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BULGARIAN In Bulgarian , the Cyrillic Alphabet is used and thus "EURO" is written '''ЕВРО'''. Given that the current design of Euro Banknotes has the word EURO spelt in both the Latin and the Greek Alphabet s, it is reasonable to suppose that design may be modified to add the Cyrillic spelling too. But this remains to be decided. The same is true of euro coins, but if the Greek model is followed, the alternative spelling will go on the national (obverse) side. CATALAN In Catalan , the pronunciation for euro is in eastern dialects and [euro in western ones. Its official plural is the same as the natural one: ''euros''. For the cent, the word ''cèntim'' (pronounced []) is used (and ''cèntims'' for the plural). DUTCH In Dutch , measure words (units) are generally used in singular form only. So when dealing with amounts one says ''5 euro'', just as it used to be ''11 gulden'' (the plural of ''gulden'' is ''gulden'''s''''') or ''200 frank''. Compare this to ''2 meter'', ''3 uur'' (hour), ''4 gram''. The plural of euro is ''euro's'' but this is only used to refer to individual euro coins, not to abstract amounts of money. Slang that used to be reserved for Guilder coinage is now being applied to euro currency more and more. For example '' Stuiver '' for 5 cents, ''dubbeltje'' (derived from ''double stuiver'') for 10 cents. In less common usage are ''meier'' for EUR 100. In Belgium , some Flemings refer to the 1, 2 and 5 cent coins as ''koper'' which is the Dutch word for Copper , the metal these coins are made of. The term is used in a derogatory way, due to the low value of these coins. The Dutch also tend to make fun of the euro by using as plural form ''euri'' (or ''euri's''), which sounds ridiculous and undignified. In the Netherlands , the nickname for the old Rijksdaalder (2½ Gulden ) 'knaak' is used by many, referring to the similarity in value of (2.20371 gulden). The old marketing slogan ''op de markt is uw gulden een daalder waard'' (''in the market, your guilder is worth 1.50'') is often adapted to ''op de markt is uw euro een gulden waard'' (''in the market, your euro is worth a guilder'') to refer to the perceived devaluation of the money. ENGLISH Official practice followed in ''' notes were). Because the ''s''-less plurals had become "enshrined" in EU legislation, the Commission decided to retain those plurals in English in legislation even while allowing natural plurals in other languages, but the Directorate-General For Translation strongly recommends that in all material generated by the Commission intended for the general public, the "natural plurals", ''euros'' and ''cents'' be used. As the euro was being adopted in the Republic Of Ireland , however, the Department For Finance decided to use the word ''euro'' as both the singular and plural forms of the currency, and because Irish broadcasters took their cue from the Department, the "legislative plurals" tend to also be used on the news and in much Irish advertising. This has the effect of reinforcing the ''s''-less plurals, though many advertisers (particularly those in the United Kingdom ) prefer the plurals ''euros'' and ''cents''. A number of people in Ireland prefer the -''s'' plurals, and at the time the ''s''-less plurals were introduced, at least some complained that the EU ought not attempt to change English grammar. However, ''s''-less plurals were already used in English for several existing currencies, such as the Yen , Won , Rand and Baht , so this was not in fact a new concept in English grammar. People who have become accustomed to what they hear on daily television and radio often use the ''s''-less plurals, which they also see written on the notes and coins. While usage in Ireland is disputed, common usage in the rest of the English-speaking world is to use the natural plurals. The media in the UK prefer ''euros'' and ''cents'' as the plural forms. Broadcasts of currency exchange rates outside of the European Union tend to use the -''s'' plural, with NPR in the United States and CBC in Canada being two examples. Any number of rationales were subsequently applied to explain why the ''s''-less plural might be acceptable, but these are generally Folk Etymologies . Long-standing plurals in -''s'' like Pesos and Escudos (and indeed that of the marsupial Euros ) are relevant when considering the plural of the euro currency. While it is true that ''s''-less plurals exist in English for some other currencies, this usage is not the ''reason'' that the ''s''-less plural for the euro was introduced. When (as noted above) people initially complained that the EU had no business changing English grammar, they were certainly not taking these ''unusual'' plurals as "natural"; they expected ''5 euros'' and balked