Number to Words
Convert any number to words in English and Indian number system. Perfect for cheques, invoices, and legal documents.
How to convert a number to words
Type a number, add a currency if it's an amount, and copy the words in Indian or international style.
- 01
Type the number
Whole numbers up to 999,999,999,999,999 work, including negatives. For amounts, you can add up to two decimal places.
- 02
Pick a currency, or none
Choose rupees, dollars, euros or pounds to add the currency name, the paise, cents or pence part, and the word "only", as on a cheque. With no currency, only the whole-number part is written out.
- 03
Copy the international or Indian wording
Both are shown together. The international version groups by thousand, million and billion; the Indian version by thousand, lakh and crore.
Lakh and crore versus million and billion
The two systems agree up to 99,999 and then group differently. India counts in lakhs (1,00,000) and crores (1,00,00,000), and places commas to match, every two digits after the first three. The international system counts in thousands, millions and billions, with commas every three digits.
| Number | Indian wording | International wording |
|---|---|---|
| 1,00,000 (1 lakh) | One lakh | One hundred thousand |
| 12,34,567 | Twelve lakh thirty-four thousand five hundred sixty-seven | One million two hundred thirty-four thousand five hundred sixty-seven |
| 1,00,00,000 (1 crore) | One crore | Ten million |
| 100,00,00,000 | One hundred crore | One billion |
| 12,345,67,89,012 | Twelve thousand three hundred forty-five crore sixty-seven lakh eighty-nine thousand twelve | One hundred twenty-three billion four hundred fifty-six million seven hundred eighty-nine thousand twelve |
Above 999 crore, the crore count is itself written the Indian way, so 12,345 crore reads as "twelve thousand three hundred forty-five crore". The international wording uses the short scale, where a billion is 1,000 million, which is standard in English today.
Writing amounts on cheques
Banks compare the amount in words with the figures, and the words take priority if they disagree, so getting them right matters. With INR selected, ₹1,25,000.50 comes out as "One lakh twenty-five thousand rupees and Fifty paise only". Many people write "Rupees" first on Indian cheques, as in "Rupees One Lakh Twenty-Five Thousand Only"; either form is accepted. The important part is to start writing at the very left of the line and finish with "only" so nothing can be added.
For US cheques, the convention is different: the cents are often written as a fraction, as in "One thousand two hundred fifty and 50/100 dollars". Use the dollars output as a guide and adapt it to your bank's style.
Spelling rules the tool follows
Numbers from twenty-one to ninety-nine are hyphenated, as in forty-two. Hundreds are written without "and", so 105 is one hundred five, which matches American usage and most cheque styles; British readers may prefer to add the "and". Zero is written as zero, and each group is joined with a space, with no commas inside the words.
When you need numbers in words
Filling in a cheque or demand draft
Type the amount, pick INR or USD, and copy the words, so there's no spelling slip on an important payment.
Invoices and legal documents
Contracts and invoices in India often show the total in words as well as figures. Paste the Indian version straight in.
Learning large numbers
See the same number in both systems, which helps when reading Indian and international news side by side.
Limits worth knowing
- Decimals are only written out with a currency, as paise, cents or pence, rounded to two places. With no currency, 12.5 comes out as "Twelve".
- English only. Hindi and other language wordings aren't produced.
- Ordinals such as first and twenty-third aren't supported.
- The largest number is 999,999,999,999,999, just under a thousand trillion.