Number to Words Converter
Write any number in words, including the amount line for a cheque.
Good to know. Forty is the only number spelled with its letters in alphabetical order. And it has no u.
How it works
In plain words
Split the number into groups of three digits from the right. Write each group in words, then add its scale: thousand, million, billion, trillion. Hyphenate the numbers from twenty-one to ninety-nine.
The formula
1,234,567 = one million · two hundred thirty-four thousand · five hundred sixty-seven
Worked example
1,234.56 is one thousand two hundred thirty-four point five six. On a check: One thousand two hundred thirty-four and 56/100 dollars.
Sources
No outside data or rates: this is plain arithmetic.
6 automated tests check its answers on every change.
About the number to words converter
Numbers are written in words on checks, legal documents, invoices and formal writing, where a figure alone could be misread or altered. This converter spells out any number up to 999 trillion, and gives the wording for the amount line of a check.
Split the number into groups of three from the right, write each group as you would a number under 1,000, and add thousand, million, billion or trillion. Numbers from twenty-one to ninety-nine take a hyphen: forty-two, ninety-nine. American English leaves out “and” (one hundred twenty); British English keeps it (one hundred and twenty).
On a US check, write the dollars in words and the cents as a fraction of 100: “One thousand two hundred thirty-four and 56/100”, then draw a line to the end of the space so nothing can be added. The words are the legal amount if they differ from the figures. In the UK, cheques usually say “pounds” and the pence in figures or words.
In most style guides, numbers from one to nine (or up to one hundred) are spelled out in running text, and larger ones written as figures, except at the start of a sentence.
Questions people ask
How do I write 1,500 in words?
One thousand five hundred, or fifteen hundred in everyday speech.
How do I write a check for $1,234.56?
On the amount line: “One thousand two hundred thirty-four and 56/100”, followed by a line to the end of the space.
Should there be an “and” in one hundred and twenty?
In British English, yes. In American English it is usually left out: one hundred twenty.
Where do hyphens go in numbers?
In compound numbers from twenty-one to ninety-nine, like thirty-five. Not after hundred or thousand.