at ''5 euro''. Ultimately, the euro/euros split demonstrate the strong desire to use the generalisable 's' for plural rule in English. It appears a strong public campaign is needed to enforce a general usage of the s-less plural. In Ireland a few people play at using the slang term ''yoyo'', but few actually do so. The transfer of the slang term ''quid'' from the Punt to the euro, however, is complete, and many people use it. Also, ''fiver'' and ''tenner'' (originally for 5 pound and 10 pound notes respectively) have carried over as reference to euro notes, and ''grand'' for a thousand of any currency is also commonly used. The term "euro-cent" is sometimes used in countries (such as USA, Canada, Australia) that also have "cent" as a subcurrency, to distinguish them from their local coin. This usage is not official, though is perhaps understandable, given that the coins themselves have the words "EURO" and "CENT" displayed on the common side. The terms " Eurodollar ", which commonly refers to US dollar deposits in European banks, or the non-existent "euro dollar" have occasionally been used confusingly to refer to the euro in other parts of the world, particularly non-EU countries such as the United States, Canada and Australia. FINNISH The pronunciation is {Link without Title} .
In other grammatical cases, the word declines accordingly: "the euros" is ''eurot'', "into euros" is ''euroiksi'', "with euros" is ''euroilla'', etc. Using the colon notation to mark the case is not common, and used mainly to prevent ambiguiety. For example, ''kymmenen euron seteli'' "note of ten euro", is usually abbreviated ''10 € seteli'', although ''10 €:n seteli'' is also found. Despite the confusion by foreigners, the "plural" of euro is not "eurot", since this is a nominative plural and would refer to a known set of euros, i.e. "the euros". ''Sentti'' is problematic in that its primary meaning is "centimeter". Thus, the officially recommended abbreviation of ''sentti'' is ''snt'', although Finnish merchants generally use a decimal notation (for example ''0,35 €''). Slang terms: In Finland , one of the most common slang words for euro is ''ege''. It depends greatly on region. This comes from ''huge'', the slang word for the now defunct Finnish Markka . The etymology and origin of ''huge'' are obscure, but it may be a derivation from the common slang word for the one hundred markka bill, ''huntti'', which again is a slang Loanword from the Finland-Swedish ''hundra'' (one hundred). Cents are sometimes called ''penni'', which was also 1/100th of the markka. Euros are also known as ''eki'', ''eero'', or ''erkki'', which are also Finnish male First Name s. Another slang name is ''jörö'', the Finnish name of the dwarf Grumpy , because ''jörö'' and the English language pronunciation of euro sound similar. FRENCH In French the official plural is the same as the natural plural, ''euros''. Although ''cent''/''cents'' is official in France and Belgium , almost all French and French-speaking Belgian people still use the traditional term ''centime''/''centimes'' (French for "cent", used with the old franc) to avoid confusion with the word ''cent'' meaning ''hundred''. Slang terms: In {Link without Title} , the slang term 'balles' (often plural) was commonly used (50 balles = 50 francs). Since the introduction of the euro the use of the term 'balles' has decreased. GERMAN Plural In German , ''Euro'' and ''Cent'' are used as both singular and plural when following a numeral, as is the case with all units of measurement (e.g. ''Pfund'', ''Kilo(gramm)'', ''Dollar'', etc.). However, when talking about euros or cents in the sense of individual coins etc., the plurals ''Euro-Münzen'' and ''Cent-Münzen'' are used, along with ''Euros'' and ''Cents'', similar to the former German and Austrian currencies' ''Pfennig(e)'' and '' Schilling (e)''. The ''Mark'' and ''Groschen'' (the subdivision of the former Austrian ''Schilling'') were only seemingly exceptions because the plural forms were in fact identical to the singular ones (the form ''Märker'' was only jocular/colloquial). Pronunciation The beginning of the word ''Euro'' is pronounced in German with the diphthong as in the English word "oil". The spelling of the word ''Cent'' is not well adapted to German spelling conventions because these strive to avoid ambiguous letter-sound correspondences. The letter C is only used in Loanword s and pronounced in various ways depending on the language of origin (e.g. in ''Centime'', [ʧ in ''Cello'', in ''Celsius'' and [k in ''Café''). Most of these words are therefore eventually spelled phonetically (e.g. Kaffee, Kadmium, Zentimeter). Latin words beginning with "ce" such as ''centum'' (hundred) are traditionally pronounced in German, and German words derived from these have therefore