# How do you pronounce 0,75 or 3,24? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 11, 2006, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-0-75-or-3-24/376083 "2006-10-11T18:39:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![twopiecesofeight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5e9695/32.png) [@twopiecesofeight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twopiecesofeight)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2006, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-0-75-or-3-24/376083/21 "2006-10-11T22:38:52Z")
[QUOTE=iamthewalrus(:3=] Yep, sorta, anyway. An math teacher I had in Jr. High insisted that “and” in a number was to be used only to denote the decimal point. So one should never say, for example, “Four million and seventeen dollars” [/QUOTE] Thanks for confirm that. My grade school teacher said the same thing about dollar amounts. It took me a while to adjust to pronouncing $120 as “one hundred twenty dollars” (without the “and”). Makes a bit of sense. I would end up too many “ands” if I voiced $1209.45 as “one thousand and two hundred and nine dollars **and** forty five cents.” (The “and” in bold is the only one I need.) ---
**Author:** ![Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bambi_Hassenpfeffer)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2006, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-0-75-or-3-24/376083/22 "2006-10-11T23:02:05Z")
[QUOTE=Thudlow Boink] sort of like insisting that the year 1968 be pronounced “one thousand nine hundred sixty-eight.” [/QUOTE] Which is funny, cause that’s exactly how it’s said in Spanish. The year Americans landed on the moon is pronounced “mil novecientos sesenta y nueve”. ---
**Author:** ![Mathochist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c89c15/32.png) [@Mathochist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mathochist)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2006, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-0-75-or-3-24/376083/23 "2006-10-11T23:02:50Z")
[QUOTE=brewha] This is a little off topic, but according to my old roomate (who is a math major and generally anal about this kind of stuff), .75 should not be pronounced “point seven five.” He is convinced that it should only be pronounced " seventy five thousandths. 3.24? Three and twenty four thousandths. Any other pronunciation is wrong. Anyone else heard of this? [/QUOTE] That that’s the only acceptable pronunciation? Never. Math professor beats math major. ---
**Author:** ![Mathochist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c89c15/32.png) [@Mathochist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mathochist)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2006, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-0-75-or-3-24/376083/24 "2006-10-11T23:04:45Z")
[QUOTE=pulykamell] oh, no… without uncovering _that_ old chestnut, your math major friend is simply wrong and will have to come to terms with .9999=1 if he wants to stay a math major. [/QUOTE] Indeed. What school’s he at? If it’s mine, the director of undergraduate math is my old advisor. I’ll get him kicked tout de suite (pronounced, “toot sweet”). ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2006, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-0-75-or-3-24/376083/25 "2006-10-12T02:16:53Z")
[QUOTE=ErinPuff] In French it’s “virgule,” which is the word for comma. So 3,6 would be said “trois virgule six.” Unless I’m horribly wrong, of course. [/QUOTE] Interesting that in the US, a “virgule” is a slash (or technically, \*similar to \*a slash). ---
**Author:** ![SCSimmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@SCSimmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCSimmons)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2006, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-0-75-or-3-24/376083/26 "2006-10-12T02:36:22Z")
[QUOTE=brewha] Well, this is coming from the same guy that insists that 9/9 is very close to, but does not equal, 1. His arguement? 1/9 = .111111…, 2/9 = .2222222…, … , 8/9 = .88888…, 9/9 = .9999999… [/QUOTE] OK, I know this is totally off-topic, and this has been covered to death in many other threads, but … Isn’t this an argument that 9 is almost, but not quite, equal to 9? People worry me sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![Rhubarb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/59ef9b/32.png) [@Rhubarb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhubarb)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2006, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-0-75-or-3-24/376083/27 "2006-10-12T03:12:40Z")
