Published November 1, 2026 · Beginner education
THE IDEA, IN PLAIN LANGUAGE
The first currency in a pair is the base. The second is the quote. The displayed price tells you how many units of the quote currency buy one unit of the base currency.
KEY VOCABULARY
- Base
- First currency in a pair.
- Quote
- Second currency used to express the price.
A PRACTICAL EXAMPLE
An illustrative EUR/USD price of 1.0800 means one euro is worth 1.08 US dollars. This is an arithmetic example, not a live quote.
A COMMON MISTAKE
Reversing the currencies when calculating a conversion.
WHAT TO REMEMBER
Read the order of the pair before interpreting a price.
SOURCE REFERENCES
Use these external resources to study further. Explanations here are our own; external resources may change.
- BabyPips: related source lesson ↗
- BabyPips: School of Pipsology — beginner forex curriculum ↗
- CFTC: understand forex risks ↗
RELATED VIDEOS
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KEEP LEARNING
These are original foundational explanations with source references for further study. Independent editorial verification is pending; no lesson is labeled independently verified. They are not a claim of trading expertise. Demo exercises are labeled; no trading performance is presented. Real-money leveraged trading can cause substantial losses.