Money in Punjabi: Rupee, Paisa, and Money Phrases

A vendor at Amritsar's Hall Bazaar quotes you a price: ਪੰਜ ਸੌ ਰੁਪਏ (panj sau rupe [pənd͡ʒ səʊ ɾʊpeɪ] "five hundred rupees"). Your phone buzzes: a UPI notification that your cousin in Ludhiana just sent money. At the bank counter, a teller asks about your ਐਨਆਰਆਈ ਖਾਤਾ (NRI khātā [ɛnɑːɾɑːiː kʰɑːtɑː] "NRI account"). Money touches every corner of Punjabi daily life, and if you cannot count it, name it, or ask about it, you are missing a layer of the language that comes up constantly.

Rupiya and Paisa: The Foundation

The base unit of Indian currency is the ਰੁਪਇਆ (rupaiya [ɾʊpaɪa] "rupee"). In everyday spoken Punjabi, you will hear two forms: the formal ਰੁਪਇਆ (rupaiya) when discussing a single rupee, and the plural ਰੁਪਏ (rupe [ɾʊpeɪ] "rupees") when discussing amounts. The English word "rupee" comes directly from rupaiya, which traces back to the Sanskrit rūpya, meaning silver.

One rupee divides into one hundred ਪੈਸੇ (paise [pɛɪseɪ] "paise"). The singular is ਪੈਸਾ (paisā [pɛɪsɑː] "paisa"). Sub-rupee coins are rare in circulation today, but the word paise survives in everyday speech. It also functions as the general word for money: ਪੈਸੇ ਕਿੱਥੇ ਹਨ? (paise kitthe han? [pɛɪseɪ kɪtːeɪ hən] "Where is the money?") carries the full weight of "cash" or "funds." The phrase ਮੈਂ ਇੱਨੇ ਪੈਸੇ ਦੇਵਾਂਗਾ (maiṃ inne paise devāṃgā [məɪ̃ ɪnneɪ pɛɪseɪ deɪvɑːŋɡɑː] "I will give this much") uses paise as "money," not the sub-rupee coin.

Current Indian Denominations in Gurmukhi

In Punjabi, speakers name denominations by number plus rupe. Here is the full current set:

Value	Gurmukhi	Romanization	IPA	English
₹10	ਦਸ ਰੁਪਏ	das rupe	[dəs ɾʊpeɪ]	ten rupees
₹20	ਵੀਹ ਰੁਪਏ	vīh rupe	[viːh ɾʊpeɪ]	twenty rupees
₹50	ਪੰਜਾਹ ਰੁਪਏ	panjāh rupe	[pənd͡ʒɑːh ɾʊpeɪ]	fifty rupees
₹100	ਸੌ ਰੁਪਏ	sau rupe	[səʊ ɾʊpeɪ]	one hundred rupees
₹200	ਦੋ ਸੌ ਰੁਪਏ	do sau rupe	[doː səʊ ɾʊpeɪ]	two hundred rupees
₹500	ਪੰਜ ਸੌ ਰੁਪਏ	panj sau rupe	[pənd͡ʒ səʊ ɾʊpeɪ]	five hundred rupees
₹2000	ਦੋ ਹਜ਼ਾਰ ਰੁਪਏ	do hazār rupe	[doː hɪzɑːɾ ɾʊpeɪ]	two thousand rupees

The ₹2000 note was withdrawn from circulation in 2023 but speakers still reference the denomination. The ₹200 note was introduced in 2017. Note that ਸੌ (sau [səʊ]) is a quantity word meaning "hundred," not a numeral: ਸੌ ਰੁਪਏ is "a hundred rupees" and the ikk (one) is typically dropped in natural speech.

Saying Prices Aloud

Numbers come first, then rupe. Two forms are especially useful because they are dedicated words, not constructions:

ਡੇਢ ਸੌ ਰੁਪਏ (deṛh sau rupe [deɽ səʊ ɾʊpeɪ] "one hundred and fifty rupees") uses ਡੇਢ (deṛh) for "one and a half." You would not say "ek sau pachaas" in natural Punjabi: deṛh is the form to use.

ਢਾਈ ਸੌ ਰੁਪਏ (dhāī sau rupe [dʱɑːiː səʊ ɾʊpeɪ] "two hundred and fifty rupees") uses ਢਾਈ (dhāī) for "two and a half." Both deṛh and dhāī are inherited from Sanskrit and appear constantly in market bargaining. Getting them right in a price negotiation is the kind of precision that earns visible respect from a vendor.

