# How to read numbers in English



## inarticulate

hi , i was watching a serie and a guy pronounced  87104 as ' eight seven one 'oh' four ' instead of
eighty seven thousand one hundred four


is that how  i should read numbers ? number by number ? 11111 ' one one one one one '

thanks


----------



## Copyright

Welcome to the forum. 

Context often determines how we say numbers, e.g. are we talking about people or a telephone number?

Why don't you start with this previous thread:
>> Topic summary: Numbers - reading, speaking, saying, writing in full [number say speak read write]


----------



## MilkyBarKid

87104 as ' eight seven one 'oh' four '  Yes - a common way of saying 'nought'

 11111 : double one double one one, OR triple one double one.


----------



## inarticulate

Copyright said:


> Welcome to the forum.
> 
> Context often determines how we say numbers, e.g. are we talking about people or a telephone number?
> 
> Why don't you start with this previous thread:
> >> Topic summary: Numbers - reading, speaking, saying, writing in full [number say speak read write]





MilkyBarKid said:


> 87104 as ' eight seven one 'oh' four '  Yes - a common way of saying 'nought'
> 
> 11111 : double one double one one, OR triple one double one.



i read the thread Copyright ,  thanks both of you , but i've one more question , do i have the choice  to read any number one by one  ? as a non native speaker it'd be  a lot more easier like that


----------



## Copyright

inarticulate said:


> i've one more question , do i have the choice  to read any number one by one  ? as a non native speaker it'd be  a lot more easier like that


The short answer is sometimes. You need to follow what is generally done with different numbers:

Product serial numbers: XE2875432954L
This is something you can read off individually, preferably in sets of two or three numbers, and at the right speed, so that the person on the help desk can understand it:
XE 287 573 2954 L
XE 28 757 329 54 L
XE 28 75 73 29 54 L

Telephone numbers:
We usually read them in the way that they are traditionally written (in the country where you have the telephone number) – in other words, read them in groups, as below:
1 573 1234 (US)
852 2929 1234 (Hong Kong)

Credit card numbers:
1234 5678 1234 5678

Street numbers:
22 Main Street – you must read it as twenty-two; otherwise, you will sound totally daft. 
232 Main Street – two thirty-two Main Street.
2345 Main Street – twenty-three forty-five is what I would say; others may differ.

As with most things in a new language, you just have to listen to what native speakers say.


----------



## zaffy

100  - a hundred      -                      Can I say one hundred?
120  - one hundred and twenty.  -   Can I say a hundred and twenty?


----------



## Uncle Jack

zaffy said:


> 100  - a hundred      -                      Can I say one hundred?
> 120  - one hundred and twenty.  -   Can I say a hundred and twenty?


You can say either.


----------



## anahiseri

inarticulate said:


> do i have the choice to read any number one by one ?



As a general rule, when it's an amount, you say it "the long way":
*a hundred and twenty six children, five thousand six hundred dollar*
But when it's not, in most cases you go one by one:
*The booking code is one-two-six
Please dial  five- six- oh - oh*


----------



## zaffy

And can I say either here?  This is not a year, just a number of say people or an amount of money I earned

1500  - 'fifteen hundred'  / 'one thousand five hundred'


----------



## heypresto

Yes, you can say either. 

I've no evidence for it, but I suspect 'fifteen hundred' is more common in a context like this.


----------



## zaffy

and if the number is bigger, can I still read it that way?

$94,000  - I earn ninety four thousands dollars a year.


----------



## anahiseri

$94,000 - I earn ninety four *thousand* dollars a year.


----------



## heypresto

That's ninety-four _thousand_. 

Cross-posted.


----------



## zaffy

right


----------



## heypresto

Usually it's obvious what currency you are talking about, so there's no need to mention dollars/pounds/euros/yen etc.


----------



## zaffy

Do I say 'and' twice here?

120,450  - a hundred and twenty thousand four hundred and fifty


----------



## heypresto

In BE, yes, but I _think _it might be different in AE.


----------



## zaffy

So, can an AE speaker share their thoughts?