Meanwhile, back at the OP, … I would pronounce these as “point seven five”, “zero point seven five”, “seventy-five hundredths” or “three-fourths” and “three point two four”, “three and twenty-four hundredths” or “about three and a quarter”. I have no doubt that I would be understood in each case. And as for using a comma as the decimal notation, as an American who has never been to Europe, studied European maths, had a European maths instructor or knows any of the history or reasoning behind this European custom, I can state emphatically and unequivocally that it is simply and completely wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong!!! 😃 Hey, I pluralized ‘math’ for ya, but that’s as far as I’m willing to go. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2006, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-0-75-or-3-24/376083/28 "2006-10-12T05:10:53Z")
[QUOTE=twopiecesofeight] Thanks for confirm that. My grade school teacher said the same thing about dollar amounts. It took me a while to adjust to pronouncing $120 as “one hundred twenty dollars” (without the “and”). > [@](#): > > Makes a bit of sense. I would end up too many “ands” if I voiced $1209.45 as “one thousand and two hundred and nine dollars **and** forty five cents.” (The “and” in bold is the only one I need.) I’d pronounce $1290.45 as “One Thousand, Two Hundred and Ninety Dollars, and Forty-Five Cents”. Saying “One Hundred Twenty Dollars” sounds to me like you’re asking for one hundred $20 notes at best, or at worst like one of those Automated Voice Recordings you hear when you check your bank balance over the phone. Wrong, wrong, wrong… ---
**Author:** ![Mathochist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c89c15/32.png) [@Mathochist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mathochist)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2006, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-0-75-or-3-24/376083/29 "2006-10-12T07:04:37Z")
[QUOTE=Rhubarb] as for using a comma as the decimal notation, as an American who has never been to Europe, studied European maths, had a European maths instructor or knows any of the history or reasoning behind this European custom, I can state emphatically and unequivocally that it is simply and completely wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong!!! [/QUOTE] No, go ahead tell us what you really think. Also, what’s your opinion on the old British LSD system for money? Should they use dollar signs like we do too? ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2006, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-0-75-or-3-24/376083/30 "2006-10-12T13:20:13Z")
[QUOTE=Rhubarb] And as for using a comma as the decimal notation, as an American who has never been to Europe, studied European maths, had a European maths instructor or knows any of the history or reasoning behind this European custom, I can state emphatically and unequivocally that it is simply and completely wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong!!! 😃 [/QUOTE] Now, now, one should suffice. How about pronouncing it “Hey, if the period key is broken on your keyboard, try using the one on the ten-key pad”? ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2006, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-0-75-or-3-24/376083/31 "2006-10-12T14:03:47Z")
[QUOTE=Joey P] 'round here those would be writen as 0.75 and 3.24 and most likely pronounce “point seven five” “three point two four” or some variation of that, but still saying “point.” How is it pronounced when a comma is used instead? [/QUOTE] I remember hearing on the British show _UFO_ numbers being read in the form “3 decimal two four.” ---
**Author:** ![brewha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@brewha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brewha)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2006, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-0-75-or-3-24/376083/32 "2006-10-12T14:22:09Z")
[QUOTE=pulykamell] oh, no… without uncovering _that_ old chestnut, your math major friend is simply wrong and will have to come to terms with .9999=1 if he wants to stay a math major. [/QUOTE] He has a math major, but luckily he isn’t going to do anything with it. He went to school for software engineering. Because his class load included all but 9 credits of a math major’s load, he opted to take the extra classes and get a double major. Yeah, I don’t want to see him teaching math either. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2006, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-0-75-or-3-24/376083/33 "2006-10-12T14:56:07Z")
[QUOTE=brewha] This is a little off topic, but according to my old roomate (who is a math major and generally anal about this kind of stuff), .75 should not be pronounced “point seven five.” He is convinced that it should only be pronounced " seventy five thousandths. 3.24? Three and twenty four thousandths. Any other pronunciation is wrong. Anyone else heard of this? [/QUOTE] Thousandths? How does he pronounce 3.1416 then? :rolleyes: Or Monty Python “He wanks as highly as any in Wome!” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![brewha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@brewha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brewha)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2006, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-0-75-or-3-24/376083/34 "2006-10-12T14:57:59Z")
