Lakh
A lakh (/ˈlæk/ LAK or /ˈlɑːk/ LAHK; also lac; abbreviated L) is a unit in the South Asian numbering system equal to one hundred thousand (100,000; Scientific notation: 105), written as 100,000. It is widely used both in official and other contexts in Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. It is often used in Indian, Pakistani and Sri Lankan English. In Pakistan, they do not use South Asian numbering system in English but only in Urdu and other regional languages.
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Usage[edit]
In Indian and Pakistani English, the word is used both as an attributive and non-attributive noun, and with either a marked ("-s") or unmarked plural: "1 lakh people" or "1 lakh of people", "200 lakh rupees, "5 lakh of rupees", "rupees 10 lakhs", "5 lakhs of rupees" are all to be found. In the abbreviated form, usage such as "
5L" (for Rupees 5 lakh) is common.
Money[edit]
In colloquial Urdu, especially in the city of Karachi, the word "peti" is also used to denote one lakh rupees. This originated during the General Zia era, when the largest denomination of currency was the 100 rupee note and one lakh rupees would fill a small suitcase (peti as in Bombay Hindi) hence, even after the Zia era, one peti means one lakh rupees.
Etymology and regional variants[edit]
The root of the word lakh may be the Pali 'lakkha—masculine mark, target, stake in gambling; from the latter derived the numerical meaning, "one hundred thousand".[1] Or its root may be the Sanskrit laksha (Devanagari: लक्ष lakṣa) which has similar meanings in Sanskrit.
South Asian languages[edit]
- Assamese: লাখ lakh
- Bengali: লাখ lakh or লক্ষ lokkho
- Dhivehi: ލައްކަ lakka
- Gujarati: લાખ lākh
- Hindi: लाख lākh
- Bombay Hindi: पेटी peti (peṭi)
(Peṭi refers to a briefcase. That is, the amount of money in Rs. 100 notes that can fit into a briefcase.)
- Bombay Hindi: पेटी peti (peṭi)
- Kannada: ಲಕ್ಷ lakṣa
- Kashmiri: lach
- Konkani: लाख lākh or लक्ष lakṣa
- Malayalam: ലക്ഷം lakṣham
- Marathi: लाख lākh or लक्ष lakṣa
- Nepali: लाख lākh
- Oriya: ଲକ୍ଷ lakhya
- Pashto: لاکھ lakh
- Punjabi: ਲੱਖ/لکھ lakkh
- Romani: लाख lakh
- Sanskrit: लक्ष lakṣá
- Sindhi: lakhu
- Sinhalese: ලක්ෂ laksha
- Tamil : லட்சம் latcham
- Telugu: లక్ష lakṣha
- Tulu: లక్ష lakṣa
- Urdu: لاکھ lākh
Non-South Asian languages[edit]
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- Arabic:لاك lāk
- Azerbaijiani: lakca
- Chinese: 拉克 lākè or in Buddhist usage: 洛叉 luòchā
- Greek: lákka
- Indonesian: laksa
- Javanese: laksa
- Kapampangan: laksâ
- Latin: lactum / lactae
- Maltese: gommalakka
- Persian: لک lak
- Swahili: laki or lakhi
- Tagalog: laksa
- Thai: ลักขะ lakkha or ลักษะ laksa (from Pali lakkha and Sanskrit lakśa respectively; obsolete as a numeral, but otherwise retains root meaning in Thai numeral place value, Lak Mueang, and Thai milestones)
- Turkic: laka
See also[edit]
- Crore (= 100 lakh)
- Myriad
- Names of large numbers
- Names of numbers in English
- La'ak = money in Somali language .
References[edit]
- ^ Turner, Sir Ralph Lilley (1985). "lakṣá10881". A Comparative Dictionary of the Indo-Aryan Languages. London: Oxford University Press, 1962-1966. Includes three supplements, published 1969-1985. Digital South Asia Library, a project of the Center for Research Libraries and the University of Chicago. p. 629. Retrieved 22 Aug 2010. "lakṣá10881 lakṣá masculine ʻ stake, prize ʼ R̥gveda, ʻ mark, sign ʼ Mahābhārata, ʻ 100,000 ʼ Yājñavalkya, ʻ aim ʼ Kālidāsa, lakṣya— neuter, masculine ʻ aim ʼ Muṇḍ Upaniṣad, ʻ prize ʼ Mahābhārata, , ʻ 100,000 ʼ Mahābhārata, . [√lakṣ. For derivation from root to become numeral, see Addenda: Pali lakkha— masculine ʻ mark, target, stake in gambling ʼ; Oṛiyā lākha, nākha ʻ aim, distinguishing mark ʼ, lācha ʻ brand ʼ; Gujarātī lāchɔ masculine ʻ burning the feet ʼ; Marāṭhī lās masculine ʻ mark made by cautery ʼ, neuter.]"
- IINRG, Ranchi. "Government Organisation".
