How to Write a Cheque Amount in Words: Lakh, Crore, Paisa and “Only”

The rule: crore, lakh, thousand, hundred, then “Taka … Only”

To write a cheque amount in words, split the number into the groups used in Bangladesh, from the left: crore, lakh, thousand, hundred, then the last two digits. Write each group in words, then “Taka”, the paisa if there are any, and finally “Only” (“মাত্র” in Bangla). Any group that is zero is simply left out.

So 1 lakh Taka (1,00,000) is One Lakh Taka Only, or in Bangla এক লক্ষ টাকা মাত্র. To get any amount in English and Bangla words at once, use the Taka Amount in Words calculator. It follows the rules below, and you can copy the result straight onto the cheque.

Worked example: ৳1,25,300.50 in words

Split the amount into its groups:

In English: One Lakh Twenty-Five Thousand Three Hundred Taka and Fifty Paisa Only. The “and” goes between the Taka and the paisa, not inside the number: 101 is “One Hundred One”. Numbers from 21 to 99 take a hyphen, as in Twenty-Five.

In Bangla: এক লক্ষ পঁচিশ হাজার তিনশত টাকা পঞ্চাশ পয়সা মাত্র. In Bangla digits the figure is ১,২৫,৩০০.৫০. If you think in millions, the same amount is One Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand Three Hundred Taka and Fifty Paisa Only.

Lakh and crore amounts in words

In the last row the thousands group is zero, so “Thousand” doesn’t appear at all. “Lakh” and “Lac” are both used in English; in Bangla, “লক্ষ” and “লাখ” mean the same, though cheques and deeds more often use “লক্ষ” and write hundreds as “একশত, দুইশত … নয়শত”.

From a thousand crore upwards, the number of crores is itself written in lakh and thousand: ৳1,000 crore is One Thousand Crore Taka Only.

Lakh and crore vs million and billion

Foreign invoices and English news give amounts in millions, so keep these in mind: 1 lakh = 1,00,000 = one hundred thousand; 10 lakh = 1 million; 1 crore = 10 million; 100 crore = 1 billion. Convert a million figure into lakh and crore first, then write it in words.

Step by step: any amount in words

1. Write the figure with lakh and crore commas, such as 10,05,00,200, so each group is easy to see.
2. Read the groups from the left: crore, lakh, thousand, hundred, then the last two digits.
3. Put each group’s name after it (Crore, Lakh, Thousand, Hundred). Skip any group that is zero.
4. Add “Taka”. If there are digits after the point, write them in words and add “Paisa”, joined with “and”.
5. Finish with “Only” (or “মাত্র”) and draw a line through the rest of the line.
6. Read your words back into figures and check they match before you write the cheque.

How to write paisa

• The two digits after the point are paisa. ৳10.50 is Ten Taka and Fifty Paisa Only (দশ টাকা পঞ্চাশ পয়সা মাত্র). Written as 10.5, it is still 50 paisa, not 5.
• Under one Taka, write only the paisa: ৳0.05 is Five Paisa Only and ৳0.29 is Twenty-Nine Paisa Only.
• With no paisa, leave them out: ৳2,500.00 is Two Thousand Five Hundred Taka Only.
• One Taka is 100 paisa, so a cheque can’t show more than two decimals; round to the paisa first.

Filling in the cheque: words line and figures box

1. Words line: start right at the beginning of the line, with no extra gaps between words. If “Taka” is printed at the start, write the words after it.
2. End with “Only” or “মাত্র”, then draw a line through any space left, so nobody can turn “One Thousand Taka” into “One Thousand Five Hundred Taka”.
3. Figures box: write the amount right next to the printed ৳ or “Tk.”, with lakh and crore commas, for example 1,25,300.50. For whole Taka many people add “/-” (1,25,300/-).
4. Check that words and figures match. A bank can return a cheque where they differ.

On questions such as which language to use, whether Bangla digits are accepted, or how to correct a mistake, your bank’s own instructions decide. The points here are general practice; where your bank says otherwise, follow your bank.

Common mistakes

• Mixing up million and lakh. 1,000,000 is 10,00,000, which is ten lakh, not one lakh. Using lakh and crore commas in the figures box avoids this.
• Spelling slips. It is “Forty”, not “Fourty”, and “Ninety”, not “Ninty”. In Bangla, watch 29 ঊনত্রিশ, 45 পঁয়তাল্লিশ and 99 নিরানব্বই.
• Leaving off “Only”, or leaving a gap. Both leave room for words to be added later.
• Misreading paisa. .5 means 50 paisa, and an amount like 1.234 can’t go on a cheque.
• Overwriting a mistake. Rather than scratching out or writing over, ask your bank or write a fresh cheque.
• Writing a total before checking the VAT. If a bill or invoice adds VAT, check the total with the VAT Calculator first, then write that total in words.

Before you write the cheque, type the amount into Taka Amount in Words. You get the English and Bangla words, the million-system wording, and the figures in Western and Bangla digits, ready to copy. It is free, needs no signup, and the amount never leaves your device.