakh is called લાખ and Karod or Crore is called કરોડ.
- In Marathi a crore is called Koti or कोटी and an arab (109) is called as Abja or अब्ज.
- In Telugu a crore is called Koti or కోటి and a lakh is called Laksha or లక్ష.
- In Tamil a crore is called Kodi or கோடி and a lakh is called laksham or இலட்சம்.
- In Malayalam a crore is called Kodi or കോടി and a lakh is called laksham or ലക്ഷം.
- In Kannada a Lakh is called Laksha or ಲಕ್ಷ and a Crore is called Koti or ಕೋಟಿ.
- 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.
- In Bengali, a crore is called কোটি (koti) and a lakh is called লাখ (lakh) or লক্ষ (lokkho).
[edit] See also
[edit] References
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