English decimal point vs comma. Putting a decimal point instead of a comma can make thousands of dollars of difference. So, let’s make sure we get it right.
MONEY
- In English, commas are used after every three digit position to the left of the decimal point.
- A decimal point is a period (in US English and) or a full stop (British English)
- The decimal point separates the dollars and cents.
- To learn more about how to say large numbers, click here.
COMMAS
- Just like in money, we write and say large whole numbers in the same way.
- a comma will always indicate a separation between hundreds, thousands, millions, and so on.
- 10,001 – ten thousand and one
- They sent us an extra piece, so now we have ten thousand and one pieces all together.
- There are over 3,000 (three thousand) people attending the event this weekend.
DECIMAL POINT
- Anything left of the decimal point is considered to be the whole number.
- Anything right of the decimal point is called the fractional number
- This number can be pronounced as:
- three hundred twenty-one point four five.
- Three hundred twenty-one and forty-five hundredths
ZERO
- When using a decimal point, the fractional number zero will be pronounced as ‘oh’.
- The decimal point will be pronounced as ‘point’.
- 32.06 – thirty-six point oh six
- 4.305 – four point three oh five
COMMON MISTAKES
- In Spanish and many other European languages, the comma and the decimal point are in the opposite positions which causes many problems.
- So, if you are translating documents, make sure you know which country is going to read the article.
| US, UK, China | Spain, France, Germany, etc |
| 123,456,789.00 | 123.456.789,00 |
ENGLISH VOCABULARY
Now that you have seen English decimal point vs comma, have a look at our other Vocab Rehab posts:
Vocab Rehab: large numbers
Vocab Rehab: Micromanage
In addition to our posts here, follow us on Instagram and Facebook @blogglish to take weekly English quizzes.