for a long time already been spelled with a ''Z'', which is pronounced [ʦ (as in ''Zentrum'' (centre), ''Zentimeter'' (centimetre), etc.). Equivalently, some German speakers pronounce the beginning of the word "Cent" but since they are familiar with the English pronunciation of the US-American unit ''cent'' from television, most people pronounce it [s . As these are nouns, both Euro and Cent are capitalised in German. Slang terms In Austria and Germany , the euro has also been called ''Teuro'', a play on the word "teuer", meaning 'expensive'. Many people felt that prices increased dramatically following the introduction of the euro because some groceries and restaurants took the opportunity to camouflage price increases at the time of the euro changeover. The nickname of ''Groschen'' (formerly used for the 0.10 Mark coin) has been adopted for the 10 cent coin. ''Sechser'' (0.05 Mark or 5 cent) is still in use, too. In youth culture also the plural-only word ''Euronen'' is sometimes used; many people see this as a parody of technology or science fiction vocabulary, after a Star Trek internet parody introduced also the race of the ''Euronen'' (''Euronians''). In the eastern part of Austria the word ''Eumeln'' (meaning "twerps") (also plural-only) is seldom used. It combines the word euro with a typical Austrian-German ending (like the word "Semmeln", Austrian for bun or roll) and gives the word a more casual and familiar touch. GREEK In the Greek Language the immutable word ευρώ (pronounced ''evró'') is used as the currency's name. It was decided to use Omega rather than Omicron as the last letter of the word, partly because a noun ending with omicron would encourage mutability, and partly to stress the origin of the euro in the Greek word Ευρώπη (Europe) which is also spelled with omega and it is actually written on the euro notes in Greek as ΕΥΡΩ. However the everyday use of the word particularly in written form is clinging to the form with the do not change their form. It should still be in the plural form of "τα ευρώ". For the cent, the terms used are ''λεπτό'', pl. ''λεπτά'' ('' Leptó '', pl. ''leptá''), a name used for small denominations of various ancient and modern Greek currencies, including the Drachma (which the euro replaced). HUNGARIAN In Hungarian the currency (expected to be introduced in 2010) is named ''euró'' and ''cent'', the former with a long ''ó'', as decided by the Research Institute For Linguistics Of The Hungarian Academy Of Sciences , since Hungarian words cannot end in short ''o'' either in writing or in speech (except for one or two interjections), see these international words as examples: ''fotó, videó, sztereó''. The plural is not normally marked in Hungarian after numerals, but both names can take suffixes like ''euróval, euróért, euróból'', etc. ("with a euro", "for a euro", "from a euro", etc.). As Of October 2004 , Hungary is struggling along with Lithuania, Latvia, and Slovenia for the ''euro'' to be written in their official documents according to their own usage and spelling, in contrast with a 1998 EU decree which would call for a single name all through the Union. The Treaty Establishing A Constitution For Europe , signed in 2005 , contains the following declaration from Hungary and Latvia: :50. Declaration by the Republic of Latvia and the Republic of Hungary on the spelling of the name of the single currency in the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe :Without prejudice to the unified spelling of the name of the single currency of the European Union referred to in the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe as displayed on the banknotes and on the coins, Latvia and Hungary declare that the spelling of the name of the single currency, including its derivatives as applied throughout the Latvian and Hungarian text of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, has no effect on the existing rules of the Latvian and the Hungarian languages. IRISH In Irish , the English words ''euro'' and ''cent'' are used, as Foreign Borrowing s without change in Spelling or Pronunciation , and immune to the natural rules of Irish Mutation after numbers. The masculine noun ''eoró'' (plural ''eorónna'') has been coined from the word ''Eoraip'' ('Europe'), and ''ceint'' (plural ''ceinteanna'') has been in the lexicon since at least 1959 . The words ''eoró'' and ''ceint'' are attested in printed literature, though the foreign borrowings tend to be more frequent, again due to a lack of coordinated language planning. ITALIAN ;''Euro'' In was proposed to adopt ''euri'' as the plural form for public official deeds but was quickly rejected (See Amendment 62.5 , text in Italian). ;''Cent'' The word ''cent'' is in practical use always replaced by the word ''centesimo'', which