# What do you call sums smaller than a Euro?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-sums-smaller-than-a-euro/318632
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [August 25, 2005, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-sums-smaller-than-a-euro/318632 "2005-08-25T22:00:12Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)
#### Post date: [August 25, 2005, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-sums-smaller-than-a-euro/318632/1 "2005-08-25T22:00:12Z")
There are dollars and cents, and there are pounds, shillings and pence.
What are sums smaller than a Euro called?
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### Author:  [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)
#### Post date: [August 25, 2005, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-sums-smaller-than-a-euro/318632/2 "2005-08-25T22:04:07Z")
The euro is divided into 100 _cents_.
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### Author:  [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)
#### Post date: [August 25, 2005, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-sums-smaller-than-a-euro/318632/3 "2005-08-25T22:30:25Z")
> [@teela brown](#):
>
> What are sums smaller than a Euro called?
Sadly, “a dollar”, right now. ☹
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### Author:  [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)
#### Post date: [August 25, 2005, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-sums-smaller-than-a-euro/318632/4 "2005-08-25T22:54:34Z")
So in France next year I’ll be stating sums like _sept euro huit cents_, eh? Thanks for the answer. I had been Googling about and not finding what I needed.
**Spectre of Pithecanthropus** : yeah, ain’t it the truth? I won’t be going over until June of next year, and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the conversion won’t worsen between now and then. I guess I could always buy some euros _now_ and sit on them.
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### Author:  [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)
#### Post date: [August 25, 2005, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-sums-smaller-than-a-euro/318632/5 "2005-08-25T23:52:58Z")
> [@teela brown](#):
>
> So in France next year I’ll be stating sums like _sept euro huit cents_, eh? Thanks for the answer. I had been Googling about and not finding what I needed.
Try Googling “euro is subdivided into.” 😉
This Google tip has been brought to you by …
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### Author:  [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)
#### Post date: [August 26, 2005, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-sums-smaller-than-a-euro/318632/6 "2005-08-26T01:19:41Z")
> [@teela brown](#):
>
> So in France next year I’ll be stating sums like _sept euro huit cents_, eh? Thanks for the answer. I had been Googling about and not finding what I needed.
Actually, I think they say _centimes_. In practice, a sum like 3.50 would be expressed _“trois euros cinquante.”_
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### Author:  [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)
#### Post date: [August 26, 2005, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-sums-smaller-than-a-euro/318632/7 "2005-08-26T01:24:08Z")
Eurine? 😛
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### Author:  [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)
#### Post date: [August 26, 2005, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-sums-smaller-than-a-euro/318632/8 "2005-08-26T01:40:40Z")
> [@Sal Ammoniac](#):
>
> Actually, I think they say _centimes_. In practice, a sum like 3.50 would be expressed _“trois euros cinquante.”_
The [website of the European Central Bank](http://www.ecb.int/bc/coins/html/index.en.html) refers to them as 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 \*\*cent \*\* coins.
The word \*\*cent \*\* also appears on the [coins themselves.](http://www.euro.ecb.int/en/section/euro0/coins.html)
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### Author:  [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)
#### Post date: [August 26, 2005, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-sums-smaller-than-a-euro/318632/9 "2005-08-26T01:42:14Z")
> [@Sal Ammoniac](#):
>
> Actually, I think they say _centimes_. In practice, a sum like 3.50 would be expressed _“trois euros cinquante.”_
I believe that is correct…
[From here](http://wiki.macdk.com/CoursDeFrancais039)
> [@](#):
>
> - Un centième d’euro s’appelle ‘centime’, pas ‘cent’
“1/100th of a Euro is called a ‘centime’ not a ‘cent.’”
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### Author:  [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)
#### Post date: [August 26, 2005, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-sums-smaller-than-a-euro/318632/10 "2005-08-26T02:10:17Z")
Oh, there’s plenty of regional differences in the way these things get referred to in various languages. And you can expect the French to be awkward about any word of non-French origin 😉 …even ‘Euro’ itself has myriad pronunciations, and even within the English language, many Irish people use ‘Euro’ as plural, never adding an S.
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### Author:  [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)
#### Post date: [August 26, 2005, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-sums-smaller-than-a-euro/318632/11 "2005-08-26T02:19:37Z")
Sounds like the French being French, about it… the European Central Bank site linked above shows the different coinages for the different countries and ALL of them, be they German, French, Spanish or Vatican, say “\_\_\_ CENT”, not “cents” or "cent. " – apparently you can call it _cent_, _centime_ or _céntimo_ depending on your local vernacular, specially in places like Spain, France and Belgium where they did have “centimes” back in the day, so they can relate.
**Spectre** 😃 Heh, heh… at least the Canadians now know someone who feels their pain.
JR _“how much is that in REAL money?”_ D
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### Author:  [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)
#### Post date: [August 26, 2005, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-sums-smaller-than-a-euro/318632/12 "2005-08-26T03:01:45Z")
Keep in mind, too, that ‘cent’ by itself in Fench means ‘one hundred’, as can be seen on this [Canadian 100-dollar bill](http://www.cdnpapermoney.com/English/BoC/2004_100.htm). So they may say ‘centime’ for clarity.
