For the proper choice of the decimal separator in English language Wikipedia articles, see Wikipedia:Manual of Style#Decimal_points.

The decimal separator is a symbol used to mark the boundary between the integral and the fractional parts of a decimal numeral. The musical instrument is spelled Cymbal. A symbol is something --- such as an object, Picture, written word a sound a piece The integers (from the Latin integer, literally "untouched" hence "whole" the word entire comes from the same origin but via French In Mathematics, a fraction (from the Latin fractus, broken is a concept of a proportional relation between an object part and the object The decimal ( base ten or occasionally denary) Numeral system has ten as its base. Terms implying the symbol used are decimal point and decimal comma.

The decimal separator is mathematically a radix point. In Mathematics and Computing, a Radix point (or radix character) is the symbol used in numerical representations to separate the Integer

The choice of symbol for the decimal separator affects the choice of symbol for the thousands separator. Consequently the latter is treated in this article as well.

History

In the Middle Ages, before printing, a bar (¯) over the units digit was used to separate the integral part of a number from its fractional part, a tradition derived from the decimal system used in Indian mathematics^[1]. An overline or overbar (coined in analogy to Underline, attested for mathematical notation since 1899) refers to the Typographical feature of In Mathematics and Computer science, a digit is a symbol (a number symbol e Indian mathematics &mdashwhich here is the mathematics that emerged in South Asia zero, Negative numbers, Arithmetic, and Algebra. Its regular usage and classification can be attributed to the Iranian mathematician Al-Khwarizmi. The Iranian people are a collection of Ethnic groups defined along linguistic lines as speaking Iranian languages. A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study and research is the field of Mathematics. Later, a separator (ˌ) (a short, roughly vertical, ink stroke) between the units and tenths position became the norm. When this character was typeset, it was convenient to use the existing comma (,) or period (. Typesetting involves the presentation of textual material in graphic form on Paper or some other medium. A comma ( ,   is a Punctuation mark It has the same shape as an Apostrophe or single closing Quotation mark in many typefaces but it differs A full stop or period (sometimes stop, full point, decimal point, or dot) is the Punctuation mark commonly placed at the ) instead.

In France, the period was already in use in printing to make Roman numerals more readable, so the comma was chosen. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Roman numerals are a Numeral system originating in ancient Rome, adapted from Etruscan numerals. Many other countries also chose to use the comma to mark the decimal units position^[2]. It has been made standard by the ISO for international blueprints. However, English-speaking countries took the comma to separate sequences of three digits. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States

In the United States, the period (. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the ), which is called a "stop" or "full stop" in some other countries, was used as the standard decimal separator. In the nations of the British Empire, although the period could be used in typewritten material, the point (middle dot: ·), which can also be called an interpunct, was preferred for the decimal separator in printing technologies that could accommodate it^[3]. The British Empire was the largest empire in history and for over a century was the foremost global power. An interpunct ( ·) is a small dot used for Interword separation in ancient Latin script, being perhaps the first consistent visual representation of word boundaries An interpunct ( ·) is a small dot used for Interword separation in ancient Latin script, being perhaps the first consistent visual representation of word boundaries This had the advantage of reducing confusion in the countries that used the period to separate groups of digits and it was generally clearer in handwriting (particularly when writing on a dotted baseline as on many forms). However, as the middle dot was already in common use in the mathematics world to indicate multiplication, the SI rejected this use of the middle dot as the decimal separator. However, the use of the period as decimal separator was not banned. British aviation magazines thus switched to the US form in the late twentieth century. Aviation refers to activities involving man-made flying devices ( Aircraft) including the people organizations and regulatory bodies involved with them

When South Africa adopted the metric system, it adopted the comma as its decimal separator. The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa The metric system is a decimalised system of measurement. It exists in several variations with different choices of base units, though the choice of base units does The auxiliary language Interlingua has used the comma as its decimal separator since the publication of the Interlingua Grammar in 1951^[4]. An international auxiliary language (sometimes abbreviated as IAL or auxlang) or interlanguage is a Language meant for communication between people from Interlingua is an International auxiliary language (IAL developed between 1937 and 1951 by the International Auxiliary Language Association (IALA Interlingua A Grammar of the International Language sometimes called the Interlingua Grammar is the first grammar of Interlingua. The constructed language Esperanto also uses the comma as its official decimal separator. A constructed or artificial language known colloquially or informally as a conlang is a Language whose Phonology, Grammar is by far the most widely spoken constructed International auxiliary language in the world

In the Arab world, where Arabic digits are used for writing numbers, a different character called Momayyez—which is written like a forward slash—is used to separate the integer and fractional parts of numbers^[5]. Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language To separate sequences of three digits, a comma or blank space may be used; however, this is not a standard. In Mathematics, a sequence is an ordered list of objects (or events In Process management, the White Space as described by Geary A In Persian, there is a small difference between the "comma" character used in sentences and the Momayyez (٫) used to separate sequences of three digits.