simply means "hundredth"; its plural form is ''centesimi''. ''Cent'' only appears in electricity, telephone bills et similia; in any case it is rather perceived by native speakers as an abbreviation of "centesimo" (and in fact often followed by a period) than as an autonomous proper name. LATVIAN In Latvian there are still at least two concurrent usages. Majority say and write ''''eiro'''' (which somewhat resembles the West European 'euro', but has also taken its sound from ''Eiropa'', the Latvian word for ''Europe''). {Link without Title} Purists insist that standardised usage is ''eira'' - a word that is Declinable according to the normal and convenient Latvian pattern. ''Eirai'' clearly means ''for the euro'', ''eirās'' means ''in euros'', and so forth. In contrast, ''eiro'', like all Latvian words ending in an '-o', is unable to take on Inflections therefore it results in ambiguous phrases like ''"samainīt eiro"'', which can be interpreted in a variety of ways: ''to exchange into euros'', ''to exchange euros something else '', ''to exchange one euro'' - and this limits the fluency of communication. The official usage of ''eira'' has been affirmed by Terminology Commission of the Latvian Academy of Sciences , with the argument that a potentially frequently used term needs to fit especially well in the structure of '', and The Section Above About Hungarian .) LITHUANIAN In Lithuanian the euro and cent are called ''euras'' and ''centas'' (in common language usually ''eurocentas'', to distinguish from the cents of the current Lithuanian currency, ''Litas''), while plural forms are ''eurai'' and ''centai'' (''eurocentai''). The Lithuanian language routinely adopts foreign words by adding standardised endings, resulting in words like ''kompiuteris'' or ''Tonis Bleiras''. Lithuania is expected to join the Eurozone in 2007 . MALTESE In Maltese the euro is to be spelt ''ewro'', it was announced in December 2005. [http://www.kunsilltalmalti.gov.mt/filebank/documents/reportonthenamesoftheeuropeancurrency.pdf The plural is unchanged. The cent is to be known as the ''ċenteżmu'', plural ''ċenteżmi''. PORTUGUESE In Portuguese , the official plural is the same as the natural plural ''euros''. The words ''cêntimo''/''cêntimos'' are widely used instead of ''cent''/''cents'' and officially accepted - the older term for cents in Escudo s was ''centavo''/''centavos''. The standard pronunciation for "euro" in Portuguese is to defy the Portuguese tendency to pronounce final 'o' as 'u'. Despite that, the pronunciation [ is becoming more common due to the word's daily use. Five euros are still called ''conto de reis'' or just ''conto'' (an approximation to the actual rate of 4.98798€ = 1000 Portuguese Escudo s = 1 conto = 1 million Portuguese Reais , the Portuguese currency until 1911 ). The same occurs to 10 euros (''dois contos''), 20 euros (''quatro contos''), etc. ROMANIAN In Romanian the euro and cent are called ''euro'' and ''cent'' (plural ''cenţi''). Although the official plural of ''euro'' is also ''euro'', a variant that is getting quite common is ''euroi'', following the Romanian plural for masculine nouns that is obtained by adding an "i" at the end of the word. SLOVENIAN In Slovenian the euro and cent are called ''evro'' and ''cent'', the dual form is ''2 evra/centa'' and the plural forms are ''3 evri/centi'' and ''5 evrov/centov''. ''Evro'' is spelled with ''v'' instead of ''u'' due to the fact that it is derived from the word ''Evropa'' (Europe), also written with ''v''. However, the ''v'' in the word ''evro'' is not pronounced as ''v'', but as ''w'' (see Slovenian Sounds ). The ''c'' in ''cent'' is pronounced as ''ts''. Slovenia is expected to join the eurozone in 2007 . SPANISH In the Spanish language the official plural is the same as its natural plural ''euros''. For the cent, the word ''céntimo'' is used. SWEDISH In Swedish writing, the euro as an amount of money is spelt ''euro'' (and cent is spelt ''cent'') both in singular and plural. The currency "the euro" is spelt "euron" following Swedish grammar rules. Officially and used in TV and Radio news, it is pronounced . People have often not accepted this, but are pronouncing it in a more English way (no "s" in plural). The latter usage is unpopular among purists, who believe English has too much influence on the Swedish language. There was a debate about this issue at the time of the introduction of the euro in Europe, but this debate had died out in Sweden after 2003 , when the country voted against abandoning the Krona in favour of adopting the euro. In Finland Swedish is spoken as a minority language, and the country has adopted the euro as currency. The same spelling is used (officially Swedish in Finland is spelt as in Sweden). The pronunciation, however, is TURKISH . SEE ALSO |