In a contract, laboratory report, invoice, or regulation, numerical style is part of the meaning. 1,250, 1.250, and 1 250 can be interpreted differently across languages and house styles; an omitted unit at one end of a range can create a safety risk. Formal Catalan therefore values three things above ornament: an unambiguous notation, a consistent house style, and a grammatical sentence around the figures.
Digits or words?
Words work well for small, nontechnical quantities in continuous prose: tres reunions, dues còpies, cinc dies. Digits are easier to scan when the number is exact, compared with other figures, attached to a unit, or part of a reference: 17 expedients, 4,5 mg, article 12, taula 3. This is an editorial choice rather than a rule that makes one spelling grammatical and the other ungrammatical.
La comissió es reunirà tres vegades durant el primer trimestre.
The committee will meet three times during the first quarter. (formal prose)
Durant l'assaig es van analitzar 18 mostres a 25 °C.
During the test, 18 samples were analyzed at 25°C. (technical)
D'acord amb l'article 7, apartat 2, la sol·licitud s'ha de presentar en el termini indicat.
Under article 7, section 2, the application must be submitted within the stated period. (legal)
Avoid opening a sentence with a bare digit if it makes the line hard to read. Spell the number out or recast the sentence: Es van admetre 24 candidatures is often cleaner than 24 candidatures van ser admeses. A document with dense tables may follow stricter sector-specific rules; the governing style guide takes priority.
Decimal marks and digit grouping
Catalan uses the decimal comma: 3,75; 0,08; 12,5 %. In formal scientific and institutional typography, long integers can be grouped in sets of three with thin or nonbreaking spaces: 24 500; 3 800 000. Do not group a four-digit year, an article number, a postal code, or another identifier as if it were a measured quantity.
| Function | Recommended presentation | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| decimal quantity | 12,75 kg | comma marks the decimal fraction |
| large counted quantity | 125 000 unitats | spaces reveal groups of three |
| year | 2026 | a date element, not a grouped count |
| postal code | 08001 | identifier; leading zero is meaningful |
| document code | EXP-00427 | copy the registered identifier exactly |
El lot conté 25 000 unitats i té una massa neta de 1 250,5 kg.
The batch contains 25,000 units and has a net mass of 1,250.5 kg. (technical)
An identifier is a label, not an arithmetic number. Do not change 00427 to 427, translate letters inside a file code, or insert grouping marks. Exact reproduction outranks ordinary number formatting.
SI values: spacing, capitalization, and plurals
A numerical value and an SI unit symbol form one quantity, but they are separated typographically by a space: 19 kg, 8,2 m, 15 °C. Symbols remain invariant and normally lack a period: 20 km, not 20 kms. Capitalization can distinguish units: m is meter, while M is not a casual uppercase variant. Prefixes attach directly to unit symbols: mg, km, mL according to the adopted convention. The measurements and approximation page covers the same notation in everyday speech and shopping.
Administreu 5 mg del principi actiu cada 12 h.
Administer 5 mg of the active ingredient every 12 hours. (formal medical instruction)
La velocitat màxima de funcionament és de 3,2 m/s.
The maximum operating speed is 3.2 m/s. (technical)
La humitat relativa s'ha mantingut al 45 % durant tota la prova.
Relative humidity remained at 45% throughout the test. (technical)
The percent and degree-Celsius symbols follow the same value-spacing principle in careful SI style: 45 %, 20 °C. The angular degree is a special case and attaches to the number: 45°. That contrast is easy to miss because both use a degree sign.
Ranges and intervals
Write grammatical ranges with paired expressions: de X a Y or entre X i Y. Do not mix their halves: de X i Y and entre X a Y are malformed. For measured intervals in instructions, repeating the unit makes both endpoints explicit.
Mantingueu la mostra entre 3 °C i 7 °C.
Keep the sample between 3°C and 7°C. (technical instruction)
El termini de consulta va del 4 de maig al 18 de juny de 2026.
The consultation period runs from May 4 to June 18, 2026. (administrative)
In compact references, an en dash can mean “through”: p. 18–24; període 2022–2025. It should not be confused with the hyphen inside a compound numeral such as vint-i-cinc. In full technical prose, a written interval is often clearer than a bare dash, especially with signed values or complex units.
Vegeu les pàgines 42–47 i els annexos 2–4.
See pages 42–47 and appendices 2–4. (compact reference)
La temperatura pot variar de −5 °C a 10 °C.
The temperature may vary from −5°C to 10°C. (technical)
The true minus sign − is typographically distinct from a hyphen -. Plain-text systems sometimes force a hyphen, but a finished technical document should use the proper sign if its style and software permit it.
