# Term for fractions of a Euro **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 20, 2005, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-fractions-of-a-euro/290974 "2005-02-20T01:53:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ultraviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/c77e96/32.png) [@Ultraviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ultraviolet)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2005, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-fractions-of-a-euro/290974/1 "2005-02-20T01:53:29Z")
What do you call a portion of a Euro? Cents? How would you say E0.63 for example? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2005, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-fractions-of-a-euro/290974/2 "2005-02-20T02:21:30Z")
Wikipedia is always a good place to start: > [@](#): > > The euro is divided into 100 cent (in Greece, the name leptó, plural leptá is used instead). The form “cent” is officially used in the singular and in the plural (see the relevant section below). ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2005, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-fractions-of-a-euro/290974/3 "2005-02-20T02:21:30Z")
Sixty Three cents. 100 cents in a Euro. [Click](http://www.eurocoins.co.uk/) - scroll down and on the left are images of Euro cents; 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2005, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-fractions-of-a-euro/290974/4 "2005-02-20T02:45:25Z")
Man, that UK euro prototype coin has got to have one of the worst portraits of the Queen that I have ever seen! If the UK does eventually switch to the euro, I sure hope they come up with a better design… ---
**Author:** ![hibernicus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hibernicus/32/2802_2.png) [@hibernicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hibernicus)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2005, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-fractions-of-a-euro/290974/5 "2005-02-20T17:14:30Z")
> [@Mr. Kobayashi](#): > > Sixty Three cents. 100 cents in a Euro. > > [Click](http://www.eurocoins.co.uk/) - scroll down and on the left are images of Euro cents; 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50. [English Style Guide of the EU Translation Service](http://europa.eu.int/comm/translation/writing/style_guides/english/style_guide_en.pdf) > [@](#): > > 20.7 The euro. Like ‘pound’, ‘dollar’ or any other currency name in English, the word ‘euro’ is written in lower case with no initial capital. > Guidelines on the use of the euro, issued via the Secretariat-General, state that the plurals of both ‘euro’ and ‘cent’ are to be written without ‘s’ in English. Do this when amending or referring to legal texts that themselves observe this rule. However, in all other texts, especially documents intended for the general public, use the natural plurals ‘euros’ and ‘cents’. It remains to be seen which version wins out - currently in Ireland you’ll hear both “cent” and “cents” for the plural. In France, they have continued to use the word “centimes”, which used to mean hundredth-parts of a French Franc, and in Catalonia they call it “centims” (with a grave accent on the “i”). In Irish it’s “ceint” pronounced “kent”. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2005, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-fractions-of-a-euro/290974/6 "2005-02-20T17:16:42Z")
I guess “eurolette” is unacceptable? ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2005, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-fractions-of-a-euro/290974/7 "2005-02-20T21:08:30Z")
> [@hibernicus](#): > > In France, they have continued to use the word “centimes”, which used to mean hundredth-parts of a French Franc… Part of the reason for this is that ‘cent’ by itself in French means ‘hundred’, not ‘hundred **th** ’. See the hundred-dollar bill in the picture on [this page](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_dollar); euro banknotes and coins do not have the amount in words. It lessens confusion to say ‘centime’. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2005, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-fractions-of-a-euro/290974/8 "2005-02-21T02:57:03Z")
My thought was that they should name it the lux, since Luxembourg is about 1/100 the size of Euroland. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2005, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-fractions-of-a-euro/290974/9 "2005-02-21T03:21:49Z")
Uh, guys? Answer a quick question for me. Go to **Mr. Kobayashi** ’s link above. Look at the second coin in the left-hand column. What is that image? It looks kind of like the Queen is, um, welcoming us in. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![charizard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charizard/32/4166_2.png) [@charizard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/charizard)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2005, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-fractions-of-a-euro/290974/10 "2005-02-21T04:20:34Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > Man, that UK euro prototype coin has got to have one of the worst portraits of the Queen that I have ever seen! If the UK does eventually switch to the euro, I sure hope they come up with a better design… ROFL. How did they ever get her to POSE for that? ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2005, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-fractions-of-a-euro/290974/11 "2005-02-21T12:40:32Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > Part of the reason for this is that ‘cent’ by itself in French means ‘hundred’, not ‘hundred **th** ’. See the hundred-dollar bill in the picture on [this page](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_dollar); euro banknotes and coins do not have the amount in words. It lessens confusion to say ‘centime’. The official name in France is “cent” too (and without “s” for the plural. I assume the “s” is omitted in order to avoid a different official spelling in countries where the plural wouldn’t be formed by ading a “s”) But everybody says “centimes”, indeed, because people were used to this word. At the beginning, you could hear “cent” (pronounced in the english way, with a sounded “t”), “cent” (pronounced in the french way, with a mute “t”) or “centimes”. Centimes won the battle. Weirdly enough, France had 5 centimes and 10 centimes coins worth respectively a little less than 1 euro cent and 2 euro cent(s). Nobody had an issue with these coins. Since the euro has been introduced, plenty of people are complaining about the 1 and 2 cent coins, according to them of too little value to be of any use. Apparently, just because the number on the coins switched from 10 to 2, a coin of identical value suddenly became useless and a pain. ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2005, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-fractions-of-a-euro/290974/12 "2005-02-21T17:16:23Z")
> [@charizard](#): > > ROFL. How did they ever get her to POSE for that? Saucy lil tart!