English (Cardinal) Numbers for Beginners (A1)
A Quick Look at the Basic Numbers: Learn How to Combine them in English
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.
Here's a list showing the English cardinal numbers (number used for simple counting) 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
one billion - 1,000,000,000
- Zero to Ten (0-10):
zero, one, two, three, four, five,
six, seven, eight, nine, ten
- Eleven to Nineteen (11-19) or teen numbers:
eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen,
fifteen, sixteen, seventeen,
eighteen, nineteen
- 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)
- For numbers 21-99, combine tens with ones using a hyphen (-):
Example: twenty-one (21), forty-five (45)
- After hundreds, use "and" in British English:
Example: one hundred and one (101), six hundred and ninety-eight (698)
- For thousands, use comma (,) in the digital format to separate the thousands (also groups of 3 digits, counting from right to left):
Example: five thousand four hundred (and) twenty-seven (5,427)
one million two hundred (and) fifty thousand (1,250,000)
- For larger numbers, continue combining words:
Example: five million four hundred (and) twenty-seven thousand two hundred (and) sixty one (5,427,261)
- 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 English Decimal Numbers and Fractions in English (intermediate section)
or
Continue to the Beginner Level English Resources for more tips and topics
Alternatively,
Learn the English Subject Pronouns and related forms (I, Me, My)