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euro The name of the euro in European languages


On the European Commission’s Frequently Asked Questions page the question “Will the new European single currency have the same name in all the Member States?” is answered rather uninformatively: “Yes, although it may be pronounced differently.” The page fails to note that this doesn’t imply anything about what grammatical changes may be applied to the word.

Unfortunately, the situation we’re in right now is one in which a great many people believe that the words “euro” and “cent” are supposed to be immutable. On the one hand, Directive (EC) No. 1103/97 of 17 June 1997 from the European Council states explicitly:

Whereas ... the European Council furthermore considered that the name of the single currency must be the same in all the official languages of the European Union, taking into account the existence of different alphabets.... This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
What this really means is only that every country has to call the currency “euro”, and that no country is allowed to say “We’d rather call it a ‘crown’ or a ‘ducat’.” It means that EURO and ΕΥΡΩ are to appear on the notes. It does not imply anything about the spelling or grammar of the word in ordinary speech or writing.

At the same time, however, the English Style Guide of the European Commission Translation Service states:

12.12 ... Guidelines on the use of the euro, issued via the Secretariat-General, state that the plurals of both ‘euro’ and ‘cent’ are to be written without ‘s’ in English. Do this when amending or referring to legal texts that themselves observe this rule. Elsewhere, and especially in documents intended for the general public, use the natural plural with ‘s’ for both terms.
Here the recommendation, quite sensibly, is to ignore the Directive except when referring to specific legal documents -- to use normal English for normal people. I for one am glad to see that Commission’s translators have taken this on board.

One troubling aspect I have noticed in Ireland is that, because the Minister for Finance holds strongly to the pluralless formula, as he did in his speech on Budget Day, the major broadcasters in Ireland, RTÉ 1, Network 2, and TV3, and a number of television advertisers are following suit, subjecting us to bad grammar as though overexposure might teach us to talk about “dollars and cents” but “euro and cent”.

All this does is confuse people, whose natural instincts are to say “euros”. I hear “euros” on the street. And in the bank. But Irish television keeps omitting the plural. I think that this is culturally dangerous.

It is also extremely unfortunate because the pluralless form of “euro” and “cent” is only intended to be used when drawing up Community Legislative acts. It was never intended to be forced on the populace.

It is also unlikely that people in other English-speaking countries will be using the pluralless forms.

For an article on the further implications of this in Europe and especially with regard to the Irish name of the currency, see my Euro or eora? Cent or ceint? The new currency and Ireland. This was first published in Irish in An Aimsir Óg 2001, vol. 2.

So what forms are used in Europe? I have made the following collection. The forms in blue come from a Commission specification document. The forms I show in red are the ones specified by the Commission but which are, in my opinion, ungrammatical. Note particularly that in Dutch, French, Portuguese, and Spanish, plurals are “allowed”.


