# euro vs. euros



## elda55

Is there anyone who can help me with the plural of euro? What is right "2 euros" or "2 euro"? In same articles I read the second example, but this summer in Ireland I heard people saying 2 euros. Thanks for your answer. 
Bye ! Elda


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## leenico

> Is there anyone who can help me with the plural of euro? What is right &quot;2 euros&quot; or &quot;2 euro&quot;? In same articles I read the second example, but this summer in Ireland I heard people saying 2 euros. Thanks for your answer.


 The plural of euro is euros. I am not sure what you mean by the other parts of your question.


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## Alfry

leenico said:
			
		

> The plural of euro is euros. I am not sure what you mean by the other parts of your question.


In italy it shold be
1 euro
2 euro
3098290 euro,

but sometimes someone says 2 euri... which I don't like too much


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## Focalist

leenico said:
			
		

> The plural of euro is euros. I am not sure what you mean by the other parts of your question.


Tain't that simple, leenico.

The *official* plural of "euro" and "(euro)cent" is "euro" and "cent". On Irish radio and TV you will hear: 
-- Win a million euro
-- A salary of 32,500 euro per annum
-- Shares were 45 cent lower at €19.65

In practice, though, people frequently *say* "euros" and "cents".

F


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## gls5000

Plural euro sounds contrived. It will never catch on in English-speaking countries as it grates against natural tendencies. It feels more comfortable to say 'euros', that's how English works so why force an unnatural term on us?

There doesn't seem to be much point to the idea of harmonising the word across languages. What does it achieve? 

In any case, it will be pronounced quite differently in each language, especially I imagine in Greece where I think it is pronounced 'evro' so as not to confuse the verb 'to urinate'.


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## natkretep

gls5000 said:


> Plural euro sounds contrived. It will never catch on in English-speaking countries as it grates against natural tendencies. It feels more comfortable to say 'euros', that's how English works so why force an unnatural term on us?



But quite often English-speaking countries have it both ways. You can say 'It cost me five pounds' or 'It cost me five pound' or 'It cost me five quid' (but not 'quids'). You can say 'She's five foot six' or 'She's five feet six'.

Having said that, I think it would be difficult to maintain the plural 'cent' given than 'cents' is standard in dollar areas like Australia, the US or Canada.


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## Jim986

Just a word to the wise: in accredited literature in English on financial norms, currencies don't have a plural form. For example "Article 9 of the Regulation stipulates that, should the Member State concerned so decide, certain provisions may also apply to payments in Swedish kronor, Danish kroner or pound sterling." So if you are translating or drafting a formal financial document, the plural of "euro" is "euro".

Quite apart from this is the question of usage. English has no regulating body, so the "correct" language is that which people use and generally accept, and in this case "euros" is clearly the right word to use. I would use it in all contexts except those explained above.


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## You little ripper!

Jim986 said:


> Just a word to the wise: in accredited literature in English on financial norms, currencies don't have a plural form. For example "Article 9 of the Regulation stipulates that, should the Member State concerned so decide, certain provisions may also apply to payments in Swedish kronor, Danish kroner or pound sterling." So if you are translating or drafting a formal financial document, the plural of "euro" is "euro".
> 
> Quite apart from this is the question of usage. English has no regulating body, so the "correct" language is that which people use and generally accept, and in this case "euros" is clearly the right word to use. I would use it in all contexts except those explained above.


Wikipedia agrees. 

_The euro is divided into 100 cents (sometimes referred to as __euro-cents, especially when distinguishing them from other currencies). In official contexts the plural forms of __euro and __cent are spelled without the __s, notwithstanding normal English usage.[9] Otherwise, normal English plurals are recommended and used._


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## Azazel81

Alfry said:


> In italy it shold be
> 1 euro
> 2 euro
> 3098290 euro,
> 
> but sometimes someone says 2 euri... which I don't like too much



Oh please... only the uneducated ones say "euri" (unless it's said ironically... just to have some fun).

