science

Lakh

Lakh is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Lakh rather than just read about it. In short: A lakh (; abbreviated L; sometimes written lac) is a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to one hundred thousand (100,000; scientific notation: 105). In the Indian 2, 2, 3 convention of digit grouping, it is written as 1,00,000.

Key takeaways

Lakh belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Lakh to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Lakh from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

A lakh (; abbreviated L; sometimes written lac) is a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to one hundred thousand (100,000; scientific notation: 105). 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 ("-s") 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" (for "5 lakh rupees") 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 100,000 troy ounces (3,110 kilograms) of silver.

Etymology and regional variants The modern word lakh derives from Sanskrit: लक्ष, romanized: lakṣa, originally denoting "mark, target, stake in gambling", but also used as the numeral for "100,000" in Gupta-era Classical Sanskrit (Yājñavalkya Smṛti, Harivaṃśa).

By language Assamese: লক্ষ lokhyo, or লাখ lakh Bengali: natively (tadbhava) known as লাখ lākh, though some use the ardha-tatsama লক্ষ lokkho. Bhojpuri: 𑂪𑂰𑂎 lākh Bishnupriya Manipuri: লাখ lākha Hindustani: (Hindi: लाख, Urdu: لاکھ) lākh Dhivehi: ލައްކަ lakka Gujarati: લાખ lākh Kannada: ಲಕ್ಷ lakṣha Kashmiri: لَچھ lachh Khasi: lak Malayalam: ലക്ഷം laksham Marathi: लाख/लक्ष lākh/laksha Meitei: ꯂꯥꯛ lāk Nepali: लाख lākh Odia: ଲକ୍ଷ låkhyå Punjabi: (Shahmukhi: لکھ, Gurmukhi: ਲੱਖ) lakkh Sanskrit: लक्ष lakṣa Sinhala: ලක්ෂ laksha Tamil: இலட்சம் latcham Telugu: లక్ష laksha

See also Crore (100 lakh, or 10 million) English numerals Myriad Names of large numbers

References

External links

IINRG, Ranchi. "Government Organisation". Archived from the original on 29 September 2018. Retrieved 22 February 2020.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Lakh

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Lakh claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Lakh before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Lakh ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Lakh

In research: Lakh appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Lakh in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Lakh is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Bengali words and phrases, Customary units in India, Hindi words and phrases, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Lakh outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Lakh in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Lakh means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Lakh out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Lakh in simple terms?

Why does Lakh matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Lakh?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Lakh.