Hundreds, thousands, লাখ and কোটি
Above a hundred the words get easier — there are only four of them — but the grouping changes. Bangla does not count in millions, and it does not put a comma every three digits.
| Digits | Word | Said | Means |
|---|---|---|---|
| ১০০ | একশো | eksho | one hundred |
| ১,০০০ | হাজার | hajar | one thousand |
| ১,০০,০০০ | লাখ | lakh | one hundred thousand |
| ১,০০,০০,০০০ | কোটি | koti | ten million |
- একশো — The combining form is শ or শত: দুইশো is 200, তিনশো is 300.
- হাজার — এক is usually dropped — হাজার টাকা means a thousand taka, not 'one thousand taka'.
- লাখ — No Bangla word in current use means 'million' — a million is দশ লাখ, ten lakh. The Sanskrit নিযুত exists but is not used in modern Bangla.
- কোটি — Ten million, not one million. A billion is একশো কোটি.
Why ১২,৩৪,৫৬৭
English groups digits in threes, so 1234567 is 1,234,567 — a million, two hundred thirty-four thousand, five hundred sixty-seven. Bangla groups the last three, then in twos: ১২,৩৪,৫৬৭ reads as twelve লাখ, thirty-four thousand, five hundred sixty-seven. The commas are not decoration; they are where the words break.
This is why a Bangladeshi newspaper writes a budget in কোটি rather than billions, and why converting in your head means dividing by a hundred rather than by a thousand. Back to the numbers 1 to 100.