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Million, billion, trillion and quadrillion are the large number names we are most likely to encounter in the news. In the United States, in most world commerce, and in most scientific journals, the value of each of those words changes by 1,000 times each time you change names and add three zeros. Below are the large numbers most likely to come up in the news.
A million is a thousand thousand 1,000,000 6 zeros 106 Mega
A billion is a thousand million 1,000,000,000 9 zeros 109 Giga
A trillion is a thousand billion 1,000,000,000,000 12 zeros 1012 Tera
A quadrillion is a thousand trillion 1,000,000,000,000,000 15 zeros 1015 Peta or a Quad
A quintillion is a thousand quadrillion 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 18 zeros 1018 Exa
Number names are easy
A billion is not always a billion. Articles more than a few decades old, or newer articles translated from many European languages use a different naming pattern, sometimes called the ‘long scale’ or ‘British’ naming system. If you see the words ‘milliard,’ ‘billiard’ or the phrase ‘thousand million’ in a story, it is likely to be using the Long Scale or traditional British naming pattern. It makes a big difference. The word ‘billion’ in the British scale means a trillion (10e9) in the now more common Short Scale. International news reporting, even on the BBC, uses the American, or Short Scale almost exclusively, as does most international commerce that is transacted in English.
Mega Million = 1,000,000................................................. .6 zeros 106 Million
Giga Billion = 1,000,000,000 .......................................... .9 “ 109 Milliard, or ‘thousand million’
Tera Trillion = 1,000,000,000,000................................. .12 “ 1012 Billion (British style)
Peta Quadrillion = 1,000,000,000,000,000................... 15 “ 1015 Thousand billion
Quintillion = 1,000,000,000,000,000,000................................18 “ 1018 Trillion (British style)
Sextillion = 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000.......... ................21 “ 1021 Thousand trillion
Short Scale
The modern ‘American’ naming style, now used in international commerce.
Long Scale
Traditional British and European
A quadrillion plus, on the Short Scale:
