Type a number to see it in words, in the Indian system of lakh and crore or the international system of million and billion. Switch on rupees and paise for cheques, invoices and receipts, and copy the result in one click.
Works up to 15 digits. Commas and the ₹ sign are ignored.
How Indian numbering works
| Number | In figures | In words |
|---|---|---|
| 1 thousand | 1,000 | one thousand |
| 1 lakh | 1,00,000 | one hundred thousand |
| 10 lakh | 10,00,000 | one million |
| 1 crore | 1,00,00,000 | ten million |
| 100 crore | 1,00,00,00,000 | one billion |
After the first thousand, the Indian system groups digits in twos: lakh, then crore. 12,34,567 is twelve lakh thirty-four thousand five hundred sixty-seven.
Writing amounts on a cheque
- Write the amount in words starting with “Rupees” and end with “Only”, so nothing can be added afterwards.
- Write paise as “and fifty paise”, for example.
- The amount in words must match the figures exactly.
Number to words in Excel
Excel has no built-in function for this. You can add one with a short VBA user-defined function, or build it with LAMBDA in Excel 365. A step-by-step guide for the Indian format is coming to the Excel formulas section. For formatting numbers in lakh and crore in cells, use the custom number format [>=10000000]##\,##\,##\,##0;[>=100000]##\,##\,##0;##,##0.
Frequently asked questions
Is it ‘lakh’ or ‘lac’?
Both are used, but “lakh” is the standard spelling, used by the Reserve Bank of India.
How do I write 1,00,00,000 in words?
One crore, or ten million in the international system.
Does it handle decimals?
Yes. With rupees on, two decimals become paise. With rupees off, decimals are read out digit by digit.