How numbers work in Urdu
Pakistan, like India, counts large numbers in lakh and crore rather than million and billion. That changes both the words and where the commas go. Read a cheque, a property advert or a government budget in Pakistan and you will see figures like 12,50,000, which is twelve and a half lakh, not “1,250,000”.
| Value | Grouped | Urdu | Roman Urdu |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | 1,000 | ایک ہزار | ek hazar |
| 100,000 | 1,00,000 | ایک لاکھ | ek lakh |
| 10 million | 1,00,00,000 | ایک کروڑ | ek crore |
| 1 billion | 1,00,00,00,000 | ایک ارب | ek arab |
| 100 billion | 1,00,00,00,00,000 | ایک کھرب | ek kharab |
Each scale word takes a count from 1 to 99 in front of it, so you read a number in chunks: crore, lakh, hazar, then hundreds, then the last two digits. For example, 1,23,45,678 is:
- ایک کروڑ (1 crore)
- تئیس لاکھ (23 lakh)
- پینتالیس ہزار (45 thousand)
- چھ سو (6 hundred)
- اٹھہتر (78)
Together: ایک کروڑ تئیس لاکھ پینتالیس ہزار چھ سو اٹھہتر.
Why a converter helps
The hard part is not the scale words but the numbers 1 to 99. Each has its own word, and many are irregular contractions that even fluent speakers hesitate over when writing: is 67 سڑسٹھ or ستاسٹھ? (It is سڑسٹھ.) Is 79 اناسی or اُنیاسی? Getting one of them wrong on a cheque, a legal agreement or an exam answer is embarrassing at best.
This tool uses a complete table of all 100 words, checked by hand and covered by automated tests that check every number from 0 to 999 plus large lakh, crore, arab and kharab values. You get the same spelling every time.
Worked examples
| You type | Mode | Urdu words |
|---|---|---|
| 1500 | Number | ایک ہزار پانچ سو |
| 25000 | Amount | پچیس ہزار روپے |
| 12,50,000 | Number | بارہ لاکھ پچاس ہزار |
| 1250.50 | Amount | ایک ہزار دو سو پچاس روپے اور پچاس پیسے |
| 0.75 | Amount | پچھتر پیسے |
| 7.5 | Number | سات اعشاریہ پانچ |
| -40 | Number | منفی چالیس |
| 3,00,00,000 | Number | تین کروڑ |
In amount mode, one rupee is written in the singular (ایک روپیہ) and one paisa as ایک پیسہ. Amounts with more than two decimals are rounded to the nearest paisa, so 99.999 becomes ایک سو روپے.
Common problems and fixes
“That is not a number we can read”
Only digits, one decimal point, an optional minus sign, commas and spaces are accepted. Remove currency symbols such as Rs or PKR and words such as “only”, then try again.
My number has more than 13 digits
The tool goes up to 99 kharab (99,99,99,99,99,999). Larger figures are rare outside astronomy and national debt, and the traditional words beyond kharab (neel, padam, shankh) are not used consistently in modern Pakistani writing.
I need a different spelling of a number
A few numbers have accepted alternatives, such as چھ or چھے for six. The tool uses the most common modern spelling. Copy the result and adjust it if your publication follows a different style guide.
Who uses this tool
- Accountants and shopkeepers writing amounts on cheques, receipts, invoices and vouchers.
- Lawyers and property dealers spelling out sums in agreements and stamp papers.
- Teachers and students practising Urdu counting for school exams.
- Writers and journalists spelling out figures in Urdu articles and news copy.
- Pakistanis abroad helping children learn Urdu numbers alongside English.
For figures inside running text, the Urdu digits converter switches 123 to ۱۲۳ and back, and the Urdu typing pad lets you write the rest of a letter or agreement in Urdu without an Urdu keyboard. The guide how to write numbers in Urdu words explains lakh, crore and the irregular numbers with more examples.
Private and offline-friendly
Everything is calculated in your browser. Your numbers are not sent anywhere, which matters when you are writing out salaries, bank balances or property prices.