"Euri" is totally INCORRECT.

Anyway, I agree: probably in informal context you can say it either way (euro, euros), but in official communication you're gonna have to say "euro" both for plural and for singular.


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## Popper

I think if in English it is used only in singular, it must be with an uppercase E, since the abrreviation is for European notes.
In Bulgaria, we use only singular- "evro", and only in unofficial language plural can be used, but always with lowercase.


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## smart_woman07

> *La discussione è stata redirezionata da qui:   Avanzare qualcosa da qualcuno*





JNewland said:


> You could try: "You still owe me 500 Euros"


 It's 500 Euro (for both singular and plural)


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## JNewland

smart_woman07 said:


> It's 500 Euro (for both singular and plural)



Thanks smart woman07 , have noted it - like "data" is said and written the same whether it's singular or plural.


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## Memimao

JNewland said:


> Thanks smart woman07 , have noted it - like "data" is said and written the same whether it's singular or plural.


 

Check this out

http://www.uta.fi/FAST/AK2/euros.html


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## Phil9

I agree with Memimaio. In English we say Euros.


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## JNewland

Phil9 said:


> I agree with Memimaio. In English we say Euros.



Thank you.That's what I thought.


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## smart_woman07

Well...it's not what I have found in this old thread.

euro or euros

Anway, I'm so used to _Euro_ that the plural would sound kind of funny to me.


Ciao!


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## JNewland

smart_woman07 said:


> Well...it's not what I have found in this old thread.
> 
> euro or euros
> 
> Anway, I'm so used to _Euro_ that the plural would sound kind of funny to me.
> 
> 
> Ciao!



Anyway,as they say:"It's only money!!"


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## smart_woman07

I agree! 
As we say here VILE DENARO
Ciao ciao!


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## JNewland

smart_woman07 said:


> I agree!
> As we say here VILE DENARO
> Ciao ciao!



G'day Smart woman,

I remember all the fuss whether it should be Euro or Euros.
I think in non-UK European countries one says Euro - singular or plural and 
in the UK and other English-speaking countries one says Euros for plural.

Can anyone please confirm or otherwise?


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## Alxmrphi

JNewland said:


> I remember all the fuss whether it should be Euro or Euros.
> I think in non-UK European countries one says Euro - singular or plural and
> in the UK and other English-speaking countries one says Euros for plural.



Hai ragione JNewland... (*consiglio*: usa 'you' per la forma impersonale invece di 'one')


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## Phil9

smart_woman07 said:


> Well...it's not what I have found in this old thread.
> 
> euro or euros
> 
> Anway, I'm so used to _Euro_ that the plural would sound kind of funny to me.
> 
> 
> Ciao!


 
In Italian, certainly. I would always say 'euro' as the plural when speaking in Italian.

In English, whatever that old thread and the official rules say, on the street it's always euros I'm afraid. It's true that in English there are a few words that stay the same in the plural: e.g sheep, fish, but they are the exceptions.

It doesn't sound strange to me at all to say 'ten euros' in English and 'dieci euro' in Italian. These are differences you have to take in your stride.

'Euro' non e' l'unico sostantivo ad essere invariabile in Italiano: radio, bar, ecc.


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## furs

The English may say Euros, but the fact remains that the EU has established that the plural of euro in English is... euro.
http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/publications/publication6336_en.pdf


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## gabrigabri

furs said:


> The English may say Euros, but the fact remains that the EU has established that the plural of euro in English is... euro.
> http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/publications/publication6336_en.pdf




Una domanda:
In italiano si chiamano cent, come lo si pronuncia? s / c?
C'è qualcuno che usa cent al posto di centesimi?


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## MünchnerFax

Mah su due piedi non saprei dire quale uso di più io personalmente, ma credo di usare indifferentemente _cent _e _centesimi_ (quest'ultima forse più spesso). Per quanto mi riguarda la pronuncio all'italiana (ovviamente! Dato che sto parlando italiano ) con la _c_ dolce e la _e _aperta.


