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"im Hundert rechnen" describes a way of calculating multiplications and divisions as opposed to "vom Hundert rechnen".

For a mathematical clarification: https://mediencommunity.de/system/files/wbts/rechnungswesen/08absatzkalkulation/04kalkulation/kalkulation.shtml

I couldn't find any equivalent in the English language.

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    It's about percent calculation.
    – πάντα ῥεῖ
    Apr 17, 2019 at 13:58
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    This is very specific to business accounting, not about multiplications and divisions or percent calculation in general. Maybe you could add that to the question.
    – Arsak
    Apr 17, 2019 at 14:17
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    Your question is a question about English language (you have to speak english to be able to answer your question). But this board is about German language, so your question is off-topic here. But you can edit your question and ask for the meaning of the German phrase if this is what you are interested in.
    – Hubert Schölnast
    Apr 17, 2019 at 15:13
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    ell.stackexchange.com
    – peterh
    Apr 17, 2019 at 15:37
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    "Ask about meanings and differences of words, when a dictionary did not help you (tell us why it didn’t)". I have a german expression that I'm trying to express in english. How does that not fit this description, and if it doesn't, why does the tag "german-to-english" exist? Since it's a German expression, I doubt someone at "ell" could support me with this, whereas most people here know both German and English.
    – Andreas Hartmann
    Apr 17, 2019 at 15:44

2 Answers 2

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"vom Hundert" (v.H.) means that you are adding a certain percentage of a value to that value to get a new total.

Example (v.H.): 100€ + 10% * 100€ = 110€

"im Hundert" (i.H.) means that you want to add something to a value so that the amount that you added is a certain percentage of the new total.

Example (i.H.): 100€ + 10% * 111,11€ = 111,11€

I would translate "im Hundert" as "reverse percentage".

We call this type of question Reverse Percentages for the amount in the question is the new amount after a particular decrease or increase and you need to find the original amount.

(see http://www.explainingmaths.com/what-are-reverse-percentages.html)

I don't think "vom Hundert" needs to be specified, as it's the normal way of adding a percentage of a value to that value. If you really want a translation, though, I would just call it "percentage".

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  • IOW, "vom Hundert" you multiply with (1 + percentage/100), while "im Hundert" you divide by (1 - percentage/100). Somehow, Germans have a weird relation with math, and expecially with percentages. They make things more complex than necessary, IMO. Must be the school system.
    – Rudy Velthuis
    Apr 18, 2019 at 2:46
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    I find your second example hard to follow, because it does not explain the origin of the value 111,11 at all. I would have written: Example (v.H.): 100€ * (100 + 10)/100 = 110€ and Example (i.H.): 100€ / ((100 - 10)/100) = 111,11€
    – Rudy Velthuis
    Apr 18, 2019 at 2:57
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"Vom Hundert" ist keine Phrase, die wie andere aus dem Alltagssprachgebrauch gewachsen ist, sondern war ein am Schreibtisch entworfener Ausdruck, um einem Fremdwort, nämlich Prozent, mit Hilfe einer Eindeutschung, den Garaus zu machen. Prozent galt als Frankfurter Börsenjargon und jiddisch.

Offenkundig hat es derart eingeschlagen, dass es sich weit verbreitet hat und hat Einzug in Kreise gehalten, die eine möglichst steife Sprache pflegen ("in 2019", "Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin", "zeitnah", ...) und wird auch von Leuten verwendet, die keine erklärten Antisemiten sind.

Belege: Eingedeutschtes, Sprachlehre, Die Sprache jüdischer Figuren in der deutschen Literatur (1750-1933)

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