Wikipedia / Lakh
Wikipedia / Lakh
A lakh (; abbreviated L; sometimes written lac) is a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to one hundred thousand (100,000; scientific notation:105). In the Indian 2, 2, 3 convention of digit grouping, it is written as 1,00,000. For example, in India, 150,000 rupees becomes 1.5 lakh rupees, written as 1,50,000 or INR1,50,000.
It is widely used both in official and other contexts in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. It is often used in Bangladeshi, Indian, Pakistani, and Sri Lankan English.
Usage
In Indian English, the word is used both as an attributive and non-attributive noun with either an unmarked or marked ("-s") plural, respectively. For example: "1 lakh people"; "lakhs of people"; "20 lakh rupees"; "lakhs of rupees". In the abbreviated form, usage such as "5L" or "5 lac" (for "5 lakh rupees") is common. In this system of numeration, 100 lakh is called one crore and is equal to 10 million.
Formal written publications in English in India tend to use lakh and crore for Indian currency and Western numbering for foreign currencies, such as dollars and pounds.
Silver market
The term is also used in the pricing of silver on the international precious metals market, where one lakh equals of silver.
Etymology and regional variants
The modern word lakh derives from , originally denoting "mark, target, stake in gambling", but also used as the numeral for "100,000" in Gupta-era Classical Sanskrit (Yājñavalkya Smṛti, Harivaṃśa).
By language
Assamese: lokhyo, or lakh
Bengali: natively (tadbhava) known as lākh, though some use the ardha-tatsama lokkho.
Bhojpuri: 𑂪𑂰𑂎 lākh
Bishnupriya Manipuri: লাখ lākha
Hindustani: (Hindi: , Urdu: ) lākh
Dhivehi: lakka
Gujarati: lākh
Kannada: lakṣha
Kashmiri: lachh
Malayalam: laksham
Marathi: lākh/laksha
Meitei: ꯂꯥꯛ lāk
Nepali: lākh
Odia: låkhyå
Tamil: latcham
Telugu: laksha
See also
Crore (100 lakh, or 10 million)
References
External links