Examples
| Number | In words |
|---|---|
| 21 | twenty-one |
| 100 | one hundred |
| 1,000 | one thousand |
| 1,234 | one thousand two hundred thirty-four |
| 15.75 | fifteen point seven five |
| 1000000 | one million |
| -40 | minus forty |
Rules for writing numbers in words
- Hyphenate 21 to 99: twenty-one, forty-five, ninety-nine.
- No “and” in whole numbers (US style): 125 is “one hundred twenty-five”. British English often says “one hundred and twenty-five”; both are correct in their own style.
- Decimals are read digit by digit: 3.14 is “three point one four”.
- Ordinals end in -th, with a few exceptions: first, second, third, fifth, eighth, ninth, twelfth, and -ty becomes -tieth (twentieth). For example, 21 is twenty-first.
- Large numbers use the short scale: a billion is 1,000,000,000 (a thousand million).
How to write a check
On a check, write the dollars in words and the cents as a fraction of 100, then draw a line to fill the rest of the space. For $1,234.50 that’s: One thousand two hundred thirty-four and 50/100 dollars.
Frequently asked questions
How do you write 1,000 in words?
One thousand.
How do you write 100,000 in words?
One hundred thousand.
How do you write 1 million in words?
One million (1,000,000).
Should I write numbers as words or digits?
Many style guides spell out numbers from zero to nine (or one to one hundred in Chicago style) and use digits for larger ones, except at the start of a sentence, where numbers are always spelled out.
More writing tools
Try the Case Converter, the Word Counter or the Character Counter.