the basic unit of money in Sri Lanka; equal to 100 cents
"The currency used in Sri Lanka is the rupee, which consists of 100 cents."
the basic unit of money in Seychelles; equal to 100 cents
"The traveler exchanged her dollars for Seychellois rupees, knowing that each coin was worth exactly one hundred cents."
the basic unit of money in Nepal; equal to 100 paisa
"The traveler carefully counted her roubles and rupees before crossing the border into Nepal."
the basic unit of money in Mauritius; equal to 100 cents
"After exchanging his dollars, he counted out a few rupees from the pile, knowing each one was worth exactly 100 Mauritian cents."
the basic unit of money in Pakistan; equal to 100 paisa
"The local merchant paid me ten rupees, which is exactly a thousand paisa, for the goods I sold."
the basic unit of money in India; equal to 100 paise
"After exchanging her dollars, she counted out a stack of Indian rupees to pay for her lunch."
The common name for the monetary currencies used in modern India, Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan, the Seychelles, or Sri Lanka, often abbreviated ₨.
"The traveler counted her earnings in Indian rupees before exchanging them back to dollars at the airport."
In plain English: A rupee is the standard unit of money used to buy things in India and Pakistan.
"The taxi driver asked for five hundred rupees to take us to the airport."
Usage: The rupee is the standard currency unit across several South Asian and Indian Ocean nations, including India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. When referring to specific amounts in these regions, always pair the word with the local country name for clarity, such as "the Pakistani rupee."
The word "rupee" comes from the Sanskrit rūpya, which originally meant "wrought gold or silver" or a "stamped coin." It entered common usage through Hindi as rūpīya when it was coined by Sher Shah Suri in the mid-16th century.