This table shows how we can describe some groups of numbers as they increase in size:

Number

Name

13-19

teen

10

ten

100

hundred

1000

thousand

10,000

ten thousand

100,000

hundred thousand

1,000,000

million

1,000,000,000

billion

1,000,000,000,000

trillion

In the past, there was a distinction between the American billion (1,000,000,000) and the British or European billion (1,000,000,000,000 – now the trillion), but in modern use the vast majority of the English speaking world has adopted the American version.

Saying a large number

We say large numbers by listing the numbers in order of size, biggest first. When reading a single number, all the number labels should be singular, for example 10,400 is ten thousand four hundred and not ten thousands four hundreds.

We describe three digit numbers in hundreds, then tens. Generally, in British English we usually connect large numbers with double or single digit figures with and, but in American English and is not used. Note that hundreds, thousands and millions are not connected to each other with and, though.

For example:

• 345 is three hundred and forty-five (three hundred forty five in American).
• 59,321 is fifty nine thousand, three hundred and twenty one. (not fifty nine thousand and three hundred…)

You can then describe large numbers with a series of different figures, grouping numbers in hundreds and tens, starting with the biggest number. So we describe hundreds/tens of millions, then thousands, then hundreds:

• 1,345,612 = one million, three hundred and forty five thousand, six hundred and twelve
• 153,200 = one hundred and fifty three thousand, two hundred

In the…

When we want to say where a number generally lies, in the above groups, we can say it is in the… For example, 14 is in the teens, 325 is in the hundreds. For tens and hundreds of larger numbers (thousands, millions), we say in the tens (or hundreds) of… So: hundreds of thousands and tens of millions.

Hundreds and thousands

Often it is easier to describe four figure numbers in hundreds instead of thousands. This is perfectly acceptable. For example, 1500 might be described as fifteen hundred, instead of one thousand five hundred (or one and a half thousand), because it is simpler to say.

Numbers as adjectives

All of these numbers can be referred to by the number of figures they contain, with plurals, for instance a number is in single figures (3), double figures (20) or quadruple figures (1,000). However, when we use the figure size of the number to describe a noun (such as a salary, price or to refer to a number itself) we simply use number + figure + noun. For example, a six-figure salary, a four-figure discount.

Saying Thousands in Units of Ten (For Years and More)

One exception to the patterns above that you are likely to hear is when English-speakers say a number in thousands as a pair of two-digit numbers, for example 1912 as nineteen twelve.

This is mostly used when giving the name of years, and in fact is the more common way to do this – when pronouncing a year as a number, we usually break it into two. It also applies to years in the hundreds. Here are some examples:

• 1066 – ten sixty six

• 1254 – twelve fifty four

• 831- eight thirty one

Note, however, for the first century of a millennium we often go back to normal number conventions:

• 2005 – two thousand and five

There are some other exceptions where we break thousands down this way, usually when the number isn’t necessarily referring to a quantity, for example if it’s an assigned number to name something. For example, screen resolutions (1080px, though referring to a number of pixels, can be said as ten eighty, as it is part of a naming convention).

Alternative names for number groups

There are many informal alternative names for groups of numbers that can be used to simplify names. Beware you may not always be understood using these.

Singular

Example Plural

12

dozen

24 = 2 dozen

20

score

80 = 4 score

100

century

300 = centuries

1,000

grand, k

Naming large numbers exercise

Practise reading these numbers out loud:

1. 4,567
2. 367
3. 98,745
4. 120,005
5. 5,000
6. 34,230
7. 873,120
8. 10,043
9. 7,340,200
10. 54,500
11. 24
12. 4,567,090
13. 67,000
14. 92,000,031
15. 1,000,010,000,023