For thousands: ਇੱਕ ਹਜ਼ਾਰ ਰੁਪਏ (ikk hazār rupe [ɪk hɪzɑːɾ ɾʊpeɪ] "one thousand rupees"). The word ਹਜ਼ਾਰ (hazār [hɪzɑːɾ] "thousand") is a Persian loan. The guide to Punjabi numbers and counting covers the full system from 1 to 100 with the irregular decade forms that appear in price-quoting.

Lakh and Crore: South Asian Scale

This is where speakers from North America, the UK, or Australia frequently get lost. Indian numbering does not group by thousands beyond the first three digits. After 1,000, it moves in units of lakh and crore:

ਇੱਕ ਲੱਖ (ikk lakkh [ɪk ləkːʰ] "one lakh") equals 100,000 (one hundred thousand). Written in South Asian notation: 1,00,000. Ten lakh equals one million.

ਇੱਕ ਕਰੋੜ (ikk karoṛ [ɪk kɾoːɽ] "one crore") equals ten million, or 100 lakh. Written: 1,00,00,000. Real estate prices, government budgets, and salary discussions at the higher end are routinely stated in crore in Punjabi media.

Punjabi	Romanization	IPA	Equals
ਇੱਕ ਲੱਖ	ikk lakkh	[ɪk ləkːʰ]	100,000
ਦਸ ਲੱਖ	das lakkh	[dəs ləkːʰ]	1,000,000 (1 million)
ਇੱਕ ਕਰੋੜ	ikk karoṛ	[ɪk kɾoːɽ]	10,000,000 (10 million)
ਦਸ ਕਰੋੜ	das karoṛ	[dəs kɾoːɽ]	100,000,000 (100 million)

If a house in Chandigarh is listed at ਪੰਜ ਕਰੋੜ ਰੁਪਏ (panj karoṛ rupe [pənd͡ʒ kɾoːɽ ɾʊpeɪ] "five crore rupees"), that is 50 million rupees. When a Punjabi news reader says ਸੱਤ ਸੌ ਕਰੋੜ (satt sau karoṛ "seven hundred crore"), that is seven billion rupees. One crore equals ten million. Train yourself to parse crore first, and everything else follows.

ATM, Bank, and UPI Phrases

Punjab is heavily digitized for payments. UPI apps like Paytm, Google Pay, and PhonePe have almost entirely replaced cash for small transactions in Chandigarh and Amritsar's urban areas. A roadside chai stall in Bathinda will display a QR code next to the kettle.

Gurmukhi	Romanization	IPA	English
ਏਟੀਐਮ	ATM	[eɪtiːɛm]	ATM
ਬੈਂਕ	baink	[bɛɪŋk]	bank
ਖਾਤਾ	khātā	[kʰɑːtɑː]	account
ਪੈਸੇ ਕੱਢਣਾ	paise kaḍḍhaṇā	[pɛɪseɪ kəɖːʰəɳɑː]	to withdraw money
ਪੈਸੇ ਜਮ੍ਹਾਂ ਕਰਨਾ	paise jamhāṃ karnā	[pɛɪseɪ d͡ʒəmɑː kɚnɑː]	to deposit money
ਟ੍ਰਾਂਸਫਰ ਕਰਨਾ	transfer karnā	[tɾɑːnsfɚ kɚnɑː]	to transfer money
ਯੂਪੀਆਈ	UPI	[juːpiːaɪ]	UPI (payment system)
ਕਿਊਆਰ ਕੋਡ	QR code	[kjuːɑːɾ koːd]	QR code
ਸਕੈਨ ਕਰੋ	skain karo	[skɛɪn kɾoː]	scan (it)
ਵਟਾਂਦਰਾ	vaṭāṃdrā	[vɪtɑːndɾɑː]	currency exchange

To ask where the ATM is: ਏਟੀਐਮ ਕਿੱਥੇ ਹੈ? (ATM kitthe hai? [eɪtiːɛm kɪtːeɪ hɛɪ] "Where is the ATM?"). For UPI: ਯੂਪੀਆਈ ਨਾਲ ਦੇ ਸਕਦੇ ਹੋ? (UPI nāl de sakde ho? [juːpiːaɪ nɑːl deɪ səkdeɪ hoː] "Can you pay with UPI?"), then point at the QR code and say ਸਕੈਨ ਕਰੋ (skain karo, "scan it").

