Writing Baisa in Words: The Third Decimal
The Omani rial is divided into 1,000 baisa. Most currency converters are built for currencies divided into 100, so they read 0.5 as fifty minor units. In Omani rials 0.5 is five hundred baisa, and a converter that gets this wrong writes the wrong amount on a cheque with complete confidence.
The table below is the test every converter should pass.
Omani Rial in Arabic Words: The Grammar in One Table
Arabic numerals take the opposite gender to the noun they count, at three through ten. The rial is masculine and the baisa is feminine, so the same count is written differently depending on which one it counts.
Six Common Mistakes When Writing an Amount in Words
- Reading 0.5 as fifty baisa. It is five hundred.
- Using فلس instead of بيسة. The baisa is the Omani subdivision.
- Writing ثلاثة بيسات instead of ثلاث بيسات. The baisa is feminine, so the numeral takes the opposite form.
- Writing the figure to two decimal places on a document denominated in rials.
- Dropping لا غير from the end, which is what closes the amount against alteration.
- Omitting عماني in a contract with a party outside Oman, where the Saudi and Qatari riyal are also in play.