Numbers in English: Counting, Ordinals and Prices

Quick Answer: English uses cardinal numbers for counting (one, two, three) and ordinal numbers for order and dates (first, second, third). Hundred, thousand and million take no plural s after a number (three hundred people), and prices are said as main unit plus smaller unit: 4.50 dollars is four dollars fifty, or simply four fifty.

Key takeaways

• Spell carefully: forty (no u), fifteen (not fiveteen), eighteen (one t), ninth (no e), twelfth.
• Thirteen to nineteen are stressed at the end (thir-TEEN); thirty to ninety at the start (THIR-ty).
• Say three hundred people, not three hundreds people; use hundreds of only for an unspecified amount.
• English writes 1,500 for thousands and 1.5 for decimals, the opposite of Turkish and many European languages.
• Phone numbers are read digit by digit, and 0 is often said oh.
• Years from 2010 on are usually said in pairs: 2026 is twenty twenty-six.

How do you count from 0 to 20 in English?

Number	Word	Number	Word
0	zero	11	eleven
1	one	12	twelve
2	two	13	thirteen
3	three	14	fourteen
4	four	15	fifteen
5	five	16	sixteen
6	six	17	seventeen
7	seven	18	eighteen
8	eight	19	nineteen
9	nine	20	twenty
10	ten

Notice the spelling of fifteen (not fiveteen), eighteen (only one t) and twelve.

Tens and numbers up to 99

20 twenty, 30 thirty, 40 forty (no u), 50 fifty, 60 sixty, 70 seventy, 80 eighty, 90 ninety.

For numbers in between, use a hyphen: 21 twenty-one, 47 forty-seven, 99 ninety-nine.

The thirteen and thirty problem

Listeners often confuse 13 and 30, 14 and 40, and so on. The difference is stress:

• thirTEEN, fourTEEN, fifTEEN - stress on the end, long "ee" sound.
• THIRty, FORty, FIFty - stress on the start, short ending.

If someone is not sure, they may ask "Thirteen or thirty? One-three or three-zero?" For more on stress, see our English pronunciation tips.

Hundreds, thousands and millions

Number	How to say it
100	one hundred / a hundred
105	one hundred and five (UK) / one hundred five (US)
342	three hundred and forty-two
1,000	one thousand
2,500	two thousand five hundred
15,800	fifteen thousand eight hundred
1,000,000	one million
3,400,000	three million four hundred thousand (or three point four million)

Key rules:

1. No plural s on hundred, thousand or million after a number: "three hundred people", not "three hundreds people".
2. Use plural only for an unspecified amount: "hundreds of people", "thousands of years".
3. British English usually adds and after hundred: "two hundred and ten". American English often leaves it out.
4. English uses a comma to separate thousands (1,500) and a point for decimals (1.5). Many other languages do the opposite, so be careful.

What are ordinal numbers?

Ordinals show order or position.

Number	Ordinal	Short form
1	first	1st
2	second	2nd
3	third	3rd
4	fourth	4th
5	fifth	5th
8	eighth	8th
9	ninth	9th
12	twelfth	12th
20	twentieth	20th
21	twenty-first	21st
100	hundredth	100th

Most ordinals simply add -th. Learn the irregular ones: first, second, third, fifth, eighth, ninth, twelfth. For tens, change y to ie: twenty becomes twentieth.

Where you use ordinals:

• Dates: "My birthday is on the third of May" or "May third" (US).
• Floors: "The office is on the fifth floor."
• Rankings: "She finished second in the race."
• Centuries: "the twenty-first century".

For dates in more detail, read days, months and seasons in English.

How do you say prices and money?

Written	Spoken (formal)	Spoken (casual)
1.99 dollars	one dollar ninety-nine cents	one ninety-nine
4.50 dollars	four dollars fifty cents	four fifty
12 pounds	twelve pounds	twelve quid (UK slang)
3.20 pounds	three pounds twenty pence	three twenty
250 euros	two hundred and fifty euros	two hundred fifty (US)

Useful phrases: "How much is it?", "That's twenty-five dollars, please", "Do you have change for a fifty?". See more in shopping English phrases.

How do you say years in English?

• 1995: nineteen ninety-five
• 2000: two thousand
• 2008: two thousand and eight or two thousand eight
• 2026: twenty twenty-six (most common) or two thousand and twenty-six
• 1900: nineteen hundred

Phone numbers, decimals and fractions

Phone numbers are read digit by digit. Zero is often "oh": 0207 555 3891 is "oh two oh seven, five five five, three eight nine one". British speakers often say "double five" for 55.

Decimals: 2.5 is "two point five". 0.75 is "zero point seven five" or, in British English, "nought point seven five".

Fractions: 1/2 a half, 1/3 a third, 1/4 a quarter (or a fourth in the US), 3/4 three quarters.

Percentages: 20% is "twenty percent".

What are the most common number mistakes?

1. "Two hundreds dollars" - correct: two hundred dollars.
2. "The 3th floor" - correct: the 3rd floor.
3. "Fourty" - correct: forty.
4. "One thousand and half" - correct: one and a half thousand or fifteen hundred.
5. Writing 1.500 for one thousand five hundred - in English, write 1,500.

Practice quiz

Write these numbers in words.

1. 14
2. 80
3. 2nd
4. 615
5. 7.25 dollars (casual)

Answers: 1. fourteen 2. eighty 3. second 4. six hundred and fifteen (UK) or six hundred fifteen (US) 5. seven twenty-five

Numbers come up in the very first units of our A1 English course, with listening drills that train your ear for thirteen versus thirty.

People Also Ask

What is the difference between cardinal and ordinal numbers?

Cardinal numbers count things: one, two, three. Ordinal numbers show position or order: first, second, third. You use ordinals for dates, floors and rankings.

How do you say prices in English?

Say the main unit, then the smaller unit: 4.50 dollars is four dollars fifty, or four fifty in casual speech. For pounds, 3.20 is three pounds twenty.

How do you say years like 2026 in English?

Most people say twenty twenty-six. Two thousand and twenty-six is also correct. Years like 1995 are split into two pairs: nineteen ninety-five.

What is the difference between thirteen and thirty?

Thirteen to nineteen are stressed on the end: thir-TEEN. Thirty, forty and the other tens are stressed on the start: THIR-ty. The stress helps listeners tell them apart.

Related Reading

• Days, Months and Seasons in English
• How to Tell the Time in English
• Shopping English Phrases
• English Pronunciation Tips for Learners