You might be familiar with 10K, 50K, or higher money values. However, you may not have a clear idea of what they exactly mean or what K stands for in money. The meaning of K in money is utterly simple.
You might have heard this term from businesses, interviews, or prizes. For example, the interviewer might have proposed, ‘We would like to offer you a CTC of 60K per annum’. Let’s check out what K means in money, shall we?
What does K Mean?
In monetary terms, 1K or only K indicated a thousand or 1000. So, what does 10K money mean? It will mean 10,000 or ten thousand money. Why does K mean thousand? The meaning of K in money comes from the word ‘Kilo’.
So, we use K as the abbreviation of ‘Kilo’ in monetary and digital terms. For instance, you have heard of 1 Kilogram or 1 Kilometer. Now, 1 Kilogram equals 1000 grams. Similarly, 1 Kilometer means 1000 meters.
In simpler words, K means 1000, and it applies to monetary, metrics, and some digital terms. Let’s see what 10K, 20K, 50K, and 100K mean:
10K = 10,000
20K = 20,000
50K = 50,000
100K = 100,000
Apart from 1K, 10K, or any amount ending with K, you might have come across 1M or 1 Million. What does M mean, then? 1M means one thousand thousand. If you represent 1M numerically, then you will get this:
1M = 1000,000
In other words, you can represent 1M in 10 lacs. Now, 100K means 1 lac. Since 1M equals one thousand thousand, then you can also represent the monetary value of 1M in 10 lacs.
Why is K Used in Money Terms?
So far, you have got the answer to the query: What does K mean in numbers and money? However, you might think that ‘Kilo’ is mostly used in metrics such as kilometre, kilogram, etc. How did the ‘Kilo’ word become everyday use for money, digital, and other sectors?
The word ‘Kilo’ reportedly originated from the Greek word ‘Khilioi’ meaning 1000. Some suggest that ‘Kilo’ originated from the Proto-Indo-European word ‘Gheslo’. ‘Gheslo’ also means 1000.
People started using the word ‘Kilo’ in France in 1975. So, we assume that people just reinvented the word for simplified measures. Now, why do we use K for monetary terms?
You might be accustomed to using K only in the metrics system. For example, you can easily replace 1000 grams with 1 kilogram. Similarly, you can use 1K money instead of calling it one thousand or 1000 money. The use of K requires less effort in expressing thousands of money.
For instance, you can replace 10,000 with 10K. Similarly, you can write 100K instead of writing one thousand thousand or 1000,000. Thus, using K can benefit you in terms of money and expressing them more efficiently. After all, you can easily tell which one is easier to read. It’s obviously those digits with K, right?
Can You Use Other Terms to Express 1000 Instead of K in Money?
10K or similar K terms to imply monetary values are used in professional situations, too. However, if you want to use some alternative words for K or thousand in casual situations then we’ve got you. Here are some nicknames associated with K or 1000:
- Stack
- Grand
- Band
- Bozo
You can imply the same meaning of K in money with these terms. However, they might not be appropriate for professional use.
What Does K Stand for in Computer?
Apart from K’s contribution to money and the metrics system, you might have seen K in computer-related terms too. For instance, you might have heard of 100KB data speed. Now, what does K mean in computers or digital logic?
Here, again, K is the short form of Kilo. However, K doesn’t exactly mean 1000 regarding Computer Science or basic computer knowledge. Rather, K indicates 1024. Since the computer understands only binary language and 2^10 equals 1024, we use 1K to represent 1024 in digital logic.
1024 is very close to 1000. That’s why we use K to represent 1024 in computer knowledge, too, like other quantities (years, currency, and the metrics system).
In Conclusion….
What does K mean for money? Hopefully, the guide clears that out. On the other hand, you might notice K on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and other social media platforms. For example, someone has 100K+ followers on Facebook.
Now, it’s easier to give the idea of how many followers one has through K instead of mentioning a figure like 100,8538 followers. Whatever field you mean, using K or Kilo makes it easy to express or understand the quantity.
