Number to Words Converter

Names of large numbers (short scale)

Numbers 0 to 19

Tens and their ordinals

Irregular ordinals

Check amounts: examples

American and British wording

How to write a number in words

1. Split into groups of three digits. Count from the right: 2,345,678 is 2 | 345 | 678, so two million three hundred forty-five thousand six hundred seventy-eight.
2. Say each group, then its scale name. three hundred forty-five is read as one group, then “thousand” follows it. A group of 000 is skipped.
3. Hyphenate 21 to 99. Join tens and ones with a hyphen: twenty-one, sixty-eight, ninety-nine. Write 20, 30 … 90 as single words.
4. Add the cents for a check. After the dollars write “and” and the cents over 100: $1,234.56 becomes “One thousand two hundred thirty-four and 56/100 dollars”. Write 00/100 when there are no cents.
5. Change the last word for an ordinal. Only the final word changes: one hundred twenty-three becomes one hundred twenty-third, and 21 becomes twenty-first.

Frequently asked questions

How do you write 1,234.56 on a check?

Write the dollars in words, then “and”, then the cents as a fraction over 100: “One thousand two hundred thirty-four and 56/100 dollars”. This tool’s check mode produces exactly that wording. If your bank prefers the cents spelled out, “… and fifty-six cents” is also accepted by many banks; match the digits you wrote in the amount box either way.

What is 123 in words, with and without “and”?

American style leaves out “and”: one hundred twenty-three. British style adds it after hundreds: one hundred and twenty-three. Turn on the British “and” option to switch; it also puts “and” before a last group under 100, as in one thousand and one.

How do you write a decimal in words?

Say the whole part, then “point”, then each digit on its own: 0.25 is “zero point two five” and 3.05 is “three point zero five”. A negative number starts with “negative”, as in “negative twelve point five”.

How do you write ordinals like 21st in words?

Only the last word changes: 21st is “twenty-first”, 100th is “one hundredth” and 123rd is “one hundred twenty-third”. You can type 21st, 22nd or 23rd directly in Ordinal mode, and the words box reads “twenty-first” back as 21st.

How big a number can it write?

Whole numbers up to 66 digits, which is past 10^36 (one undecillion) up to 999 vigintillion. The numbers are handled as exact digit strings, never as floating-point values, so no digit is ever rounded.

What is the difference between short scale and long scale?

In the short scale a billion is 1,000 millions (10^9) and a trillion is 10^12. The older long scale made a billion a million millions (10^12). British English moved to the short scale in 1974, and this tool uses it throughout. Several European languages still use the long scale, so check the context when translating.

Can I type scientific notation like 1.5e3?

Yes. It is expanded exactly before it is read, so 1.5e3 becomes 1,500 (“one thousand five hundred”) and 1e36 becomes “one undecillion”. Exponents beyond 200 are refused, because the result would be past the largest name this tool knows.

Can it turn words back into digits?

Yes, the words-to-number box reads standard phrasing: “two million three hundred forty-five thousand six hundred seventy-eight” gives 2,345,678. It accepts hyphens or spaces, commas, “and”, “negative”/“minus”, “point” decimals, ordinals and check endings like “and 56/100 dollars”. It refuses jumbled input such as “one thousand one million” and says what is wrong rather than guessing.

Which capitalization should I use?

Sentence case (One thousand two hundred) suits the amount line on a check and most prose; Title Case (One Thousand Two Hundred and Five) suits headings; UPPER CASE (ONE THOUSAND) is common on legal forms because it is harder to alter.

What if the amount has more than two decimal places?

In check mode the amount is rounded to whole cents, halves up, and the result says so: twenty and 00/100 dollars for 19.999. Plain-words mode reads every decimal digit as typed.