Nepali Number to Words

How to use it

Type a number in the box. The six cards update as you type. You can paste 1,25,000, 125000 or १२५००० and get the same result. Put the paisa after a decimal point, for example 5000.50. A single digit after the point counts as tens of paisa, so .5 is 50 paisa, not 5 paisa. Press Copy on any card to copy just that text.

How the Nepali number system groups digits

The international system puts a comma after every 3 digits. The Nepali system (the same as in India) works differently. The last 3 digits stay together, and every group to the left of them has only 2 digits. Each group has its own name:

Take 123456789. Read it from the right:

Once you see the commas in the Nepali style, the words are easy: each comma group is read as one small number, followed by the name of the group. Zero groups are simply skipped. So 1,00,05,000 is एक करोड पाँच हजार.

The words for 1 to 99 must be learned

In English, 25 is just “twenty” plus “five”. Nepali does not work like that. Every number from 1 to 99 has its own word, and many of them do not look like the two digits. 25 is पच्चिस, not बीस पाँच. 49 is उनन्चास, which means “one less than fifty”. 99 is उनान्सय, “one less than a hundred”. There is no simple rule that builds them, so a converter needs the full list. Here it is, the same list the tool uses:

• 1 १ एक
• 2 २ दुई
• 3 ३ तीन
• 4 ४ चार
• 5 ५ पाँच
• 6 ६ छ
• 7 ७ सात
• 8 ८ आठ
• 9 ९ नौ
• 10 १० दश
• 11 ११ एघार
• 12 १२ बाह्र
• 13 १३ तेह्र
• 14 १४ चौध
• 15 १५ पन्ध्र
• 16 १६ सोह्र
• 17 १७ सत्र
• 18 १८ अठार
• 19 १९ उन्नाइस
• 20 २० बीस
• 21 २१ एक्काइस
• 22 २२ बाइस
• 23 २३ तेइस
• 24 २४ चौबिस
• 25 २५ पच्चिस
• 26 २६ छब्बिस
• 27 २७ सत्ताइस
• 28 २८ अट्ठाइस
• 29 २९ उनन्तिस
• 30 ३० तीस
• 31 ३१ एकतिस
• 32 ३२ बत्तिस
• 33 ३३ तेत्तिस
• 34 ३४ चौँतिस
• 35 ३५ पैँतिस
• 36 ३६ छत्तिस
• 37 ३७ सैँतिस
• 38 ३८ अठतिस
• 39 ३९ उनन्चालीस
• 40 ४० चालीस
• 41 ४१ एकचालीस
• 42 ४२ बयालीस
• 43 ४३ त्रिचालीस
• 44 ४४ चवालीस
• 45 ४५ पैँतालीस
• 46 ४६ छयालीस
• 47 ४७ सतचालीस
• 48 ४८ अठचालीस
• 49 ४९ उनन्चास
• 50 ५० पचास
• 51 ५१ एकाउन्न
• 52 ५२ बाउन्न
• 53 ५३ त्रिपन्न
• 54 ५४ चवन्न
• 55 ५५ पचपन्न
• 56 ५६ छपन्न
• 57 ५७ सन्ताउन्न
• 58 ५८ अन्ठाउन्न
• 59 ५९ उनन्साठी
• 60 ६० साठी
• 61 ६१ एकसट्ठी
• 62 ६२ बयसट्ठी
• 63 ६३ त्रिसट्ठी
• 64 ६४ चौँसट्ठी
• 65 ६५ पैँसट्ठी
• 66 ६६ छयसट्ठी
• 67 ६७ सतसट्ठी
• 68 ६८ अठसट्ठी
• 69 ६९ उनन्सत्तरी
• 70 ७० सत्तरी
• 71 ७१ एकहत्तर
• 72 ७२ बहत्तर
• 73 ७३ त्रिहत्तर
• 74 ७४ चौहत्तर
• 75 ७५ पचहत्तर
• 76 ७६ छयहत्तर
• 77 ७७ सतहत्तर
• 78 ७८ अठहत्तर
• 79 ७९ उनासी
• 80 ८० असी
• 81 ८१ एकासी
• 82 ८२ बयासी
• 83 ८३ त्रियासी
• 84 ८४ चौरासी
• 85 ८५ पचासी
• 86 ८६ छयासी
• 87 ८७ सतासी
• 88 ८८ अठासी
• 89 ८९ उनान्नब्बे
• 90 ९० नब्बे
• 91 ९१ एकान्नब्बे
• 92 ९२ बयान्नब्बे
• 93 ९३ त्रियान्नब्बे
• 94 ९४ चौरान्नब्बे
• 95 ९५ पन्चान्नब्बे
• 96 ९६ छयान्नब्बे
• 97 ९७ सन्तान्नब्बे
• 98 ९८ अन्ठान्नब्बे
• 99 ९९ उनान्सय

About spelling. Written Nepali has more than one accepted spelling for many of these words. We compared seven open-source Nepali number libraries, Wiktionary and a public Nepali list, and used the form most of them agree on. In a few close cases we picked the form that matches its neighbours, for example एकतिस and अठतिस to match बत्तिस and छत्तिस. Common variants you will also see:

• दश or दस (10). Both are correct.
• Short or long i: बीस / बिस, पच्चिस / पच्चीस, चालीस / चालिस. Nepal Academy guidance on this has changed over the years.
• अट्ठाइस is also typed as अठ्ठाइस (28). उनान्नब्बे is also written उनानब्बे (89), and the same for 91 to 98.
• अर्ब / अरब and खर्ब / खरब for arab and kharab.
• The nasal mark: चौँतिस or चौंतिस. They are read the same.

A reader will understand any of these. On an official form, follow the spelling the office uses.

Writing an amount on a cheque in Nepal

The text in the cheque cards follows the common pattern: रु. एक लाख पच्चिस हजार मात्र in Nepali, or Rupees One Lakh Twenty-Five Thousand Only in English. Some general tips:

• Start at the very left of the line. Leave no space before the first word, so nobody can add a word in front.
• End with मात्र or “Only”. Then draw a line through any empty space after it.
• Words and figures must match. Write the figure in the box with Nepali commas, for example 1,25,000/-. The /- means there are no paisa. If the words and the figure differ, the bank may return the cheque.
• If the line already says “Rupees” or रुपैयाँ, you do not need to write it again. Copy the English words card instead of the cheque card and add “Only” at the end.
• Do not overwrite. If you make a mistake, it is safest to write a new cheque.

These are general habits, not bank rules. Each bank in Nepal sets its own rules for language, paisa and corrections. If a cheque is important, check with your bank first.

Lakh and crore vs million and billion

A quick way to convert: 1 million is 10 lakh, and 1 billion is 100 crore. So a news story about “Rs 2.5 billion” means 250 crore, or दुई अर्ब पचास करोड.

Common mistakes

• Commas in the wrong places. 1,250,000 (international) and 12,50,000 (Nepali) are the same number. A mix like 12,500,00 is wrong and confuses readers.
• Building 21–99 from two words. 35 is पैँतिस, not तीस पाँच. The same goes for every number up to 99.
• Mixing the two systems. 1.2 million is 12 lakh, not “1 million 2 lakh”. Pick one system for the whole amount.
• Reading .5 as 5 paisa. Rs 10.5 is ten rupees and fifty paisa. One of the libraries we tested got this wrong, so it is worth checking.
• Plural lakh and crore. On cheques, “Twelve Lakh” is the usual style. “Twelve Lakhs” is also understood. This tool writes the singular.
• Forgetting मात्र or “Only”. Without it, extra words can be added to the end of the amount.