----------



## AnythingGoes

zaffy said:


> Do I say 'and' twice here?
> 
> 120,450  - a hundred and twenty thousand four hundred and fifty





heypresto said:


> In BE, yes, but I _think _it might be different in AE.





zaffy said:


> So, can an AE speaker share their thoughts?


It's OK with both _and_s in American English. But when I said that number aloud, it came out _a hundred and twenty thousand four hundred fifty._


----------



## JulianStuart

zaffy said:


> So, can an AE speaker share their thoughts?


There is quite a discussion of when and where the "and" is included iin AE and BE >> Topic summary: Numbers - reading, speaking, saying, writing in full [number say speak read write]


----------



## RM1(SS)

AnythingGoes said:


> But when I said that number aloud, it came out _a hundred and twenty thousand four hundred fifty._


Ditto.


----------



## 2PieRad

zaffy said:


> Do I say 'and' twice here?
> 
> 120,450  - a hundred and twenty thousand four hundred and fifty


Feels a bit weird to me to leave the second _and _out. I would therefore keep both in, but I barely pronounce them. Sounds more like _'n. Fish 'n chips. Hit 'n run. etc. _


----------



## zaffy

"This car cost $5800"   -  "five thousand and eight hundred"  vs. "fifty eight hundred" - Can I read that price either way?


----------



## JulianStuart

zaffy said:


> "This car cost $5800"   -  "five thousand and eight hundred"  vs. "fifty eight hundred" - Can I read that price either way?


In the first version, the "and" is likely to be left out by many speakers.


----------



## Edinburgher

JulianStuart said:


> In the first version, the "and" is likely to be left out by many speakers.


Does anyone ever put an "and" between thousands and hundreds?


----------



## JulianStuart

Edinburgher said:


> Does anyone ever put an "and" between thousands and hundreds?


I started with "every" but in this forum, that usually brings out a weird context from the woodwork


----------



## sound shift

Edinburgher said:


> Does anyone ever put an "and" between thousands and hundreds?


I don't if the number is exact, e.g. 5600: "Five thousand six hundred."
But I believe it's possible if the number is inexact: "Five thousand and several hundred."


----------



## zaffy

1000   - and would it be possible to read it out as "ten hundred"? Or is 'one thousand' the only possibility?


----------



## heypresto

No, and yes.


----------



## ain'ttranslationfun?

In the US, ZIP codes (postal codes) are often spoken number by number. e. g. 10009 is either 'ten thousand nine' or 'one oh oh oh nine'.


----------



## zaffy

And if something costs 2,000 dollars,  I can read it in three ways, right? 

_two thousand
twenty hundred
two grand_


----------



## JulianStuart

I don't think I've ever heard twenty hundred, although I have heard twenty one hundred and ninteen hundred.


----------



## zaffy

And how about 3,000 or 6,000? Would you say 'thirty hundred' or 'sixty hundred'?


----------



## Edinburgher

No, but I might say twenty-nine hundred or sixty-one hundred.


----------



## zaffy

And 1,100 is eleven hundred, right ?


----------



## Edinburgher

Yes, and 900 is nine hundred.


----------



## zaffy

And are these fine?

1,000 - "*one* thousand" or "*a* thousand"

1,050 - "*one* thousand and fifty"  or  "*a* thousand and fifty"


----------



## Keith Bradford

MilkyBarKid said:


> ...
> 11111 : double one double one one, OR triple one double one.


I would disagree.  The big difficulty with repetitive numbers like this is that the listener easily loses count of how many times the speaker has said "one".  (_Did I lose count?  Did he say "one" five times or six?  Is he stuttering?  Is there an echo on the line?_)  To avoid this, there is a convention followed by radio operators, which is this:

*One, double one, double one*.

That way, you never repeat the word "one" (or any other number); pairs are always separated by "double" or by another number.  And you don't use "triple" or "treble" so they can't be confused with "double" over a bad line.


----------



## JulianStuart

zaffy said:


> And are these fine?
> 
> 1,000 - "*one* thousand" or "*a* thousand"
> 
> 1,050 - "*one* thousand and fifty"  or  "*a* thousand and fifty"


Yes.  Place in a sentence, context and degree of precision will determine which is preferred.  The last of the four is the least likely.


