Sri Lanka Number to Words Converter — LKR cheque format

The converter splits the amount you type into two integer parts — rupees and cents — then spells each part using a lookup-table-driven algorithm. Sri Lankan banks running on the Central Bank's Cheque Imaging and Truncation System (CITS) compare the words line on the front of every cheque to the numeric box; under Section 9(2) of the Bills of Exchange Ordinance, when the two disagree, the words are the amount payable.

Step 1 — tokenise the integer rupee count using Indian grouping (the convention printed on every Sri Lankan cheque):

crores      = floor(N / 10,000,000)
lakhs       = floor((N % 10,000,000) / 100,000)
thousands   = floor((N % 100,000) / 1,000)
hundreds    = floor((N % 1,000) / 100)
tens_units  = N % 100

Each non-zero group is spelled by a spellBelow1000helper that emits <hundreds-digit> Hundred <tens-units>, and the groups are concatenated in descending magnitude with the unit word — Crore, Lakh, Thousand, Hundred. When the count is exactly 1, English flips Rupees → Rupee and Sinhala uses the singular රුපියලක්.

Step 2 — spell the tens-and-units block using a 0–99 lookup table. English numbers from 0 to 20 are direct entries; 21 to 99 use the standard hyphenated form (Forty-Five). Sinhala uses the Department of Official Languages spelling — the bare counting form (දොළහ) when the number stands alone, and the combining form (දොළොස් දහස්) when a unit word follows. Tamil uses the bare forms separated by spaces, which every licensed commercial bank accepts.

Step 3 — handle cents. We treat the two-digit cents value as a stand-alone 0–99 number and spell it with the same helper. If you pick the “Rupees only” form, the cents clause drops. Otherwise the tool emits and Cents [words] in English, සහ ශත [words]in Sinhala, and மற்றும் [words] சதம் in Tamil.

Step 4 — append the legal suffix. Sri Lankan cheques end with the word Only (Sinhala: පමණි; Tamil: மட்டும்) so no extra figures can be added after the words line. The tool turns this on by default; you can switch it off if you are filling a different document type.

A separate cross-check function rebuilds the same English string using a different code path (explicit token table instead of recursion). The two results must agree before the page renders — a built-in regression guard against off-by-one or magnitude bugs.

• Central Bank of Sri Lanka — Cheque Imaging and Truncation System (CITS)
• Bills of Exchange Ordinance (Sri Lanka), Section 9(2) — words prevail over figures
• Department of Official Languages — Sinhala numeral spellings (සිංහල සංඛ්‍යා නාමය)
• Tamil Virtual Academy — Tamil numeral reference

The lookup tables and legal references on this page were last cross-checked against the sources above on 2026-05-16. The page is reviewed whenever the Department of Official Languages publishes a spelling update, or when the Central Bank revises the CITS rule set.