The separator in non-decimal numeral systems may be referred to as a radix point. A numeral system (or system of numeration) is a Mathematical notation for representing numbers of a given set by symbols in a consistent manner In Mathematics and Computing, a Radix point (or radix character) is the symbol used in numerical representations to separate the Integer

In 1958, disputes between European and American delegates over the correct representation of the decimal separator nearly stalled the development of the ALGOL language^[6]. Algol (β Per / Beta Persei known colloquially as the Demon Star, is a bright Star in the Constellation Perseus.

Thousands separator

Numbers with many digits before or after the decimal separator may be divided into groups of three, starting from the decimal separator in both directions. The symbol for this is called the thousands separator or, more generally (see India and China below), digit group separator. If the decimal separator is a point, the thousands separator is often a comma or a space. The latter is recommended in the SI/ISO 31-0[1]; when a space is used, it is often used after the decimal separator too, thus "1 234. ISO 31-0 is the introductory part of international standard ISO 31 on quantities and units. 567 89". If the decimal separator is a comma, the thousands separator is often a point or a space. Notations like "12,345", "12. 345", "12,345. 678", and "12. 345,678" are ambiguous if the notational system is not known.

Making groups of three digits also emphasizes that there is a base 1000 of the numeral system that is being used (see decimal superbase). Many numeral systems with base 10 use a superimposed larger base of 100 1000 10000 or 1000000

The house manuals of style for many publishing organizations state that thousands separators should not be used in normal text for numbers from 1000 to 9999 inclusive where no decimal fractional part is shown (in other words, for four-digit whole numbers). This does not apply in mathematical and other technical contexts.

Examples of use

The following examples show the decimal separator and the thousands separator; the lists are ordered chronologically, by when each country adopted the use:

• In Croatia, France, Finland, Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia and much of Latin Europe as well as French Canada: 1 234 567,89
• In Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Italy, Romania, Sweden and much of Europe: 1 234 567,89 or 1. Croatia (Hrvatska ˈxȓvatska officially the Republic of Croatia ( Republika Hrvatska) is a southern Central European country at the crossroads between This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Finland, officially the Republic of Finland ( is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. Hungary (Magyarország 'mɔɟɔrorsaːg) officially in English the Republic of Hungary ( Magyar Köztársaság, literally Magyar (Hungarian Republic Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland The Czech Republic ( ˈt͡ʃɛskaː ˈrɛpuˌblɪka short form in Česko ˈt͡ʃɛskɔ also called Czechia, Slovakia (long form Slovak Republic; Slovak:, long form, is a Landlocked country in Central Europe with a population of over five million Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. The Kingdom of Belgium is a Country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters as well as those The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Romania ( dated: Rumania, Roumania "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. 234. 567,89 (in handwriting you may also come across 1˙234˙567,89)
• In the Netherlands: for currencies the thousands separator is a dot, e. "Handwriting" redirects here For scripts for writing down notes by hand see " Cursive " The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands g. EUR 1. 234. 567,89, but for other numbers a (narrow) space is used, e. g. 1 234 567,89
• In Switzerland : 1'234'567,89, but the dot is generally used as decimal seperator for currencies : CHF 1'234. Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation The franc ( German: Franken, French and Romansh: franc, Italian: franco; code: CHF 55
• In Australia, English Canada, Japan, Korea (both), Malaysia, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the United States: 1,234,567. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. Korea is a geographic area composed of two sovereign countries a civilization and a former state situated on the Korean Peninsula in East Asia. For the biogeographical region see Malesia Malaysia (məˈleɪʒə or /məˈleɪziə/ is a country that consists of thirteen states and Singapore The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The United States of America —commonly referred to as the 89 or 1,234,567·89; the latter is more commonly found in older, and especially handwritten, documents; many British and Canadian schools now teach the SI style with a dot separator, which has become official in Australia. "Handwriting" redirects here For scripts for writing down notes by hand see " Cursive " For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics.
• SI style: 1 234 567. 89 or 1 234 567,89 (in their own publications the dot is used in the English version and the comma in the French version).
• In China, the comma is sometimes used to separate blocks of four digits: 123,4567. Talk People's Republic of China) PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA ARTICLE GUIDELINES 89, since in Chinese, the names for large numbers are based on powers of 10,000 (e. Chinese numerals are characters for writing Numbers in Chinese. g. the next new word is for 10⁸). Japan is similar.

