Number to Words Converter

Type a number and this converter spells it out in words twice: once in the international system of thousands, millions and billions, and once in the Indian system of thousands, lakhs and crores. It is most useful for writing amounts on cheques, invoices, legal agreements and receipts, where the figure has to appear in words as well as digits.

What you get for a sample number

Enter 12345678 and the results are:

• In words: twelve million three hundred forty five thousand six hundred seventy eight
• Indian system: one crore twenty three lakh forty five thousand six hundred seventy eight
• Number: the same figure with digit grouping in your browser's locale, for example 1,23,45,678 on an Indian-English setup.

The converter works with whole numbers up to 999,999,999,999. Digits after a decimal point are dropped, and a minus sign is ignored.

Lakh and crore vs million and billion

The Indian system groups the last three digits and then every two digits after that, which is why commas fall differently. A useful shortcut: divide a million-based figure by 10 to get lakhs, so 2.5 million is 25 lakh. Above 99 crore the number of crores is itself written out in words, so 2,50,00,00,000 reads as two hundred fifty crore.

Writing the amount on a cheque

The tool gives plain lowercase words without "and" or hyphens, which is the American style. For a cheque or formal document in India, adapt it:

1. Start with "Rupees" and capitalise each word: Rupees One Lakh Twenty-Three Thousand Four Hundred Fifty-Six Only for ₹1,23,456.
2. End with "Only" so nothing can be added after the amount.
3. Add paise separately, since the converter handles whole numbers: ₹1,250.50 becomes "Rupees One Thousand Two Hundred Fifty and Fifty Paise Only".
4. Start writing at the very left of the line and strike through any empty space.

British and Indian formal English often inserts "and" after hundred ("one hundred and fifty"), while American style leaves it out. Either is acceptable on a cheque as long as the words match the figure exactly.

Other places words are required

• GST invoices and quotations, where the total is usually printed in words below the figures. The invoice generator builds the rest of the document.
• Rent agreements, sale deeds and promissory notes, which state sums in both forms to prevent tampering.
• Exam answers and forms that ask for marks or dates in words.
• Checking your own reading of a long number such as a property price or a company's revenue, especially when converting between crore and billion in news reports.