A Crore Is Ten Million, and Indian Numbers Group Differently
A crore is ten million, used across South Asia. The system also groups digits in a way that surprises other English speakers.
A crore is ten million, standard in Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi English. The numbering system behind it also punctuates differently: after the first three digits, commas fall every two digits, so ten million is written 1,00,00,000 rather than 10,000,000. A newspaper price of ₹5 crore is entirely ordinary in Mumbai and unreadable in Manchester. A hundred *lakh* make one crore, and a lakh is a hundred thousand.
- Ten million. *Five crore rupees.*
- Lakh — one hundred thousand. *Two lakh people.*
- Crorepati — someone worth a crore. *A crorepati.*
- Indian numbering — grouping in twos. *1,00,00,000.*
- Sanskrit — *koti*, ten million. *The source word.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | crore | One crore. |
| Plural | crore | Five crore rupees. |
| Related | lakh | Three lakh. |
| Compound | crorepati | A crorepati. |
| Sanskrit | koti | Ten million. |
- The film earned 200 crore.Box office.
- A hundred lakh make one crore.The scale.
- Written 1,00,00,000 in Indian style.Punctuation.
The South Asian number scale
- Thousand — 1,000
- Lakh — 1,00,000, a hundred thousand
- Crore — 1,00,00,000, ten million
- Arab — a hundred crore, one billion
- Plural stays singular — five crore, not five crores, in most usage
Hindi *karor*, from Prakrit, from Sanskrit *koti*, meaning a point or ten million. English recorded it from the 1600s.
How much is a crore?
Ten million, or a hundred lakh. In rupee figures it is written 1,00,00,000.
Is crore used outside South Asia?
Rarely, except when reporting South Asian figures. It is fully standard in Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi English.