Lakh
A lakh is a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to one hundred thousand. In the Indian 2, 2, 3 convention of digit grouping, it is written as 1,00,000. For example, in India, 150,000 rupees becomes 1.5 lakh rupees, written as 1,50,000 or INR 1,50,000.
It is widely used both in official and other contexts in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. It is often used in Bangladeshi, Indian, Pakistani, and Sri Lankan English.
Usage
In Indian English, the word is used both as an attributive and non-attributive noun with either an unmarked or marked plural, respectively. For example: "1 lakh people"; "lakhs of people"; "20 lakh rupees"; "lakhs of rupees". In the abbreviated form, usage such as "5L" or "5 lac" is common. In this system of numeration, 100 lakh is called one crore and is equal to 10 million.Formal written publications in English in India tend to use lakh and crore for Indian currency and Western numbering for foreign currencies, such as dollars and pounds.
Silver market
The term is also used in the pricing of silver on the international precious metals market, where one lakh equals of silver.Etymology and regional variants
The modern word lakh derives from, originally denoting "mark, target, stake in gambling", but also used as the numeral for "100,000" in Gupta-era Classical Sanskrit.; By language
- Assamese: লক্ষ lokhyo, or লাখ lakh
- Bengali: natively known as লাখ lākh, though some use the ardha-tatsama লক্ষ lokkho.
- Bhojpuri: ??? lākh
- Hindustani: lākh
- Dhivehi: ލައްކަ lakka
- Gujarati: લાખ lākh
- Kannada: ಲಕ್ಷ lakṣha
- Kashmiri: lachh
- Khasi: lak
- Malayalam: ലക്ഷം laksham
- Marathi: लाख/लक्ष lākh/laksha
- Meitei: ꯂꯥꯛ lāk
- Nepali: लाख lākh
- Odia: ଲକ୍ଷ låkhyå
- Punjabi: lakkh
- Sanskrit: लक्ष
- Sinhala: ලක්ෂ
- Tamil: இலட்சம் latcham
- Telugu: లక్ష ''laksha''