Number to Words Converter
The number to words converter writes any number out exactly, to 66 digits, reading three digits at a time. It also gives the form a check needs and the ordinal.
In words
- In words Digits after the decimal point are read one at a time, after "point", exactly as written, so 0.50 is "zero point five zero".
- one thousand two hundred thirty-four point five six
- On a check The cents go as a fraction over 100, and a line fills the rest of the space so nothing can be added.
- One thousand two hundred thirty-four and 56/100 dollars
- Ordinal Ordinals name positions, so only whole numbers have one. The whole-number part would be the one thousand two hundred thirty-fourth.
- none
- With the decimal as a fraction The formal reading: 56 over 100. This is the one place US style uses "and", which is why it is left out of whole numbers.
- one thousand two hundred thirty-four and fifty-six hundredths
- Largest place Short scale, the US and modern British convention: every new name is a thousand times the last, so a billion is 10^9. The older long scale, still used in many European languages, steps by a million, and its billion is 10^12.
- thousand (10^3)
- Digits
- 4 before the point, 2 after
| Group | Place | Said as |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | thousand | one thousand |
| 234 | units | two hundred thirty-four |
- Short scale (US) names throughout. The long scale, where a billion is a million million, is not offered.
- Uses "negative" for numbers below zero; "minus" is also common in speech.
How the Number to Words Converter works
Read the number in groups of three. Put commas in from the right, every three digits. Each group is a number under a thousand, said on its own and followed by its place name: thousand, million, billion, trillion. Then read the groups from the left.
Worked example, the one above: 1,234.56.
- The groups are 1 and 234. The 1 sits in the thousands place: "one thousand". - 234 is the units group: "two hundred thirty-four". - After the decimal point, read each digit: "point five six".
So 1,234.56 is "one thousand two hundred thirty-four point five six". On a check it is "One thousand two hundred thirty-four and 56/100 dollars".
A group of 000 is silent. 5,000,042 is "five million forty-two": the thousands group is empty and is skipped, not said as "zero thousand". That is the step most often got wrong when writing large numbers by hand.
The place names. In the short scale, used in the US and in modern British English, each name is a thousand times the one before: a million is 10^6, a billion 10^9, a trillion 10^12, then quadrillion, quintillion, sextillion and on up to vigintillion, 10^63. The older long scale steps by a million instead, so its billion is 10^12. It survives in many European languages: German Billion and French billion both mean 10^12, with Milliarde and milliard for 10^9. That is worth knowing before translating a figure.
Hyphens. Compound numbers from twenty-one to ninety-nine take a hyphen: forty-two, ninety-nine, three hundred sixty-five. Nothing else does: "one hundred" and "two thousand" take no hyphen. The option to turn hyphens off exists for systems that strip them.
"And". American usage keeps "and" for the decimal point, so 105 is "one hundred five" and 105.5 is "one hundred five and five tenths". British usage puts "and" after the hundred ("one hundred and five") and before a final group under a hundred, as in "two thousand and ten". Both are correct in their own country; the British option here follows both rules.
Writing a check. The amount in words is written as dollars in words and cents as a fraction over 100: "Three hundred forty-two and 07/100". The fraction is used because it is hard to alter, and a line is drawn through the remaining space so that nothing can be added. The words are what counts if they disagree with the figures: under the Uniform Commercial Code (section 3-114), words prevail over numbers. Cents beyond two places do not exist on a check, so this converter rounds to the nearest cent and says so.
Ordinals. An ordinal names a position: first, second, twenty-first. Only the last word of the number changes. One, two and three become first, second and third; five, eight, nine and twelve become fifth, eighth, ninth and twelfth; a word ending in -ty becomes -tieth (twenty, twentieth); everything else adds -th. So 1,000,000 is the "one millionth" and 101 is the "one hundred first". In figures, 11th, 12th and 13th take -th because their words are eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth, even though 1st, 2nd and 3rd do not.
This converter is exact. It never converts the digits to a floating-point number, so 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,001 is read as "one sextillion one", not rounded. It does not handle fractions such as 3/4, words to numbers, or other languages.
Number to Words Converter FAQ
How do you write 1,234.56 in words?
One thousand two hundred thirty-four point five six. On a check, write it as One thousand two hundred thirty-four and 56/100 dollars: the dollars in words, the cents as a fraction over 100.
Do you put "and" when writing numbers in words?
In American usage, not inside a whole number: 105 is "one hundred five", and "and" is kept for the decimal point, as in check writing. In British usage "and" goes after the hundred: "one hundred and five". Both are standard in their own country.
Which numbers are hyphenated when written out?
Compound numbers from twenty-one to ninety-nine: twenty-one, forty-five, ninety-nine. The hyphen joins the tens and the units and nothing else, so it is "two hundred thirty-four", not "two-hundred-thirty-four".
How do you write the cents on a check?
As a fraction over 100 after the dollars: "and 07/100" for seven cents, "and 00/100" for none. Then draw a line through the rest of the space. If the words and the figures on a check disagree, the words prevail.
What comes after a trillion?
In the short scale used in the US, each name is a thousand times the last: quadrillion (10^15), quintillion (10^18), sextillion (10^21), septillion (10^24), octillion, nonillion, decillion (10^33), and on up to vigintillion (10^63).