• In India, due to a numeral system using lakhs (lacs) (1,00,000 equal to 100 000) and crores (1,00,00,000 equal to 10 000 000), comma is used at levels of thousand, lakh and crore, for example, 10 million (1 crore) would be written as 1,00,00,000. India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country A lakh (also written lac, and lackh in an Indian english language news source India PR Wire 8 Oct '08 is a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to Lac is the scarlet resinous secretion of a number of species of Lac-producing insects the most commonly cultivated of which is Kerria lacca. A crore is a unit in the Indian numbering system and was formerly a unit in the Persian numbering system still widely used in Bangladesh, India, Maldives This is repeated at thousand crore, one lakh crore and a crore crore (1,00,00,000,00,00,000). Note that the pattern of comma is groups of 3,2,2 again 3,2,2 from right side.

In countries with a decimal comma, the decimal point is also common as the "international" notation because of the influence of devices, such as electronic calculators, which use the decimal point. A calculator is device for performing mathematical calculations distinguished from a Computer by having a limited problem solving ability and an interface optimized for interactive Most computer operating systems allow selection of the decimal separator and programs that have been carefully internationalised will follow this, but some programs ignore it and a few are even broken by it. An operating system (commonly abbreviated OS and O/S) is the software component of a Computer system that is responsible for the management and coordination

Dot countries

Decimal Separators:
Dot — Blue
Comma — Green
Momayyez — Red
Unknown — Grey

Countries where a dot is used to mark the radix point include:

Australia, Brunei, Botswana, Canada (English-speaking), Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Korea (both North and South), Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, People's Republic of China, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Switzerland (for currencies), Taiwan, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States (including insular areas), Zimbabwe. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. Brunei Darussalam, (bruːˈnaɪ in English officially the State of Brunei Abode of Peace (Negara Brunei Darussalam Jawi: برني دارالسلام The Republic of Botswana (Lefatshe la Botswana is a Landlocked nation in Southern Africa. Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page Hong Kong ( officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a territory located on China 's south coast on the Pearl River Delta, and borders India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country Ireland ( Irish: Éire, ˈeːrʲə is a country in north-western Europe. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. Korea is a geographic area composed of two sovereign countries a civilization and a former state situated on the Korean Peninsula in East Asia. North Korea is the commonly used short form name for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (or DPRK) a State located in East Asia, South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea and often referred to as Korea ( Korean: 대한민국 tɛː For the biogeographical region see Malesia Malaysia (məˈleɪʒə or /məˈleɪziə/ is a country that consists of thirteen states and The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America. New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island Nigeria, officially named the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal Constitutional republic comprising thirty-six states and one Federal Pakistan () officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located in South Asia, Southwest Asia, Middle East and Talk People's Republic of China) PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA ARTICLE GUIDELINES The Philippines ( Filipino: Pilipinas, officially known as the Republic of the Philippines (fil ''Republika ng Pilipinas'' RP Singapore Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka ( Sinhalese:, இலங்கை known as Ceylon before 1972 is an Island Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation Taiwan ( Taiwanese: Tâi-oân/Tāi-oân (historically 大灣/台員/大員/台圓/大圓/台窩灣 is an Island in East Asia. The Kingdom of Thailand (ˈtaɪlænd ราชอาณาจักรไทย, râːtɕʰa-ʔaːnaːtɕɑ̀k-tʰɑj The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The United States of America —commonly referred to as the An insular area is a United States territory that is neither a part of one of the fifty states nor a part of the District of Columbia, the nation's See also Great Zimbabwe National Monument. For information about the March and June 2008 presidential elections see Zimbabwean presidential election

Comma countries

Countries where a comma is used to mark the radix point include:

