Amount in Words (PKR)

Rs 25,75,450 in words is Twenty-Five Lakh Seventy-Five Thousand Four Hundred Fifty Rupees. On a cheque you write it as "Rupees Twenty-Five Lakh Seventy-Five Thousand Four Hundred Fifty Only". In the international system the same amount, 2,575,450, is Two Million Five Hundred Seventy-Five Thousand Four Hundred Fifty.

Enter the amount with or without commas. The converter gives the cheque line, the other number system, the Urdu wording and both ways of placing the commas.

Lakh, crore and arab against million and billion

The Pakistani system groups digits in twos after the first thousand. The international system groups in threes.

So 10 lakh is 1 million, 1 crore is 10 million, and 1 arab is 1 billion. 100 arab make 1 kharab.

How to write an amount in words on a cheque

1. Start with the word Rupees at the left edge of the line, with no gap before the first word.
2. Write the amount from the largest unit down: crore, lakh, thousand, hundred, then the last two digits.
3. Add paisa if there are any: "and Fifty Paisa".
4. End with Only, then draw a line through any space left, so nothing can be added.

Worked example: Rs 1,25,000 is written "Rupees One Lakh Twenty-Five Thousand Only". In figures, write 1,25,000/- in the box and start the digits close to the "Rs" sign.

Both number systems are fine on a Pakistani cheque, as long as the words and the figures agree. Under section 18 of the Negotiable Instruments Act 1881, if they differ, the amount in words is the amount ordered to be paid. In practice a bank may simply return a cheque with a mismatch, so check both before you sign.

Amount in words in Urdu

Urdu uses the same lakh and crore system. Rs 2,575,450 is پچیس لاکھ پچھتر ہزار چار سو پچاس روپے. Rs 1,25,000.50 is ایک لاکھ پچیس ہزار روپے اور پچاس پیسے.

The place names are ہزار (thousand), لاکھ (lakh), کروڑ (crore), ارب (arab) and کھرب (kharab). Numbers from 1 to 99 each have their own word in Urdu, so 75 is پچھتر and 99 is ننانوے. Some words have more than one accepted spelling, for example اکیاون or اکاون for 51, پچھتر or پچہتر for 75, اٹھتر or اٹھہتر for 78, and تراسی or تریاسی for 83. The converter uses the spellings most common in Pakistan.

Common mistakes

• Mixing the two systems. "One Hundred Thousand Lakh" or "Twelve Lakh Million" are wrong. Use lakh and crore, or thousand, million and billion, not both.
• Lakh or lac. Both spellings are used on cheques. Lakh is the standard spelling today.
• Commas in the wrong place. 12,50,000 (Pakistani) and 1,250,000 (international) are the same amount. 125,00,00 is neither.
• Leaving gaps. A gap before the first word or after the last word lets someone add "Ten" or "Thousand". Always finish with Only and a line.
• Forgetting the hyphen. Numbers from 21 to 99 are written with a hyphen, as in Twenty-Five. Banks do not usually reject a cheque without it, but it reads more clearly.
• Paisa on large payments. Most payments are in whole rupees. Only write paisa if the bill has them.

Amount in words questions