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## smart_woman07

Io dico _centesimi _e così sento dire in giro da altre persone.


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## Phil9

furs said:


> The English may say Euros, but the fact remains that the EU has established that the plural of euro in English is... euro.
> http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/publications/publication6336_en.pdf


 
I accept that officially the plural may be euro, but it's never going to catch on, except in cases such as 'a fifty-euro note'

So, when you come to London and talk about euros will you say 'I'd like to change fifty euro' and have people think you're obviously foreign and don't know how people actually speak?

This is a forum where people want to know how English speakers say things, AE or UKE. It's interesting to know the official plural of euro, but it's much more useful to know what people actually say.


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## Einstein

_Centesimo_ è una parola che esisteva da secoli prima dell'introduzione dell'euro e il plurale è _centesimi_, senza se, senza ma. La parola "ufficiale" è _eurocent_ e ovviamente questo in italiano deve essere invariabile perché non c'è una vocale finale da modificare... solo che è raro che gli italiani usino questa parola.
Si ritiene che _euro_ non possa diventare _euri_ perché la _-o_ non è una desinenza maschile, derivando da Europa. Lo stesso discorso dovrebbe valere per _chilo_ e _etto_, che sono solo prefissi, eppure si parla tranquillamente di _chili_ e _etti_. Il motivo è quindi più convenzionale che linguistico.
In inglese è più semplice perché qualsiasi parola, indipendentemente dalla sua forma, si può mettere al plurale con l'aggiunta di _-s_. Quindi dobbiamo solo stare al regolamento. Personalmente in qualsiasi testo minimamente formale scriverei _euro_, ma in conversazione direi _euros_.


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## Phil9

Einstein said:


> La parola "ufficiale" è _eurocent_ e ovviamente questo in italiano deve essere invariabile perché non c'è una vocale finale da modificare... *solo che è raro che gli italiani usino questa parola*.


 
Appunto! Come ho detto! My point exactly.


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## smart_woman07

Einstein, siamo d'accordo che ufficialmente si tratta di _eurocent, _
ma qui in Italia tutti dicono _centesimi_.
Quindi mi riallaccio al discorso di Phil9, dove quello che conta é la consuetudine
più della regola in questi casi.
Una piccola riflessione: io non avrei problemi personalmente a dire _eurocent,_
ma pensa per esempio alle persone anziane con forti accenti dialettali!
Verrebbe fuori una pronuncia alquanto storpiata, non trovi?
Magari col tempo riusciremo ad allinearci alle regole ufficiali.
Chissà!


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## Jim986

No, smartwoman, I am to much a man of the world to fall for that one: when in Rome, you know. The only thing I was pointing out was that in Spanish and English "euros" is to be found in all normal contexts. The plural form "euro" is restricted to very technical financial documentation, as I pointed out in my original contribution to this thread. I don't know what people say in Greece of Finland, for example. It would be interesting to find out.


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## gabrigabri

smart_woman07 said:


> Einstein, siamo d'accordo che ufficialmente si tratta di _eurocent, _
> ma qui in Italia tutti dicono _centesimi_.
> Quindi mi riallaccio al discorso di Phil9, dove quello che conta é la consuetudine
> più della regola in questi casi.
> Una piccola riflessione: io non avrei problemi personalmente a dire _eurocent,_
> ma pensa per esempio alle persone anziane con forti accenti dialettali!
> Verrebbe fuori una pronuncia alquanto storpiata, non trovi?
> Magari col tempo riusciremo ad allinearci alle regole ufficiali.
> Chissà!



Come pronunceresti eurocent?
All'inglese?

A me va benissimo centesimi ;-)
Ma si rischia di cadere nella solita discussione: "inglecizziamo" tutto? ...