Albania, Andorra, Argentina, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Canada (French-speaking), Costa Rica, Croatia (comma used officially, but both forms are in use elsewhere), Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Faroes, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Greenland, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, Indonesia, Iceland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg (uses both separators officially), Macedonia, Moldova, Netherlands, Norway, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, South Africa (officially, but dot point is commonly used in business, even though South Africa used to be in the British Empire, which is considered to be strange by quite a few people in Britain), Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, Uruguay, Venezuela, Vietnam. This article is about the country in southern Europe For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Albania topics. Andorra, officially the Principality of Andorra ( Catalan: Principat d'Andorra) is a small Landlocked country in western For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Argentina topics. Austria (Österreich ( officially the Republic of Austria (Republik Österreich Azerbaijan ( English; Azərbaycan officially the Republic of Azerbaijan (Azərbaycan Respublikası is the largest and most populous country in the South Belarus ( Belarusian Беларусь / Biełaruś is a Landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered by Russia to the north and east The Kingdom of Belgium is a Country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters as well as those The Republic of Bolivia (República de Bolivia) named after Simón Bolívar, is a Landlocked country in central South America. Bosnia and Herzegovina ( Latin script: Bosna i Hercegovina, Cyrillic script: Босна и Херцеговина is a country on the Balkan |utc_offset = -2 to -4 |time_zone_DST = BRST |utc_offset_DST = -2 to -5 |cctld The state of Bulgaria (България transliterated bg-Latn ''Balgaria'' The country preserves the traditions (in ethnic name language and alphabet of the First Bulgarian The Republic of Cameroon is a unitary republic of central and western Africa. Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( Spanish: Costa Rica or República de Costa Rica,) is a Country in Croatia (Hrvatska ˈxȓvatska officially the Republic of Croatia ( Republika Hrvatska) is a southern Central European country at the crossroads between Chile, officially the Republic of Chile ( Spanish:) is a country in South America occupying a long and narrow Coastal strip wedged between the Colombia (kəˈlʌmbɪə officially the Republic of Colombia () is a country in northwestern South America. The Republic of Cuba (ˈkjuːbə or) consists of the island of Cuba (the largest and second-most populous island of the Greater Antilles) Isla de la Cyprus (Κύπρος transliterated: Kýpros,; Kıbrıs officially the Republic of Cyprus (Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία Kypriakī́ Dīmokratía The Czech Republic ( ˈt͡ʃɛskaː ˈrɛpuˌblɪka short form in Česko ˈt͡ʃɛskɔ also called Czechia, The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe The Dominican Republic ( Spanish: República Dominicana;) is a nation located in the Caribbean region and shares the island of Hispaniola with For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Ecuador topics. El Salvador ( República de El Salvador,) is a country in Central America. Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia ( Eesti or Eesti Vabariik) is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region The Faroe Islands or Faeroe Islands or simply Faroe(s or Faeroes (Føroyar meaning " Sheep Islands" Færøerne Old Norse Finland, officially the Republic of Finland ( is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία Greenland (Kalaallit Nunaat meaning "Land of the Greenlanders" Grønland is a self-governing Danish Province located between the Guatemala (República de Guatemala) is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west the Pacific Ocean to the southwest Honduras in Spanish, República de Honduras) is a democratic republic in Central America. Hungary (Magyarország 'mɔɟɔrorsaːg) officially in English the Republic of Hungary ( Magyar Köztársaság, literally Magyar (Hungarian Republic The Republic of Indonesia ( (Republik Indonesia is a Country in Southeast Asia. Iceland, officially the Republic of Iceland ( ( Ísland or Lýðveldið Ísland ( Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Kazakhstan, also Kazakstan ( Қазақстан, Qazaqstan, qɑzɑqˈstɑn Казахстан, Kazakhstán,) officially the Latvia ( Latvija officially the Republic of Latvia (Latvijas Republika is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region. Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania (Lietuvos Respublika is a Country in Eastern often referred to as Northern Europe or in the Luxembourg (Groussherzogtum Lëtzebuerg Grand-Duché de Luxembourg Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small Landlocked country in Western Europe, bordered by The Republic of Macedonia (Република Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova ( Republica Moldova) is a Landlocked country in Eastern Europe, located between Romania The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands Norway ( Norwegian: Norge ( Bokmål) or Noreg ( Nynorsk) officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Constitutional Nicaragua (ˌnɪkəˈrɑgwə officially the Republic of Nicaragua () is a representative democratic republic and the largest nation in Central America Panama, officially the Republic of Panama (República de Panamá) is the southernmost country of Central America. Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay ( Spanish: República del Paraguay; Guaraní: Tetã Paraguái) is one of the only Peru (Perú Piruw Piruw officially the Republic of Peru ( reˈpuβlika del peˈɾu is a country in western South America. Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic (República Portuguesa is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. Romania ( dated: Rumania, Roumania Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending Serbia (Србија Srbija) officially the Republic of Serbia (Република Србија Republika Srbija) is a Landlocked Country Slovakia (long form Slovak Republic; Slovak:, long form, is a Landlocked country in Central Europe with a population of over five million The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia (Republika Slovenija) is a Country in southern Central Europe bordering Italy to the west Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation Turkey (Türkiye known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( is a Eurasian Country that stretches Ukraine (Україна Ukrayina, /ukrɑˈjinɑ/ is a country in Eastern Europe. Uruguay.(official full name in República Oriental del Uruguay;, Oriental Republic of Uruguay) is a country located in the southeastern part of South America Venezuela (ˌvɛnəˈzweɪlə) officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (Spanish República Bolivariana de Venezuela) is a country on the Vietnam (ˌviːɛtˈnɑːm Việt Nam) officially

Momayyez countries

Countries where the Momayyez, a decimal separator written like a forward slash or comma, is used to mark the radix point include:

Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, UAE

See also

• Algorism
• Binary point

References