Currency exchange: ਵਟਾਂਦਰਾ ਕਿੱਥੇ ਹੋਵੇਗਾ? (vaṭāṃdrā kitthe hovegā? [vɪtɑːndɾɑː kɪtːeɪ hoːveɪɡɑː] "Where can I exchange currency?") is useful at airports and in Amritsar's old city near the Golden Temple, where licensed money changers operate.

For the bargaining vocabulary that goes alongside these payment phrases, the shopping and bargaining in Punjabi guide covers counter-offer phrases and market numerics in detail.

Sending Money Home: NRI and Remittance Vocabulary

Punjab has one of the highest emigration rates of any Indian state. Large communities in Canada (Brampton, Surrey), the United Kingdom (Southall, Birmingham), and the United States send money back regularly. The Punjabi term for a non-resident Indian is ਐਨਆਰਆਈ (NRI [ɛnɑːɾɑːiː]), an acronym that has fully entered spoken Punjabi.

Sending money back is called ਘਰ ਪੈਸੇ ਭੇਜਣਾ (ghar paise bhejaṇā [ɡʱɚ pɛɪseɪ bʱeɪd͡ʒəɳɑː] "to send money home") in everyday conversation.

Gurmukhi	Romanization	IPA	English
ਐਨਆਰਆਈ ਖਾਤਾ	NRI khātā	[ɛnɑːɾɑːiː kʰɑːtɑː]	NRI account
ਵਿਦੇਸ਼ੀ ਪੈਸਾ	videshī paisā	[vɪdeɪʃiː pɛɪsɑː]	foreign currency
ਬਦਲਾਅ ਦਰ	badlā dar	[bədlɑːʔ dɚ]	exchange rate
ਡਾਲਰ	ḍālar	[ɖɑːlɚ]	dollar (US or Canadian)
ਪੌਂਡ	pauṃḍ	[pɔːɳɖ]	pound sterling
ਟਰਾਂਸਫਰ ਫੀਸ	transfer fīs	[tɾɑːnsfɚ fiːs]	transfer fee
ਵਿਆਜ਼	viāz	[vɪɑːz]	interest (on money)
ਕਰਜ਼ਾ	karjā	[kɚd͡ʒɑː]	loan / debt

A practical sentence: ਇਸ ਮਹੀਨੇ ਮੈਂ ਪੰਜ ਲੱਖ ਭੇਜੇ (is mahīne maiṃ panj lakkh bheje [ɪs məhiːneɪ məɪ̃ pənd͡ʒ ləkːʰ bʱeɪd͡ʒeɪ] "This month I sent five lakh"). In diaspora households, conversations about remittances routinely mix English terms with Punjabi number scales: "Paṃjī ne das lakkh bheja" is completely natural code-switching that every Punjabi speaker in Brampton or Southall recognizes. The word ਕਰਜ਼ਾ (karjā, debt) appears in Punjabi folk songs with a frequency that reflects how central agricultural debt and migration economics have been to Punjab's history.

Three Mistakes Worth Avoiding

Confusing ਰੁਪਇਆ and ਰੁਪਏ is the first. The singular/plural distinction matters when stating prices: "ਪੰਜ ਰੁਪਏ" for five rupees, not "ਪੰਜ ਰੁਪਇਆ." The singular appears mainly in official contexts.

Second: reaching for "million" when speaking Punjabi. One crore is ten million, not one million. If you want to say "two million rupees," the Punjabi is ਵੀਹ ਲੱਖ ਰੁਪਏ (vīh lakkh rupe, twenty lakh). Practice converting before you speak.

Third: forgetting that ਪੈਸੇ does double duty. It means "money" generally and the sub-rupee coin specifically. Context resolves this in every real transaction. Nobody discussing a bank transfer means the physical coin.

The essential Punjabi phrases for travelers covers how these money terms fit into the wider transactional vocabulary of markets and dhabas, including the cultural rules around paying and accepting hospitality in Punjab.

Money vocabulary in Punjabi is not just practical. It is a window into how Punjab thinks about value, scale, and obligation. The lakh-and-crore numbering system structures how big decisions are discussed. The word paise, used for both coins and cash generally, reflects a culture that is direct about money without being embarrassed by it. Get this vocabulary right and you will follow conversations that most learners simply miss.

The Brightwood Apps Learn Punjabi app includes these money and transaction terms in its intermediate vocabulary units, with native audio from speakers in both the Amritsar and Ludhiana regions.