Percentage vocabulary

Quick answer

Percent means "per hundred", and percentage is the amount or number shown as a part of 100. Other important words include discount (a reduction in price), increase (getting bigger), decrease (getting smaller), and equivalent (the same value shown differently).

Learning outcome

By the end of this page, you will understand what key words mean when we talk about percentages and how they help us solve real-life problems.

• You can explain what "percent" means
• You can identify discount, increase, decrease, and equivalent in everyday situations
• You can match different ways of showing the same amount
• You can use these words confidently when talking about maths

Why this matters

Knowing percentage vocabulary helps you understand shopping offers, school test results, and how things change in games or sports. When you hear words like "discount" or "increase", you can quickly understand what's happening. These words make it easier to talk about numbers that are parts of a whole, and they help you solve problems faster.

How it works

Let's start with the basics:

1. Percent means "per hundred" – it's a way to show parts of a whole
2. Percentage is the actual number that shows how much part there is
3. Discount is when something costs less than before
4. Increase means something gets bigger
5. Decrease means something gets smaller
6. Equivalent means the same value but shown differently

Examples you can see

Let's imagine you're at a shop with your parent or carer:

Percent: If you see a sign that says "25% off", it means 25 out of every 100 items are free, or you only pay for 75 out of 100.

Percentage: If 10 out of 20 children in your class like pizza, that's 50% of the class.

Discount: Your favourite toy costs £10, but there's a 20% discount. You save £2, so you only pay £8.

Increase: Your pet hamster weighed 100g last week. Now it weighs 120g – that's an increase of 20g.

Decrease: The temperature was 25°C but dropped to 15°C – that's a decrease of 10°C.

Equivalent: 50% is the same as ½ or 0.5. They all mean half of something.

Try it as a mini adventure

Imagine you're planning a party and need to make a budget. You have £50 to spend on decorations and snacks.

Step 1: You see a banner that costs £15, but it's 20% off. How much will you save?

Step 2: You want to buy 10 balloons. Each balloon costs 50p. How much will they cost?

Step 3: You decide to make a cake. The recipe says you need 500g of flour. If you have a 1kg bag, what percentage of the bag will you use?

Step 4: You notice the cake recipe calls for 200g of sugar, but you only have 150g. What percentage of sugar do you have?

Common mistakes

• Mistake: Thinking "percent" means "per ten".

  Why it happens: Confusing "cent" (meaning 100) with "ten".

  Fix: Remember that "cent" comes from Latin and means 100. So 50% means 50 out of 100.

• Mistake: Mixing up increase and decrease.

  Why it happens: Not paying attention to whether a number goes up or down.

  Fix: Ask yourself, "Is the number getting bigger or smaller?" If bigger, it's an increase. If smaller, it's a decrease.

• Mistake: Believing that equivalent means "equal" in all situations.

  Why it happens: Thinking that because two things look different, they must be different.

  Fix: Remember that 50% = ½ = 0.5 – they're all the same amount, just shown differently.

• Mistake: Forgetting that percentage is always out of 100.

  Why it happens: Not connecting the word "percent" to its meaning.

  Fix: Always remember that percent means "out of 100".

Parent and carer guide

Help your child understand percentage vocabulary by:

1. Using everyday situations like shopping or cooking to talk about percentages
2. Asking questions like, "What does 25% off mean?" or "How much more is this now?"
3. Playing games where they match percentages to fractions or decimals
4. Encouraging them to explain what they know about percent, discount, increase, and decrease
5. Letting them make up their own examples of percentage words in real life

What to say: "Let's think about how much you save when there's a discount. What's the percentage of the discount?"

What not to worry about: Don't stress if they get confused at first. These words take time to learn, and it's normal to mix them up at first.

Practice questions

1. What does "percent" mean?
2. Which is a percentage: 25 or 25%?
3. If a shirt costs £20 and is 10% off, how much do you save?
4. What does "decrease" mean?
5. Which shows the same value as 75%?

Answers:

1. Percent means "per hundred"
2. 25% is a percentage
3. You save £2
4. Decrease means getting smaller
5. ¾ or 0.75

FAQ

What does percent mean? Percent means "per hundred". It's a way to show how much of something there is, using 100 as the whole.

How is percentage different from percent? Percent is the symbol %, and percentage is the actual number that shows how much part there is. For example, 50% is a percent, and 50 is the percentage.

What is a discount? A discount is when something costs less than its original price. It's usually shown as a percentage of the original price.

Can percentage be more than 100%? Yes! If you have 150% of something, it means you have 150 out of 100, which is more than the whole amount.

How do I know if something is increasing or decreasing? Look at the numbers. If the number gets bigger, it's increasing. If it gets smaller, it's decreasing.