ScarlettFlannaga at 18:00, 19 March 2026

2026-03-19T18:00:21Z

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{{Short description|100,000 in the Indian numbering system}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2024}}
{{Use Indian English|date=February 2026}}

A '''lakh''' ({{IPAc-en|l|æ|k|,_|l|ɑː|k}}; abbreviated '''L'''; sometimes written '''lac'''<ref name="Rowlett_2008">{{cite dictionary|title=lakh |encyclopedia=How Many? A Dictionary of Units of Measurement |author-first=Russ |author-last=Rowlett |publisher=[[University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill]] |date=15 December 2008 |orig-year=1998 |access-date=29 August 2016 |url=http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/units/dictL.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160702030033/http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/units/dictL.html |archive-date=2 July 2016 }}</ref>) is a unit in the [[Indian numbering system]] equal to [[100,000|one hundred thousand]] (100,000; [[scientific notation]]: 10<sup>5</sup>).<ref name="Rowlett_2008"/><ref name="OED1">{{OED1|lakh}}</ref>  In the [[Indian numbering system#Decimal formatting|Indian 2, 2, 3 convention of digit grouping]], it is written as 1,00,000.<ref name=EB1911>{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Lakh |volume=16 |page=94}}</ref> For example, in India, 150,000 [[Indian rupee|rupees]] becomes 1.5 ''lakh'' rupees, written as {{INR}}1,50,000 or INR 1,50,000.

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 English|Bangladeshi]], [[Indian English|Indian]], [[Pakistani English|Pakistani]], and [[Sri Lankan English]].

==Usage==
In [[Indian English]], the word is used both as an [[Noun adjunct|attributive]] and non-attributive noun with either an unmarked or marked ("-s") plural, respectively. For example: "1 ''lakh'' people"; "''lakhs'' of people"; "20 ''lakh'' [[rupee]]s"; "''lakhs'' of rupees". In the abbreviated form, usage such as "{{INR|link=Indian rupee}}5L" or "{{INR|link=Indian rupee}}5 lac" (for "5 ''lakh'' rupees") is common.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Posamentier|first1=Alfred S.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FmPcDwAAQBAJ&dq=use+of+cr+%22crore%22+abbreviation&pg=PA478|title=Understanding Mathematics Through Problem Solving|last2=Poole|first2=Peter|date=23 March 2020|publisher=World Scientific|isbn=978-981-4663-69-4}}</ref> In this system of numeration, 100 ''lakh'' is called one ''[[crore]]''<ref name=EB1911/> and is equal to 10 million.

Formal written publications in English in India tend to use ''lakh'' and ''[[crore]]'' for [[Indian rupee|Indian currency]] and Western numbering for foreign currencies, such as [[United States dollar|dollars]] and [[Pound sterling|pounds]].<ref>{{cite web|author=Shapiro, Richard|url=https://public.oed.com/blog/the-most-distinctive-counting-system-in-english-indian-cardinal-numbers/|title=The most distinctive counting system in English? Indian cardinal numbers|work=Oxford English Dictionary |publisher=[[Oxford English Dictionary]]|date=16 August 2012|access-date=24 May 2020}} – Shapiro is/was an OED employee. The article states: "The opinions and other information contained in the OED blog posts and comments do not necessarily reflect the opinions or positions of [[Oxford University Press]]."</ref>

