Names of large numbers
Some examples
| Number | Scientific notation | Grouping |
|---|---|---|
| 6 000 000 000 000 000 | 6 × 1015 | 6 quadrillion |
| 765 476 250 000 000 | 7.6547625 × 1014 | 765 trillion, 476 billion, 250 million |
| 123 456 789 | 1.23456789 × 108 | 123 million, 456 thousand, 789 |
| 145 000 | 1.45 × 105 | 145 thousand |
Forms of numbering
The American way or "Short form" for naming large numbers is different from the European way or "Long form" of naming large numbers. This is mainly because of American finance. Short form numbering is based on thousands and Long form is based on millions. Because of this, in Short form a billion is one thousand millions (109) while in Long form it is one million millions (1012). The change in the United Kingdom to Short form numbering happened in 1974. Today, Short form is most commonly used in most English speaking countries.
Names for large numbers
| Scientific notation | American name (Short Form) | Old European name (Long Form) | Old-British name | SI Symbol | Metric prefix |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | One | One | One | ||
| 10 | Ten | Ten | Ten | da | Deca- |
| 100 | Hundred | Hundred | Hundred | h | Hecto- |
| 1,000 | Thousand | Thousand | Thousand | k | Kilo- |
| 10,000 | Ten thousand | Ten thousand | Ten thousand | ||
| 100,000 | Hundred thousand | Hundred thousand | Hundred thousand | ||
| 106 | Million | Million | Million | M | Mega- |
| 109 | Billion | Milliard | Thousand million | G | Giga- |
| 1012 | Trillion | Billion | Billion | T | Tera- |
| 1015 | Quadrillion | Billiard | Thousand billion | P | Peta- |
| 1018 | Quintillion | Trillion | Trillion | E | Exa- |
| 1021 | Sextillion | Trilliard | Thousand trillion | Z | Zetta- |
| 1024 | Septillion | Quadrillion | Quadrillion | Y | Yotta- |
| 1027 | Octillion | Quadrilliard | Thousand quadrillion | R | Ronna- |
| 1030 | Nonillion | Quintillion | Quintillion | Q | Quetta- |
| 1033 | Decillion | Quintilliard | Thousand quintillion | ||
| 1036 | Undecillion | Sextillion | Sextillion | ||
| 1039 | Duodecillion | Sextilliard | Thousand sextillion | ||
| 1042 | Tredecillion | Septillion | Septillion | ||
| 1045 | Quattuordecillion | Septilliard | Thousand septillion | ||
| 1048 | Quindecillion | Octillion | Octillion | ||
| 1051 | Sexdecillion | Octilliard | Thousand octillion | ||
| 1054 | Septendecillion | Nonillion | Nonillion | ||
| 1057 | Octodecillion | Nonilliard | Thousand nonillion | ||
| 1060 | Novemdecillion | Decillion | Decillion | ||
| 1063 | Vigintillion | Decilliard | Thousand decillion | ||
| 1066 | Unvigintillion | Undecillion | Undecillion | ||
| 1069 | Duovigintillion | Undecilliard | Thousand undecillion | ||
| 1072 | Trevigintillion | Duodecillion | Duodecillion | ||
| 1075 | Quattuorvigintillion | Duodecilliard | Thousand duodecillion | ||
| 1078 | Quinvigintillion | Tredecillion | Tredecillion | ||
| 1081 | Sexvigintillion | Tredecilliard | Thousand tredecillion | ||
| 1084 | Septenvigintillion | Quattuordecillion | Quattuordecillion | ||
| 1087 | Octovigintillion | Quattuordecilliard | Thousand quattuordecillion | ||
| 1090 | Novemvigintillion | Quindecillion | Quindecillion | ||
| 1093 | Trigintillion | Quindecilliard | Thousand quindecillion | ||
| 1096 | Untrigintillion | Sexdecillion | Sexdecilion | ||
| 1099 | Duotrigintillion | Sexdecilliard | Thousand sexdecillion | ||
| 10100 | Googol | Googol | Googol | ||
| 10123 | Quadragintillion | Vigintilliard | Thousand vigintillion | ||
| 10153 | Quinquagintillion | Quinvigintilliard | |||
| 10183 | Sexagintillion | Trigintilliard | |||
| 10213 | Septuagintillion | Quintrigintilliard | |||
| 10243 | Octogintillion | Quadragintilliard | |||
| 10273 | Nonagintillion | Quinquadragintilliard | |||
| 10303 | Centillion | Quinquagintilliard | |||
| 10603 | Ducentillion | ||||
| 103003 | Millinillion | ||||
| 1010100 | Googolplex | ||||
| 10101034 | Skewes' Number | ||||
| 10googolplex | Googolplexplex |
There is also the number googol, which is a 1 with 100 zeros behind it (10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000), and the number googolplex, which is a 1 with a googol of zeros behind it, (1010,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000) (1010100).The number googolplexplex, is a 1 with a googolplex number of zeros behind it.
The name centillion was devised in the 19th century for the 100th "illion", being 10303 in short form and 10600 in long form, and is much bigger than googol.
Other websites
- Counting Really,REALLY,REALLY High
- Naming Large Numbers Archived 2022-08-11 at the Wayback Machine