----------



## Egmont

zaffy said:


> And if something costs 2,000 dollars,  I can read it in three ways, right?
> 
> _two thousand
> twenty hundred
> two grand_


"Two grand" is not a way of reading "2,000." It is a different, informal, way to describe the same quantity.


----------



## Roxxxannne

I agree with JulianStuart, and add that many Americans would probably say 'a thousand fifty' or 'one thousand fifty,' without the 'and' as well as  'eleven fifty ' and 'one fifty' for 1150 and 150.
There's sometimes ambiguity in a conversation like this when it's not clear if the sum refers to dollars and cents, or only dollars:
A: How much are the hats at that new store?
B: I saw a nice one for four ninety-five.
A: Wow, that's nothing!  I'll have to go see what they have.
B: Four hundred ninety-five dollars is nothing??!! Your bank account is in better shape than mine.


----------



## zaffy

Egmont said:


> "Two grand" is not a way of reading "2,000." It is a different, informal, way to describe the same quantity.



Yes, I know it is informal. But can I use that way for as low numbers as 1,000 or 2,000?

1,000  - one grand
2,000  - two grand


----------



## Roxxxannne

I can imagine 'grand' for 2000 or higher, but it sounds odd for 1000, at least to my ears.


----------



## Uncle Jack

zaffy said:


> Yes, I know it is informal. But can I use that way for as low numbers as 1,000 or 2,000?
> 
> 1,000  - one grand
> 2,000  - two grand


In BrE, "grand" is only used when referring to money, and is used in place if the unit of currency, so you might say "two grand" instead of "two thousand pounds" or "two thousand dollars". 

As a number in itself, forty multiplied by fifty is not two grand. We do not say that the Romans invaded Britain about two grand years ago, and Otis Redding did not roam two grand miles before sitting on the dock of the bay watching the tide roll away.


----------



## heypresto

And the Proclaimers won't walk half a grand miles, and then walk half a grand more, just to be the man who walked a grand miles to fall down at your door.


----------



## ain'ttranslationfun?

In the song* by Hedy West (© Aztal Music, Inc.), the narrator wasn't half a grand miles from their home. 
*"500 Miles"


----------



## kentix

Uncle Jack said:


> In BrE, "grand" is only used when referring to money, and is used in place if the unit of currency,


This is also 100% true in the U.S. I'm surprised that comment hasn't already been made.

$2000 = two grand (in slang) = two thousand dollars (standard)

2000 = two thousand


----------



## kentix

87104 is the Zip Code (*Z*one *I*mprovement *P*lan, i.e. postal code) for Albuquerque, New Mexico in the U.S. I almost always hear Zip codes pronounced one number at a time, even when they have double numbers. So if that was a zip code he was referring to, that's normal usage, with "oh" commonly substituting for "zero".


----------



## Egmont

kentix said:


> 87104 is the Zip Code (*Z*one *I*mprovement *P*lan, i.e. postal code) for Albuquerque, New Mexico in the U.S. I almost always hear Zip codes pronounced one number at a time, even when they have double numbers. ...


We have to distinguish between reading numbers used as identifiers (that is, when their numerical value is irrelevant, as in a phone number) and those used to specify quantities. These two types of numbers are read differently.

Reading each digit of a number used as an identifier separately is standard in American English. The forms "double-one," "double-two," and so on are common in British English. Fortunately, BE speakers understand the one-digit-at-a-time method, though they may think it sounds odd, and most AE speakers can understand "double-whatever," though they may have to stop and think about it.


----------



## ain'ttranslationfun?

Actually, I've often heard ZIP codes given as a five-digit number, e. g. "Ten thousand nine" for "10009". They're now even more specific, with expanded (meaning 'narrowed') nine digit ones: "12345-6789". This gives the floor of the apartment buildng where one lives.

Addendum: What Egmont says in #49 goes for phone numbers, too.  In the US, we say them as "1-2-3, 4-5-6-7" or, if we give the area code, "(1-2-3), 4-5-6, 7-8-9-10".