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### Author:  [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)
#### Post date: [August 26, 2005, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-sums-smaller-than-a-euro/318632/13 "2005-08-26T03:23:24Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#):
>
> Oh, there’s plenty of regional differences in the way these things get referred to in various languages. And you can expect the French to be awkward about any word of non-French origin 😉 …even ‘Euro’ itself has myriad pronunciations, and even within the English language, many Irish people use ‘Euro’ as plural, never adding an S.
I tend to say “Euro” in the plural as well, as in “That costs 5 Euro.” I thought I picked it up from Brits while living abroad. Is it not a British construction?
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### Author:  [@pace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pace)
#### Post date: [August 26, 2005, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-sums-smaller-than-a-euro/318632/14 "2005-08-26T03:31:57Z")
> [@Spectre of Pithecanthropus](#):
>
> Sadly, “a dollar”, right now. ☹
hahahaHA!!! that was funny!!! Sad but really funny! 😃
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### Author:  [@Cat\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Jones)
#### Post date: [August 26, 2005, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-sums-smaller-than-a-euro/318632/15 "2005-08-26T08:03:24Z")
The Brits don’t have the Euro, haven’t been educated in Euro etiquette and so are likely to say things like “Five Euros” whereas the Irish who do have the currency will be correct when they say “Five Euro”. I remember discussion in France early on about the fact that you shouldn’t write an ‘s’ on the end of Euro when writing a cheque but in general the problem is avoided by putting the symbol. In French pronunciation there is no difference (cringes, waiting the wrath of **clairobscur** ) between ‘euro’ and ‘euros’. IIRC the Italians do make a distinction when speaking but as many of my friends mix in dialect at times I wouldn’t swear that this was standard.
The smaller coins bear the word ‘cent’ sure but some countries use different words. French people tell me that they were ‘given permission’ to use their exsisting word ‘centime’, they are very proud of this. The Italians, permission or no, use ‘centissime’ (usual apologies for my lack of spelling in Italian). In French the ‘c’ has an ‘s’ sound, in Italian it’s ‘ch’.
BTW **teela brown** in France the word ‘centime’ is usually dropped unless the sum is inferior to one euro. ie “Deux euro cinquante” or “quinze euro dix” but “trente-cinq centimes”.
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### Author:  [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)
#### Post date: [August 26, 2005, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-sums-smaller-than-a-euro/318632/16 "2005-08-26T08:30:41Z")
> [@teela brown](#):
>
> There are dollars and cents, and there are pounds, shillings and pence.
Minor correction: we haven’t had shillings for nearly 35 years.
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### Author:  [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)
#### Post date: [August 26, 2005, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-sums-smaller-than-a-euro/318632/17 "2005-08-26T08:40:28Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#):
>
> many Irish people use ‘Euro’ as plural, never adding an S.
The only places I’ve spent Euro is in Ireland when I pop across the border for Mum and Dad’s Lotto tickets and petrol, never heard Euros but always Euro in Donegal at least.
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### Author:  [@seosamh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seosamh)
#### Post date: [August 26, 2005, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-sums-smaller-than-a-euro/318632/18 "2005-08-26T11:39:13Z")
I believe the French were warned by the European Central Bank **NOT** to call them centimes but since when have the French people ever done what they are told? Centime is therefore entirely unofficial.
As has been mentioned above, in Ireland people were told to never to add an S, so you speak of 5 euro and 49 cent (keep the change). Using the euro certainly makes a difference when you are speaking Irish, since the word for “pound” mutated differently depending on how many of them you meant.
In practice, the one cent coin is far too small (at just 16.25 mm - that’s 0.64 inches) and I foresee a day pretty soon when it will be either redesigned or jettisoned altogether.
As a complete aside - since decimal coinage was introduced in the UK in 1971, very many people started calling the penny “one pence” - having previously referred to it as a penny for about 800 years. My hand forms a fist every time I hear it.
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### Author:  [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)
#### Post date: [August 26, 2005, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-sums-smaller-than-a-euro/318632/19 "2005-08-26T12:09:21Z")
> [@seosamh](#):
>
> In practice, the one cent coin is far too small (at just 16.25 mm - that’s 0.64 inches) and I foresee a day pretty soon when it will be either redesigned or jettisoned altogether.
IIRC some Euro countries didn’t even put out 1c coins for that reason. Ireland did to remove one excuse for rounding up to the nearest 5c rather that 1c after the changeover.
While some still use ‘quid’ for Euro e.g. That cost me 5 quid. We also use slang like ‘yo-yo’ for Euro as well(This may be just a Dublin thing). The offical terms as alrady stated are Euro and cent for single and plural use.
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### Author:  [@Cat\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Jones)
#### Post date: [August 26, 2005, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-sums-smaller-than-a-euro/318632/20 "2005-08-26T13:14:13Z")
Those little coins were initially very valuable in ensuring that prices were not ‘rounded up’ during the change over period, lots of things which had cost a simple ten francs were now €1.52 or €1.53. I think it’s Finland who have already done away with both the one and two cent coins.On the other hand it was the German propensity for paying cash for ‘white goods’ that meant we have the huge €500 note. (It’s interesting that in Ireland you’re using ‘quid’ for euro, AFAIK none of the slang words for franc have been transferred to meaning euro in French.)
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