LanguageEUROSCENTSWith amountsNotes
 Nom.sg.Nom.pl.Nom.sg.Nom.pl.€1€100100¢Apparently no one is using the CENT SIGN ¢ as yet but I see no reason why one shouldn’t. It’s a mistake to say that the cent sign can only be used to identify the hundredth parts of the US dollar. It’s a symbol that means “cent”, just as $ is a symbol that means “dollar”, “peso”, “milreis”, “escudo”....
Catalaneuro m
l’euro
euros
els euros
cèntim m
cent
el cèntim
cèntims
cents
els cèntims
1 euro100 euros1 cèntim100 cèntims 
Cornishewro m
an ewro
ewros
an ewros
cent m
an cent
centys
an centys
1 ewro100 ewro1 cent100 centNouns following digits are given in the singular in Cornish.
Croatianeuro meuricent mcenti1 euro100 eura1 cent100 centaThe genitive plural follows numbers higher than 2 when related to an amount. Exceptionaly one can use the nominative plural to refer to the money as a material object (Euri su šarene novčanice 'euros are colorful notes')
Danisheuro c
euroen
euroer
euroene
cent c
centen
cent
centene
1 euro100 euro1 cent100 centThe second form given is the form with the definite article attached.
Dutcheuro c
de euro
euro’s
de euro’s
cent c
de cent
centen
de centen
1 euro100 euro1 cent100 cent 
Englisheuro
the euro
euros
the euros
the euro
cent
the cent
cents
the cents
the cent
1 euro100 euros
100 euro
1 cent100 cents
100 cent
Apparently some folks in the Commission think that English speakers could accept German rules for English plurals, and that we would tolerate saying “100 euro” and “100 cent”. I think them folks is wrong....
Estonianeuroeurodsentsendid1 euro100 eurot1 cent100 sentiThere is no definite article in Estonian. The combined forms here use the partitive sg. not the nominative. Since the kroon is also divided into sendid, the form eurosent may come to be used in Estonian.
Finnisheuroeurotsenttisentit1 euro100 euroa1 sentti100 senttiäThere is no definite article in Finnish. The combined forms here use the partitive sg. not the nominative. Normal Finnish grammar is applied to the word in context: maksan euroissa ‘I pay in euros’.
Frencheuro m
l’euro
euros
les euros
cent m
centime m
le cent
cents
centimes
les cents
1 euro100 euros1 cent100 cents
100 centimes
The form eurocentime can be used while the franc still exists. The use of the form centime is significant, since cinq cents ‘5 cents’ rhymes with cinq cent ‘500’ in French. Apparently in practice, people are either saying cent(s) pronounced as in English, or centime(s) d’euro.
GermanEuro m
der Euro
Euros
die Euro
Cent m
der Cent
Cents
die Cent
1 Euro100 Euro1 Cent100 CentThe pl. forms here are given in Duden’s Die deutsche Rechtschreibung. The plural is used when counting: 100 Euro = ‘the value of 100 euros in an account or in cash’; 100 Euros = ‘100 euro coins’
Greekευρώ n
το ευρώ
ευρώ
τα ευρώ
λεπτό n
το λεπτό
λεπτά
τα λεπτά
1 ευρώ100 ευρώ1 λεπτό100 λεπτά 
Icelandicevra f
evran
evrur
evrurnar
sent n
sentið
sent
sentin
1 evra100 evrur1 sent100 sent 
Irish Gaeliceoró f4
an eoró
eorónna
na heorónna
ceint m4
an ceint
ceinteanna
na ceinteanna
1 eoró100 eoró1 cheint100 ceintNouns following digits are given in the singular in Irish. Numbers 2, 3, 4, 5 cause lenition: 5 cheint ‘5 cents’. Numbers 7, 8, 9, 10 cause the eclipsis: 8 n-eoró ‘8 euros’, 7 gceint ‘7 cents’.
Italianeuro m
l’euro
euro
euri
gli euro
cent m
centesimo m
il cent
cent
centesimi
i cent
1 euro100 euro1 cent100 cent
100 centesimi
 
Latvianeiroeirocents mcenti1 eiro100 eiro1 cents100 centiThere is no definite article in Latvian. Words ending in -o in Latvian do not decline, so eiro is a normal pl. in Latvian.
Lithuanianeuras meuraicentas mcentai1 euras100 eurų1 cent100 centųThere is no definite article in Lithuanian. The form following 100 is the genitive pl.
Manx Gaelicoaro f
yn oaro
oaroghyn
ny oaroghyn
kentkentyn1 oaro100 oaro1 kent100 kentNouns following digits are given in the singular in Manx.
Norwegian Bokmåleuro c
euroen
euroer
euroene
cent c
centen
cent
centene
1 euro100 euro1 cent100 centThe second form given is the form with the definite article attached.
Norwegian Nynorskeuro c
euroen
euroar
euroane
cent c
centen
centar
centane
1 euro100 euro1 cent100 centThe second form given is the form with the definite article attached.
Portugueseeuro m
o euro
euros
os euros
cêntimo m
cent
o cent
cêntimos
cents
os cents
1 euro100 euros1 cent100 cêntimos
100 cents
 
Russianевро nевроцент mцент1 евро100 евро1 цент2 цента
100 центов
The genitive singular follows 2, 3, and 4; the genitive plural follows numbers 5 and above.
Slovenianevro mevricent mcenti1 evro2 evra
3, 4 evri
5-100 evrov
1 cent2 centa
3, 4 centi
5-100 centov
The nominative dual follows 2; the accusative plural follows 3 and 4; the genitive plural follows numbers 5-100.
Spanisheuro m
el euro
euros
los euros
céntimo m
cent
el cent
céntimos
cents
los cents
1 euro100 euros1 cent100 céntimos
100 cents
 
Swedisheuro c
euron
euror
eurorna
cent c
centen
cent
centen
1 euro100 euro1 cent100 centThe second form given is the form with the definite article attached. Pronunciation of the word can be ['evru], ['eyru].
Welshewro m
yr ewro
ewroaid
ewros
yr ewroaid
yr ewros
senten f
y senten
sentiau
y sentiau
1 ewro100 ewro1 senten100 sentenNouns following digits are given in the singular in Welsh.
 
HTML Michael Everson, Evertype, Cnoc Fhéilim, Bóthar Bhaile an Róba, Cathair na Mart, Co. Mhaigh Eo, Éire, 2002-05-06

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