===Silver market===
The term is also used in the pricing of silver on the international [[precious metal]]s market, where one ''lakh'' equals {{convert|100000|ozt|kg|0|lk=in|abbr=off}} of [[silver]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Gilkes|first1=Paul|title=CME Group/Thomson Reuters step down from executing the London silver fix|url=http://www.coinworld.com/news/precious-metals/2017/03/cme-group-thomson-reuters-out-of-silver-price-ficing.all.html|access-date=5 July 2017|date=3 July 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.perthmint.com.au/education_uom.aspx|title=Units of Measure|work=perthmint.com.au|access-date=6 September 2015|archive-date=24 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924071802/http://www.perthmint.com.au/education_uom.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Etymology and regional variants==
The modern word ''lakh'' derives from {{langx|sa|लक्ष|translit=lakṣa}}, originally denoting "mark, target, stake in gambling", but also used as the numeral for "100,000" in [[Gupta Empire|Gupta-era]] Classical Sanskrit (''[[Yājñavalkya Smṛti]]'', ''[[Harivaṃśa]]'').<ref>{{cite web |url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?p.3:88.soas |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121215010456/http://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?p.3:88.soas |url-status=dead |archive-date=15 December 2012 |title=lakṣá10881 |access-date=22 August 2010 |author-last=Turner |author-first=Sir Ralph Lilley |author-link=Ralph Lilley Turner |year=1985 |work="lakṣhá 10881" in: A Comparative Dictionary of the Indo-Aryan Languages. London: Oxford University Press, 1962-1966. Includes three supplements, published 1969–1985 |publisher=Digital South Asia Library, a project of the Center for Research Libraries and the University of Chicago |page=629 |quote= lakṣh masculine "stake, prize" R̥igved, "mark, sign" Mahābhārat, "100,000" Yājñavalkya, "aim" Kālidās] }}</ref>
; By language
* [[Assamese language|Assamese]]: {{lang|as|লক্ষ}} ''lokhyo'', or {{lang|as|লাখ}} ''lakh''
* [[Bengali language|Bengali]]: natively ([[tadbhava]]) known as {{lang|bn|লাখ}} ''lākh'', though some use the [[Tatsama|ardha-tatsama]] {{lang|bn|লক্ষ}} ''lokkho''.
* [[Bhojpuri language|Bhojpuri]]: 𑂪𑂰𑂎 ''lākh''
* [[Bishnupriya Manipuri language|Bishnupriya Manipuri]]: লাখ ''lākha''
* [[Hindustani language|Hindustani]]: ([[Hindi]]: {{Lang|hi|लाख}}, [[Urdu]]: {{lang|ur|{{nastaliq|لاکھ}}}}) ''lākh''
* [[Maldivian language|Dhivehi]]: {{Lang|dv|ލައްކަ}} ''lakka''
* [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]]: {{lang|gu|લાખ}} ''lākh''
* [[Kannada]]: {{lang|kn|ಲಕ್ಷ}} ''lakṣha''
* [[Kashmiri language|Kashmiri]]: {{lang|ks|{{nastaliq|لَچھ}}}} ''lachh''
* [[Khasi language|Khasi]]: {{Lang|kha|lak}}
* [[Malayalam]]: {{Lang|ml|ലക്ഷം}} ''laksham''
* [[Marathi language|Marathi]]: {{Lang|mr|लाख/लक्ष}} ''lākh/laksha''
* [[Meitei language|Meitei]]: ꯂꯥꯛ ''lāk''
* [[Nepali language|Nepali]]: {{Lang|ne|लाख}} ''lākh''
* [[Odia language|Odia]]: {{lang|or|ଲକ୍ଷ}} ''låkhyå''
* [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]]: ([[Shahmukhi]]: {{lang|pa|{{nastaliq|لکھ}}}}, [[Gurmukhi]]: {{lang|pa|ਲੱਖ}}) ''lakkh''
* [[Sanskrit]]: {{Lang|sa|लक्ष}} {{transliteration|sa|lakṣa}}
* [[Sinhala language|Sinhala]]: {{lang|si|ලක්ෂ}} {{transliteration|si|lakṣa}}
* [[Tamil language|Tamil]]: {{Lang|ta|இலட்சம்}} ''latcham''
* [[Telugu language|Telugu]]: {{Lang|te|లక్ష}} ''laksha''

==See also==
* [[Crore]] (100 lakh, or 10 million)
* [[English numerals]]
* [[Myriad]]
* [[Names of large numbers]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{wiktionary|lakh}}
* {{Cite web|last=IINRG|first=Ranchi|title=Government Organisation|url=http://ilri.ernet.in/|access-date=22 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180929175743/http://ilri.ernet.in/|archive-date=29 September 2018|url-status=dead}}

[[Category:Powers of ten]]
[[Category:Units of amount]]
[[Category:Hindi words and phrases]]
[[Category:Urdu words and phrases]]
[[Category:Indian English idioms]]
[[Category:Pakistani English idioms]]
[[Category:Bengali words and phrases]]
[[Category:Customary units in India]]
[[Category:Nepali words and phrases]]

Lakh - Revision history

ScarlettFlannaga at 18:00, 19 March 2026