English Numbers
A quick look at the basic numbers
Numbers are essential in everyday life, whether you are counting money, telling time or measuring things. In English, numbers are easy to learn and use.
- Zero to Ten (0-10):
zero, one, two, three, four, five,
six, seven, eight, nine, ten
- Eleven to Nineteen (11-19):
eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen,
fifteen, sixteen, seventeen,
eighteen, nineteen, twenty
- Tens (20, 30, 40...):
twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, sixty,
seventy, eighty, ninety
are used to form higher numbers by
adding the basic numbers using a hyphen (-).
Combinations:
thirty-one (31)
forty-two (42)
fifty-three (53)
- Hundreds, Thousands, Millions (100..., 1,000...):
one hundred (100)
one thousand (1,000)
one million (1,000,000):
Combinations:
two hundred and fifty-six (256)
five thousand two hundred and fifty-six (5,256)
two million eight hundred and three thousand one hundred and forty-five (2,803,145)
Here's a list showing the English numbers with their word forms and digital formats:
Word Form Digital Format
zero - 0
one - 1
two - 2
three - 3
four - 4
five - 5
six - 6
seven - 7
eight - 8
nine - 9
ten - 10
eleven - 11
twelve - 12
thirteen - 13
fourteen - 14
fifteen - 15
sixteen - 16
seventeen - 17
eighteen - 18
nineteen - 19
twenty - 20
thirty - 30
forty - 40
fifty - 50
sixty - 60
seventy - 70
eighty - 80
ninety - 90
one hundred - 100
one thousand - 1,000
ten thousand - 10,000
one hundred thousand - 100,000
one million - 1,000,000
Remember:
- For numbers 21-99, combine tens with ones using a hyphen (-):
twenty-one (21), forty-five (45),etc.
- After hundreds, use "and" in British English:
one hundred and one (101).
- For thousands, use comma (,) in the digital format to separate the thousands:
five thousand four hundred and twenty-seven (5,427)
- For larger numbers, continue combining words:
one million two hundred fifty thousand (1,250,000).
- The spelling of 40 is unique:
forty (and not fourty)
- In English, we can use different words for the number 0:
Zero: This is the most common way.
It is used in general contexts,
mathematics or when counting.
Example: "The temperature is zero degrees."
O: as the letter 'O' in the English alphabet.
This is used when reading phone numbers or codes.
Example: "My phone number is
576-123-oh-four (04)."
Nil: This is often used in sports
to indicate a score of zero.
Example: "The final score was two-nil." (2-0)
Nought: commonly used in British
English, especially in mathematics.
Example: "The number is nought point five." (0.5)
As related topics, explore Decimal Numbers and Fractions (intermediate section)!
or
Return to the Beginner Level Resources
alternatively,
Learn the English Subject Pronouns and related forms (I, Me, My)