How do you say "2^31" or "2**31" in English?

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english

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667

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+13 Q:

How do you say "2^31" or "2**31" in English?

What is the usual colloquial term for a number with an exponent in English? Is there something similar to 2 times 31 for "2*31"? What would you say if you were casually talking about such a number with another developer while you are both waiting in line to grab a cup of coffee?

In German we say 2 hoch 31, but all the English forms I know (such as 2 raised to the power of 31 or the 31st power of 2) sound a bit too wordy to me. So, I am curious if there is any shorter, crisp term to communicate such a number to another developer in an informal, spoken context.

+24 A:

"Two to the thirty one".

Paul R 2010-02-24 13:43:09

This is what 90% of scientists and mathematicians would say, I think.

Will Vousden 2010-02-24 13:49:31

That's what 90% of American scientists or mathematicians would say, if you're from another continent, two to the thirty first (that is, an ordinal number, not a cardinal). Either is OK in practice, this is just one of the little differences between American and Commonwealth English.

Andrew McGregor 2010-02-24 13:53:59

I'll just add that I'm English (British), but I've spent a few years living and working the US, and in my experience we use the above form on both sides of the Atlantic.

Paul R 2010-02-24 14:06:26

I expect Will and Andrew are right about scientists and mathematicians (I wouldn't know, I never got me no learnin'). In the general populace, you'd generally hear the word "power" in there (e.g., Space_C0wb0y's or my versions). Growing up in the States, I never heard anyone use the non-ordinal version, the "power" was always implied (by the ordinal) even if not voiced.

T.J. Crowder 2010-02-24 15:07:28

I'm American, and I don't recall hearing anyone use the cardinal form. Then again, it's been a while since I last took a math class.

Michael Myers 2010-02-24 16:45:20

The cardinal form is more sensible in my opinion, as it means that expressions like `x^y` can be pronounced "x to the y". It's also just more concise. Certainly in my experience (in the mathematics and physics departments of a British university), relatively few people use the ordinal form.

Will Vousden 2010-03-04 13:00:00

I would agree with T.J. and mmyers - been Ameerkin all my life, and I would normally use the ordinal ("two to the thirty-first"), not the cardinal ("two to the thirty one") version.

GalacticCowboy 2010-05-13 17:42:55

I've been raised on the ordinal version; "two to the thirty-first"

Justin L. 2010-06-19 10:07:38

+7 A:

Just to the power of.

Space_C0wb0y 2010-02-24 13:43:28

+13 A:

"Two to the 31st power"

T.J. Crowder 2010-02-24 13:43:29

+19 A:

"Two to the power of thirty one"

Dolph 2010-02-24 13:45:05

... to the powers of ... :)) +1

mlvljr 2010-02-24 18:50:51

+8 A:

"Two to the thirty-first."

ptomato 2010-02-24 13:45:20

How I say it, and how everyone I know says it.

Jimmy 2010-02-24 13:55:42

+7 A:

I would say "2147483648" or maybe "2 billion, 147 million, 483 thousand and 648", but maybe that's just me ;)

wasatz 2010-02-24 13:46:54

I was **so** tempted. That or "max positive int" :-)

T.J. Crowder 2010-02-24 13:47:49

I just couldn't -not- post this. I'll take any downvote I get for this with a smile :)

wasatz 2010-02-24 13:52:23

@T.J. Crowder: Technically "max positive 32-bit signed int", there are some "max positive int" that are 2**32 and some other 2**16 and some other 2**15 etc. depending on the language (the question was not tagged Java nor C#) :)

Webinator 2010-02-24 15:16:42

@T.J Crowder: Actually it's much worse than that, your answer is totally wrong and so one part of my comment (the one about 2**15). The max positive int is either 2**32 or 2**31-1 but NEVER 2**31. You were confused with minimal value, which is -2**32.

Webinator 2010-02-26 03:39:12

2 multiplied by itself 31 times. ok fine, i dont actually say that. but i figured i'd give an original response.

zaphod 2010-02-24 13:46:58

There's an off-by-one error in there somewhere. 2 multiplied by itself once is 2**2, not 2**1.

Ben Voigt 2010-03-25 22:07:16

+1 A:

You could also say,"MAX_INT + 1" or (MAX_UINT + 1) / 2

Steven 2010-02-24 13:47:04

Just if you are on a 32 bit legacy OS

jsbueno 2010-02-24 13:55:25

"32-bit legacy OS" LOL! I'm getting **so** old...

T.J. Crowder 2010-02-24 13:56:30

+1 A:

I'd say "about 2 billion". :)

Mark Worth 2010-02-24 13:51:20

This is actually what I used to say but I always felt a bit uncomfortable with it and that's why I asked this question.

x4u 2010-02-24 14:09:02

+2 A:

2 raised to the 31st

Brian Leahy 2010-02-24 13:56:47

2 pow 31. Very handy if you have a bunch of them in a sentence.

polygenelubricants 2010-02-24 13:57:42

When I asked the question I expected something like this to be the top answer in a software development context. But judging from the votes it's obviously not so common place.

x4u 2010-02-24 14:14:27

ansaurus

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How do you say "2^31" or "2**31" in English?

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