----------



## Uncle Jack

Egmont said:


> Reading each digit of a number used as an identifier separately is standard in American English. The forms "double-one," "double-two," and so on are common in British English.


Far less so nowadays. When I encounter phone numbers read with "double-x" in novels, such as _Tadfield Six double_-_six_ in _Good Omens_ by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, it sounds rather old-fashioned. _Good Omens_ isn't particularly old (1990), but the speaker is meant to appear old-fashioned. The telephone number, incidentally, could be correct; a few exchanges with three-digit telephone numbers survived up to about 1990.


----------



## kentix

I have never heard a zip code given as a five digit number. But I have never lived in the land of 1000X. Where I've lived, the digits have always had a fairly random distribution after the first number, with an occasional double number. I am used to zip codes like 81704 (and couldn't imagine saying eighty one thousand seven hundred and four, if I lived there).


----------



## ain'ttranslationfun?

kentix said:


> I have never heard a zip code given as a five digit number. But I have never lived in the land of 1000X. Where I've lived, the digits have always had a fairly random distribution after the first number, with an occasional double number. I [...] couldn't imagine saying [81704 as] eighty one thousand seven hundred and four, if I lived there).



Neither could I, but it doesn't roll of the tongue as easily as "ten thousand nine".


----------



## Uncle Jack

Unusual numbers (as identifiers, such as zip codes and telephone numbers) do sometimes give rise to unusual ways of saying them. My local area telephone code is 01900, and I always say it oh-one-nine hundred, before adding the six digit phone number digit by digit.

However, 01766 was (and presumably still is) oh-one-seven-six-six. and 0442 was oh-four-four-two.


----------



## natkretep

Uncle Jack said:


> Far less so nowadays. When I encounter phone numbers read with "double-x" in novels, such as _Tadfield Six double_-_six_ in _Good Omens_ by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, it sounds rather old-fashioned. _Good Omens_ isn't particularly old (1990), but the speaker is meant to appear old-fashioned.


I must be rather old fashioned then, as I use the double-x formula often. And 007 is double oh seven. Dictionary.com gives this as the only pronunciation of 007.


----------



## Roxxxannne

I've lived in eight states in the US since zip codes were introduced, and I've never heard anyone say ninety-four thousand seven hundred and twenty for 94720.  In a situation where I'm giving my zip code to someone for them to write it on a form, I'd be surprised if they would find it easy to 'translate' a spoken five-digit number to five separate digits.  But that's just me, and I don't doubt that aintt has often heard zip codes given as 5-digit numbers.  

EDITED:
In response to posts #50 and 52, I have lived for some time in the land of 100XY, and I've never heard a zip code pronounced as ten thousand nine or ten thousand twenty-seven.


----------



## zaffy

I thought the "hundred" way of saying numbers worked with numbers like 1,500, or 1,700, that is with two zeros at the end. And the weight of that lovely Lexus was read as "nineteen hundred and sixy five kilos". Is that possible/natural?


----------



## Uncle Jack

zaffy said:


> And the weight of that lovely Lexus was read as "nineteen hundred and sixy five kilos". Is that possible/natural?


It's not impossible, and I can easily imagine someone saying "nineteen sixty-five kilos" instead of the far more longwinded "one thousand, nine hundred and sixty-five kilos".


----------



## pob14

ain'ttranslationfun? said:


> Actually, I've often heard ZIP codes given as a five-digit number, e. g. "Ten thousand nine" for "10009".


I don’t recall ever hearing that, but I remember hearing (as a kid in the 1960s) a New York ZIP code being read as “one-double O-one-nine.”  I don’t remember where (in a commercial, perhaps?) or what it was the ZIP code of, though. 

That’s the only ZIP code I can remember being read any way other than number-by-number.


----------



## kentix

zaffy said:


> Is that possible/natural?


It's totally natural in American English.



Uncle Jack said:


> I can easily imagine someone saying "nineteen sixty-five kilos"


We wouldn't say that.


----------