[QUOTE=glee] Thousandths? How does he pronounce 3.1416 then? :rolleyes: Or Monty Python “He wanks as highly as any in Wome!” 😃 [/QUOTE] “Pi” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2006, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-0-75-or-3-24/376083/35 "2006-10-12T15:31:26Z")
[QUOTE=brewha] This is a little off topic, but according to my old roomate (who is a math major and generally anal about this kind of stuff), .75 should not be pronounced “point seven five.” He is convinced that it should only be pronounced " seventy five thousandths. 3.24? Three and twenty four thousandths. Any other pronunciation is wrong. Anyone else heard of this? [/QUOTE] Absurd. In Quebec (and presumably France) they would say “zero virgule soixante quinze” (an acute accent on zero, but I don’t know how to do that). Virgule is the name of the comma in French. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2006, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-0-75-or-3-24/376083/36 "2006-10-12T21:05:06Z")
I hate the comma notation - I grew up, went to school, and started working (in Ontario) using a point when I had to write a decimal. Now that I’m working in Québec, I have to start using the comma, at least on all the final reports (they let me get away with points in my notebooks). It drives me crazy! Some things, i can learn to change, but I doubt I will ever unlearn that one! ---
**Author:** ![Ignatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3be4f8/32.png) [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2006, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-0-75-or-3-24/376083/37 "2006-10-12T22:29:59Z")
After Originally Posted by **ErinPuff** In French it’s “virgule,” which is the word for comma. So 3,6 would be said “trois virgule six.” Unless I’m horribly wrong, of course. **panach45** said: “Interesting that in the US, a “virgule” is a slash (or technically, similar to a slash).” I ask how does a virgule differ “technically” from a slash? My unabridged equates virgule/diagonal/separatrix/shilling mark/slant/slash/solidus and **Hari Seldon** said: “In Quebec (and presumably France) they would say “zero virgule soixante quinze” (an acute accent on zero, but I don’t know how to do that). Virgule is the name of the comma in French.” I say, gee, I took 2 years of French and spent 2 years based in France, and I never knew that). But to help with the superaccent marks, (thanks to a **tomandebb** post from 1999), To type an é, hold down the Alt key while typing 0233 on the keypad, _et voilá_. (The á is with the 0225 + Alt). Oh and onl the OP, 0.075 would be seventy-five thousandths, etc. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2006, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-0-75-or-3-24/376083/38 "2006-10-13T00:02:48Z")
.75 in mechanical terms is pronounced point seven five It is not the same as .750 The extra decimal includes an implied tolerance. If you see .75 ,you think plus or minus .o6 (approx) .750 would be plus or minus .oo5 .750 is pronounced seven hundred and fifty thousanths. Therefore 3.24 would be three point two four ,(tolerance understood) ---
**Author:** ![Mathochist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c89c15/32.png) [@Mathochist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mathochist)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2006, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-0-75-or-3-24/376083/39 "2006-10-13T03:19:46Z")
[QUOTE=Ignatz] I ask how does a virgule differ “technically” from a slash? [/QUOTE] “Slash” is somewhat generic. What you see on your keyboard is the virgule, which is more vertical than the solidus. The solidus is the mark used to construct fractions in single lines of text, like ½ (hopefully your browser supports Unicode so you can see that single-character “1/2”). ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2006, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-0-75-or-3-24/376083/40 "2006-10-13T03:38:26Z")
[QUOTE=iamthewalrus(:3=] Yep, sorta, anyway. An math teacher I had in Jr. High insisted that “and” in a number was to be used only to denote the decimal point. So one should never say, for example, “Four million and seventeen dollars” [/QUOTE] I just read this in my third grade son’s math book yesterday. All this time I never knew. And they were serious about it…it was written **in bold words**. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-0-75-or-3-24/376083.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-0-75-or-3-24/376083.md?page=3)