Dates, times, and legal references
The least ambiguous full Catalan date is 25 de setembre de 2026: day, lowercase month, and year. Numeric forms such as 25/09/2026 are compact but should follow one policy throughout the document. A leading zero may be required in forms or databases even when ordinary prose omits it. Do not import American month-day-year order into a Catalan document.
Aquest contracte entra en vigor l'1 d'octubre de 2026.
This contract enters into force on October 1, 2026. (legal)
La documentació es podrà presentar fins a les 14.00 h del 30 de novembre de 2026.
The documents may be submitted until 2:00 p.m. on November 30, 2026. (administrative)
Legal and administrative references are conventional names. Preserve the official capitalization, numbering, slashes, and date pattern of the cited instrument. In prose, generic labels such as article, apartat, and annex are normally lowercase unless they begin a sentence or belong to an official styled title.
La mesura s'aplica segons l'article 14 de la Llei 3/2025, de 12 de març.
The measure applies under article 14 of Law 3/2025 of March 12. (legal citation)
Money and duplicated amounts
Formal Catalan places a currency symbol after the amount in running text: 2 450,00 €. A currency code can be clearer in international material: 2 450,00 EUR. Do not alternate symbol, code, and word without a reason.
Contracts and payment instruments sometimes give an amount in both digits and words to resist alteration or expose a transcription error. That is a genre convention, not a requirement for every financial sentence. When both appear, they must denote exactly the same amount, and the document should state which form prevails if there is a discrepancy.
L'arrendatari abonarà 1 250,00 € (mil dos-cents cinquanta euros) abans del dia 5 de cada mes.
The tenant shall pay €1,250.00 (one thousand two hundred fifty euros) before the fifth day of each month. (legal)
L'import total de la factura és de 486,30 EUR, impostos inclosos.
The total invoice amount is EUR 486.30, taxes included. (financial)
Check written-out Catalan forms against the digits. Hyphens, gender, and de after milió remain grammar, even inside an anti-fraud parenthesis.
A consistency checklist
Before publication, check the document as a system:
- Is every decimal written with the same decimal mark?
- Are digit groups treated consistently, except in identifiers and years?
- Does every measured value have the correct unit and spacing?
- Are range endpoints and inclusive/exclusive limits explicit?
- Do dates use one order, and are months lowercase in full dates?
- Do duplicated financial amounts match character for character in value?
- Are imported English scale names translated by value, not resemblance?
L'equip funcionarà de 8.00 h a 18.00 h, a una temperatura d'entre 18 °C i 24 °C i amb una humitat inferior al 60 %.
The equipment will operate from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., at a temperature between 18°C and 24°C and with humidity below 60%. (formal specification)
Regional and register notes
The core numerical conventions are shared by IEC- and AVL-oriented formal writing. Institutions may impose different layouts for dates, times, thin spaces, citations, or currency codes; follow the responsible style manual consistently. Regional Catalan affects surrounding morphology and vocabulary, not the numerical value: an AVL-oriented document can use este annex and Central-oriented prose aquest annex while both write 15 °C and understand 1,5 milions identically. Formal precision should not be mistaken for one region's spoken grammar.
Common Mistakes
❌ La dosi recomanada és de 5mg cada 8 hrs.
Incorrect formal notation — separate the value from the symbols, and do not invent pluralized abbreviations.
✅ La dosi recomanada és de 5 mg cada 8 h.
The recommended dose is 5 mg every 8 hours.
❌ Mantingueu el producte entre 2-8°C.
Ambiguous and typographically inconsistent — write the interval grammatically and repeat the unit.
✅ Mantingueu el producte entre 2 °C i 8 °C.
Keep the product between 2°C and 8°C.
❌ La reunió serà el 09/30/2026.
Incorrect for a Catalan document — this imports American month-day-year order.
✅ La reunió serà el 30 de setembre de 2026.
The meeting will be on September 30, 2026.
❌ L'import és de €1.250,50.
Incorrect running-text order and mixed convention — place the symbol after the Catalan-formatted amount.
✅ L'import és de 1 250,50 €.
The amount is €1,250.50.
❌ Expedient 000438 → expedient 438.
Incorrect — an identifier is not a quantity; deleting leading zeros changes the registered code.
✅ Expedient 000438.
File 000438.
Key Takeaways
- Choose digits for exact, comparative, measured, and referential values; use words naturally in ordinary prose.
- Formal Catalan uses a decimal comma and can group long integers with spaces, but identifiers and years are not grouped quantities.
- Leave a space in 19 kg, 15 °C, and 45 %; SI symbols do not pluralize or take casual periods.
- Write measured intervals as de X a Y or entre X i Y; reserve an en dash for compact spans such as p. 18–24.
- Use day-month-year order, lowercase month names, and exact official forms for legal citations.
- Consistency within the governing style guide is part of numerical accuracy.
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