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## Einstein

Credo che inglesizzare/anglicizzare tutto in questo caso sarebbe assurdo, visto che la Gan Bretagna no ha neanche adottato l'euro (anche se, ovviamente, se ne parla nelle pubblicazioni britannici). Non so se gli irlandesi presumono di avere questo ruolo...


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## Phil9

Einstein said:


> Credo che inglesizzare/anglicizzare tutto in questo caso sarebbe assurdo, visto che la Gan Bretagna no ha neanche adottato l'euro (anche se, ovviamente, se ne parla nelle pubblicazioni britannici). Non so se gli irlandesi presumono di avere questo ruolo...


 
Assurdo, si. Dovrebbe essere 'irlandizzare' visto che hanno adottato l'euro! ;-)


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## Lorena1970

JNewland said:


> G'day Smart woman,
> 
> I remember all the fuss whether it should be Euro or Euros.
> I think in non-UK European countries one says Euro - singular or plural and
> in the UK and other English-speaking countries one says Euros for plural.
> 
> Can anyone please confirm or otherwise?



Yes, the same you do with Pound(s).
In Italy we always use "euro"...I sincerely don't know what they do in Spain, Germany, et al.
But when I discuss with English speaking people  I say Euros.
Hope this helps.


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## ladybugEnglishFan

In the Oxford student's book for Studying English there's written "three euros twenty " for 3.20


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## tsoapm

Charles Costante said:


> Wikipedia agrees.
> 
> _The euro is divided into 100 cents (sometimes referred to as __euro-cents, especially when distinguishing them from other currencies). In official contexts the plural forms of __euro and __cent are spelled without the __s, notwithstanding normal English usage.[9] Otherwise, normal English plurals are recommended and used._



It also references a style guide by the European Commission
Directorate-General for Translation, which states:



> The euro. Like ‘pound’, ‘dollar’ or any other currency name in English, the word ‘euro’ is written in lower case with no initial capital. Where appropriate, it takes the plural ‘s’ (as does ‘cent’):



It's not authoritative, but I tend to agree.


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## Jim986

So, in the end its euro (lower case) and euros. One sole datum and a lot of data, for sure.


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## alphasun

natkretep said:


> But quite often English-speaking countries have it both ways. You can say 'It cost me five pounds' or 'It cost me five pound'


The operative word here is "say". The examples you give include colloquialisms such as "quid".
Formal Englsih speech or writing in hiqh-quality media (i.e. using Standard English as per Oxford Dictionary) should not include "foot" as a plural except in phrases such as "five foot six" where there is special use of "foot" -- "ten-foot pole" would be another example. Ditto with "pound" (five-pound note/five pounds sterling).
I visited this controversy shortly after the euro was created and it was then possible to defend "euro" as the standard plural. I seem to remember that there was some EC/EU offical support for this.
I see a claim here that "euro" is now official -- but without a reference.
The form with s makes sense in English but may not across the continent.
Usage will win unless some important piece of software imposes the s form on pain of losing money.

I see that the Commission's translation body still has the same view after all these years, i.e. it supports the use of "euros" as the plural in English, and quite right too.


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## tsoapm

New Hart’s Rules from Oxford University Press has “euros” as well.


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## Jim986

In "ten-foot pole" and similar constructions the elements preceeding the noun are adjectival particles. In English the adjective has no plural form. Compare a ten-year old boy. That's why you can say (and write) a "fifty-thousand euro car". But the car costs fifty thousand euros.


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## longplay

I am a bit confused. The thread is old, but euro/euros is an E/E or E/F subject, not E/I. Or am I completely wrong ? Sorry , mods !


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## Teerex51

longplay said:


> I am a bit confused. The thread is old, but euro/euros is an E/E or E/F subject, not E/I. Or am I completely wrong ? Sorry , mods !


Actually, you're quite right. Riveting as the subject may be, I doubt this has to do with translation issues any more.


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