Numbers in English
The cardinal numbers (one, two, three, etc.) are adjectives denoting quantity, and the ordinal numbers (first, second, third, etc.) are used for distribution or classification.
Cardinal numbers/Ordinal numbers
1/ one/ first
2/ two /second
3/ three/ third
4/ four/ fourth
5/ five /fifth
6/ six/ sixth
7/ seven /seventh
8/ eight /eighth
9/ nine/ ninth
10/ten/ tenth
11/ eleven /eleventh
12/ twelve/ twelfth
13 /thirteen /thirteenth
14 /fourteen/ fourteenth
15/ fifteen/fifteenth
16/ sixteen/ sixteenth
17 /seventeen /seventeenth
18 /eighteen/eighteenth
19/ nineteen /nineteenth
20 /twenty/ twentieth
21/twenty-one /twenty-first
22/ twenty-two/ twenty-second
23/ twenty-three/ twenty-third
24 /twenty-four/ twenty-fourth
25/ twenty-five /twenty-fifth
26/ twenty-six twenty-sixth
27 /twenty-seven /twenty-seventh
28 twenty-eight twenty-eighth
29/ twenty-nine /twenty-ninth
30 /thirty /thirtieth
31/ thirty-one /thirty-first
40/ forty/fortieth
50/fifty /fifty
60 /sixty/sixtieth
70 /seventy /seventieth
80 /eighty /eighth
90/ ninety/ninetieth
100 /one hundred/ hundredth
500 /five hundred /five hundredth
1,000 /one thousand/thousandth
1,500/ one thousand five hundred, or fifteen hundred/one thousand five hundredth
100,000/ one hundred thousand/one hundred thousandth
1,000,000/one million/millionth
Reading decimal numbers
Decimals are read in English by saying the word "point" for the decimal point and then reading each number separately. Note that money amounts are not read this way.
0.5 /point five
0.25 /point two five
0.73/ point seven three
0.05/ point zero five
0.6529/ point six five two nine
2.95 /two point nine five
Reading fractions
Fractions are read by using a cardinal for the numerator and an ordinal for the denominator, and the ordinal number for the denominator in the plural if the numerator is greater than 1. This rule applies to all numbers except 2, where it reads "half" if The numerator is 1 or reads "halves" if the numerator is greater than 1.
1/3 one third
3/4 three fourths
5/6 five sixths
1/2 one half
3/2 three half
Read money
To read an amount of money in English, read the entire number and add the name of the currency at the end. If the number contains a decimal point, skip the decimal point and read the digits that follow as one. If the fraction of the coin has a name, add that name at the end. Note that regular decimal numbers are not read this way as these rules only apply to currencies.
25$/ twenty-five dollars
52€/ fifty-two euros
140₤ /one hundred and forty pounds
$43.25/ forty-three dollars and twenty-five cents (shortened to "forty-three twenty-five" in everyday speech)
€12.66 /twelve euros sixty-six
₤10.50 /ten pounds fifty
Measurements pronunciation
Read the number and then follow it as the unit of measure, which is often abbreviated.
60m/ sixty meters
25km/h twenty-five kilometers per hour
11ft/ eleven feet
2L/ two liters
3tbsp /three tablespoons
1tsp /one teaspoon
Years pronunciation
Reading the years in English is rather complicated. In general, when the year has four numbers, read the first two numbers as one and then the other two numbers as one as well. There are limited exceptions to this rule. Years within the first 100 millenniums can be read as a single digit even though they are four digits long, or they can be read as two digits. Millenniums are read as number one because it is difficult to pronounce it otherwise. New centuries are read as the number one in the hundreds. We don't use the word "thousand" when reading years, or at least when reading years within the past 1,000 years.
For years with only three numbers it can be read as three separate numbers or read the first number alone followed by the other two numbers. Years with only two digits are read as a single digit. You can add the words "the year" when reading the years to clarify the meaning, and this is very common with two or three digit years. Years before birth are followed by the letters BC, and these two letters are pronounced the way the letters of the alphabet are.
Note that these rules apply to reading street addresses as well.
2014 /twenty fourteen or two thousand fourteen
2008 /two thousand eight
2000 /two thousand
1944 /nineteen forty-four
1908 /nineteen o eight
1900/nineteen hundred
1600/sixteen hundred
1256/ twelve fifty-six
1006/ten o six
866/ eight hundred sixty-six or eight sixty-six
25/ twenty-five
3000 BC/ three thousand BC
3250 BC/ thirty two fifty BC
Zero reading (0)
There are many ways in which we can read the zero (0) depending on the context in which it is used. Unfortunately, the way the zero is pronounced and used in English-speaking countries may differ depending on each country. The following table shows the pronunciation rules for the number zero in American English.
Pronunciation use
Zero /is pronounced like this when reading the number itself, when reading decimals, percentages, phone numbers, and some other constant expressions.
O/ (as the letter o is pronounced) when reading years, addresses, times, and temperatures
Nil /is pronounced like this with the results of sports matches
Naught /This pronunciation is not used in the United States