Decimal separator

A decimal separator is a symbol that separates the <a href="/facts/Integer/PUwwrawx">integer</a> part from the <a href="/facts/Fractional_part/lSU6Ap1q">fractional part</a> of a <a href="/facts/Number/auQSAE2m">number</a> written in <a href="/facts/Decimal/7omfVNIM">decimal</a> form. Different countries officially designate different symbols for use as the separator. The choice of symbol can also affect the choice of symbol for the thousands separator used in digit grouping.
Any such symbol can be called a decimal mark, decimal marker, or decimal sign. Symbol-specific names are also used; decimal point and decimal comma refer to a dot (either <a href="/facts/Baseline_dot/w0Ylafwn">baseline</a> or <a href="/facts/Middle_dot/FqdEx1gT">middle</a>) and <a href="/facts/Comma/mcW9dcGT">comma</a> respectively, when it is used as a decimal separator; these are the usual terms used in English, with the aforementioned generic terms reserved for abstract usage.
In many contexts, when a number is spoken, the function of the separator is assumed by the spoken name of the symbol: comma or point in most cases. In some specialized contexts, the word decimal is instead used for this purpose (such as in <a href="/facts/International_Civil_Aviation_Organization/TzrL1mLr">International Civil Aviation Organization</a>-regulated <a href="/facts/Air_traffic_control/G2cQebVb">air traffic control</a> communications). In mathematics, the decimal separator is a type of radix point, a term that also applies to number systems with bases other than ten.

Decimal separator open-in-new

Decimal separator