Number names and number words

Numbers as words

A number can be written in two ways:

• As a numeral, with digits: 42
• As a number word, with letters: forty-two

Number words are used on cheques, in stories, in instructions and on many forms. Learning them also helps you read and understand numbers out loud.

The first twenty

Eleven and twelve are special words. From 13 to 19, most words end in -teen, which means "and ten". Fourteen is "four and ten".

The tens

These end in -ty, which means "tens". Sixty is "six tens".

Building bigger number words

For numbers like 42, say the tens word, then the ones word, and join them with a hyphen:

• 42 → forty-two
• 67 → sixty-seven
• 99 → ninety-nine

For hundreds, write the hundreds part first: 315 → three hundred fifteen.

Worked examples

Example 1: Write 15 in words.

15 is a teen number: fifteen.

Example 2: Write 38 in words.

30 is thirty, 8 is eight. Join with a hyphen: thirty-eight.

Example 3: Write "seventy-four" as a numeral.

Seventy = 70, four = 4, so the numeral is 74.

Spelling traps

Some number words are tricky to spell:

• four but forty (no "u" in forty)
• five but fifteen and fifty
• three but thirteen and thirty
• eight plus teen is eighteen, with just one "t"
• nine keeps its "e" in nineteen and ninety

Common mistakes

• Confusing -teen and -ty. Thirteen (13) and thirty (30) sound alike. Say them slowly: thir-TEEN, THIR-ty.
• Forgetting the hyphen in words like twenty-one.
• Writing "fourty" instead of forty.

Try it yourself

1. Write 19 in words.
2. Write 50 in words.
3. Write "eighty-three" as a numeral.
4. Which is bigger: sixteen or sixty?

Answers: 1) nineteen 2) fifty 3) 83 4) sixty

Quick recap

• A number word spells the number; a numeral uses digits.
• -teen words are 13 to 19; -ty words are the tens.
• Join tens and ones with a hyphen: twenty-five.