Number to Words Converter
Going the other way? Convert written words back to a figure →
How do you convert a number to words?
Number words name 1234 as one thousand two hundred and thirty-four. Break the figure into groups of three digits from the right, name each group the way you would name any number under a thousand, and add the scale name that belongs to the group. The last group takes no scale name.
1234 in words is one thousand two hundred and thirty-four. Split the number into groups of three digits from the right, name each group, add thousand, million or billion, and hyphenate 21 to 99.
- Type the figure. Commas, spaces and a leading $ or £ are ignored, so a pasted amount works.
- Split the figure into groups of three digits, counting from the right.
- Name each group: the hundreds, then the tens and units, hyphenated from 21 to 99.
- Add the scale name for each group, largest first, and leave the last group bare.
- For a cheque, tick Cheque to end with the cents over 100, such as and 45/100, then copy the wording.
Number to words suits a cheque or contract; for a clock face or chapter heading, the Roman numeral converter writes a figure from 1 to 3999.
Figures and Their Words
The forms below cover everything the converter builds from: 0 to 20 one by one, the tens, and the scale names. English names large numbers on the short scale, where each name is a thousand times the one before it: a thousand thousand is a million, a thousand million is a billion, and a thousand billion is a trillion.
| Figure | Written |
|---|---|
| 0 | zero |
| 1 | one |
| 2 | two |
| 3 | three |
| 4 | four |
| 5 | five |
| 6 | six |
| 7 | seven |
| 8 | eight |
| 9 | nine |
| 10 | ten |
| 11 | eleven |
| 12 | twelve |
| 13 | thirteen |
| 14 | fourteen |
| 15 | fifteen |
| 16 | sixteen |
| 17 | seventeen |
| 18 | eighteen |
| 19 | nineteen |
| 20 | twenty |
| 30 | thirty |
| 40 | forty |
| 50 | fifty |
| 60 | sixty |
| 70 | seventy |
| 80 | eighty |
| 90 | ninety |
| 100 | one hundred |
| 1,000 | one thousand |
| 1,000,000 | one million |
| 1,000,000,000 | one billion |
| 1,000,000,000,000 | one trillion |
Worked Example: 1234 to Words
1234 has two groups: one thousand, and what is left. The working below names each group and shows the place sum behind it.
Result: 1234 = one thousand two hundred and thirty-four
The two groups joined, with the British and before the tens, give the wording in the box above. The seed below carries both conventions, so the difference between them can be read off one figure.
- 1234 in British English: one thousand two hundred and thirty-four; in American English: one thousand two hundred thirty-four
Check it in reverse
To verify the result by hand, read the wording back as a figure and compare it with what you started from.
Worked examples: numbers to words
Each example gives the value first, then the working. Select a value to load it in the converter.
How do you say 1 to 100 in words?
The turning points are 1 one, 2 two, 3 three, 21 twenty-one, 22 twenty-two, 100 one hundred.
Everything from 21 to 99 follows the same shape: the tens word, a hyphen, then the units word.
What is 1000000 in words?
1000000 is written one million.
One group, and it takes a scale name: 1 one million. Nothing is left over, so nothing follows it.
Every example above reverses exactly — read the same wording back as digits.
How English Names a Figure
Three conventions decide the wording: which scale English uses for large numbers, where the hyphen goes, and whether the word and appears before the tens. This page follows the British form unless you pick American, and the reference rows below carry each rule as the knowledge base states it.
English names large numbers on the short scale, where each name is a thousand times the one before it: a thousand thousand is a million, a thousand million is a billion, and a thousand billion is a trillion.
British English writes one hundred and one; American English writes one hundred one, because American students are taught not to use and anywhere in the whole part of a number.
A number from 21 to 99 whose second digit is not zero is written as two words joined by a hyphen: twenty-one, thirty-two, ninety-nine.
On a cheque the number 100 is always written one hundred, never a hundred.
iToolHub writes number words on the short scale in British English by default, with and before the tens and a hyphen in compounds from 21 to 99; the American form, without the and, is a reader option.
| What | Value |
|---|---|
| Which scale English uses | short scale |
| How each scale name grows | each name is 1,000 times the one before it |
| thousand | 10^3 |
| million | 10^6 |
| billion | 10^9 |
| trillion | 10^12 |
| Year Britain adopted it | 1974 |
| Where the hyphen goes | 21 to 99 where the second digit is not zero |
| Hyphenated examples | twenty-one, thirty-two, fifty-eight, ninety-nine |
| British English: the word and before the tens | used |
| American English: the word and before the tens | not used |
| How a cheque writes 100 | one hundred, never a hundred |
| How a cheque writes the cents | the cents written as a fraction over 100: $130.45 is one hundred thirty and 45/100, and a round amount still takes and 00/100 |
What Changes the Wording?
The Word And
British English writes one hundred and one; American English writes one hundred one, because American students are taught not to use and anywhere in the whole part of a number. Both are correct in their own place, and the difference is a convention rather than a rule of arithmetic. The Style menu under the box switches between them.
Where the Hyphen Goes
A number from 21 to 99 whose second digit is not zero is written as two words joined by a hyphen: twenty-one, thirty-two, ninety-nine. Forty and sixty take none, because their second digit is zero.
On a Cheque
On a cheque the number 100 is always written one hundred, never a hundred. The cents follow the words as figures over 100, so 130.45 ends and 45/100 and a round amount ends and 00/100. Tick Cheque under the box to write it that way.
Common Mistakes
- Hyphenating a hundred. It is one hundred and one, never one-hundred-and-one; the hyphen joins the tens to the units and nothing else.
- Writing a hundred on a cheque. The form there is one hundred, with the number named in full.
- Mixing the two scales. A billion is a thousand million here, which is what English has used since Britain moved to the short scale in 1974.
- Naming the digits after the point as a whole number. 2.50 is two point five zero, not two point fifty.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you convert numbers to words in Excel or Word?
That is a spreadsheet or word-processor question, and this page does not answer it. Paste the figure into the box, read the wording, and copy it back into the document.
How do you write an amount in words on a cheque?
Write the whole amount in words, then and, then the cents as figures over 100: $130.45 is one hundred thirty and 45/100, and a round amount still ends and 00/100. On a cheque the number 100 is always written one hundred, never a hundred.
Does this converter use lakh and crore?
No. This page names numbers on the short scale in English, where each scale name is a thousand times the one before it, so 10000000 is written as ten million rather than as one crore.
Do you write "and" in a number, as in one hundred and one?
British English writes one hundred and one; American English writes one hundred one, because American students are taught not to use and anywhere in the whole part of a number. This page writes the British form unless you pick American under the box.
Which numbers take a hyphen when you write them out?
A number from 21 to 99 whose second digit is not zero is written as two words joined by a hyphen: twenty-one, thirty-two, ninety-nine.
How do you write a decimal amount in words?
Name the whole part, say point, then name each digit after it on its own, so 2.50 reads as two point five zero. Trailing zeros are kept, because the digits after the point are read one at a time rather than as a fraction.
Yes. The same value converts straight back in the words to number direction.
Related Conversions
The rest of the family sits on every number-word and Roman numeral converter.