“5” or “Five”: When Should You Spell Out Numbers?

The debate of “numerals vs. spelled-out numbers” is a common one, and the correct answer will depend on a few things: What kind of content are you writing? What do the numbers represent? Where are the numbers located within your sentence?

There are lots of specific rules for numbers in your writing, but first, you need to make a decision on which school of thought you’ll subscribe to: 0-100 or 0-9.

Two Different Rules

Spell Out Zero Through One Hundred

Many style manuals (including The Chicago Manual of Style and MLA) recommend spelling out numbers zero through one hundred in nontechnical contexts. So if your writing doesn’t have a ton of numbers (it’s not focused on measurements, equations, etc.), this is a good rule to follow.

MLA describes this rule as follows: “Spell out numbers written in a word or two and represent other numbers by numerals.” Numbers one through one hundred only use two words, and most numbers after one hundred require three or more words.

• one
• sixteen
• thirty-three
• seventy-eight
• one hundred

MLA and Chicago both recommend spelling out “certain round multiples of those numbers,” including numbers like seven hundred, one thousand, and nine million. (Note that this still follows MLA’s rule to spell out numbers written in one to two words.)

Once you get over one hundred and those numbers are spelled out with three+ words, you should swap to numerals:

• 104
• 378
• 2,592
• 85,600,340

MLA lists one caveat to their rule: They recommend using numerals for ALL numbers that precede units of measurement:

• 18 inches
• 9 miles
• 50 liters

To sum up, this strategy involves spelling out numbers one through one hundred and any round multiple of those numbers (any number that is spelled out using two words or fewer). It is recommended for non-technical writing, meaning your writing is not number-heavy. If you’re writing about measurements, you should use numerals (not spelled-out numbers) before the unit of measurement.

Spell Out Zero Through Nine

Another option is to choose the “zero through nine” rule, which is most commonly used in technical and scientific writing since that writing tends to use more numbers. Newspapers and magazines tend to favor this rule as well because it saves valuable space. They also like that numerals are easy to find on a page, drawing the reader’s eye when they’re skimming the material.

Basically, this rule calls for writers to spell out single-digit numbers and use numerals for all others. The Chicago Manual of Style lists this as “an alternative rule,” and APA recommends this as its primary standard.

• one
• seven
• 14
• 83
• 104

This rule also has the caveat that numerals should always be used for measurements.

• 1 mile
• 8 inches
• 6-month period

Essentially, if your writing has many numbers in it or if you’re trying to save space, the zero through nine rule is a good option.

Consistency Is Key

No matter which rule you choose to follow (zero through one hundred or zero through nine), the main thing to remember is CONSISTENCY.

Don’t spell out “fifty-five” on one page of your text and use the numerals “55” on the next. Pick whichever rule you believe fits your writing best and stick to it the whole time!

Consistency overrides strict rule-following. For example, let’s say you chose the zero through one hundred rule, and you have a sentence with multiple numbers in it, some of which are higher than one hundred and some of which are lower. You should use numerals for ALL of those numbers—not just the ones that are over one hundred:

Some committees had far more participants than others; the transportation committee had 107 members, while the events committee only had forty-nine.

Some committees had far more participants than others; the transportation committee had 107 members, while the events committee only had 49.

The numbers—both of which represent a number of committee members—should have a consistent format, even though the rule technically calls for “49” to be spelled out rather than written as a numeral. This doesn’t mean you have to use numerals for ALL the numbers in your writing from there on out; it just applies to numbers that are closely related and represent similar values.

A good rule of thumb is this: If the numbers are within the same sentence, they should be the same format (numeral or spelled-out).

Between 88,950 and ninety thousand people live in that city.

Between 88,950 and 90,000 people live in that city.

The Only Rule You Can ALWAYS Count On

I’m about to go through a bunch of miscellaneous rules about spelling out numbers, and most style guides disagree with one another when it comes to the nitty-gritty of this debate. However, there’s one rule that everyone agrees on:

When a number begins a sentence, ALWAYS spell it out. A numeral CANNOT begin a sentence.

9 people attended the dinner.

Nine people attended the dinner.

If there’s a number at the beginning of your sentence, you must spell it out or reword the sentence to move that number. Consistency still applies, so if your sentence looks like this

Seven hundred and eighteen of the 950 attendants registered online.

then you need to reword it to maintain consistency (since those two numbers represent the same thing—attendants—it’s important that they have the same format, which is impossible if the first number begins the sentence).

Of the 950 attendants, 718 registered online.

Whichever revision you decide on—moving the number or spelling it out—make sure you stick to this rule!

Miscellaneous Rules

Really Big Numbers

Large numbers that consist of just two words should be spelled out.

• One hundred
• Eight thousand
• Forty million

When the number that comes before million, billion, etc. is over one hundred, that number should be represented as a numeral.

• 250 million
• 873 billion

If the numbers form compound words, most style guides agree that you can count that as one word and still spell out the number.

• Eighty-nine thousand
• Forty-two million

Chicago also notes that hundred thousand numbers should be spelled out (e.g., two hundred thousand) even though that’s a three-word number. Other style manuals would cut off the limit at two words and say those numbers should be numerals (e.g., 200,000).

One caveat to consider: This rule does not apply to scientific or monetary amounts, which should always be represented with numerals.

The down payment on the home was eighty thousand.

The down payment on the home was $80,000.

Numbers With Measurements

Every style guide agrees on this next rule: If a number comes before a unit of measurement, it should never be spelled out. In other words, every measurement needs a numeral.

• 81 miles
• 2.5 mL
• 6′ 1″
• 90°
• 10.5 cm

Fractions and Decimals

APA and Chicago agree that you should spell out simple fractions, like three-fourths and one-third, but use numerals for complex or large fractions, like 6 7/8.

• two-fifths
• 18 1/2
• 8 1/2 x 11

Decimals should be numerals, not spelled out. When you have a number that is less than one, a zero should be added before the decimal point to make sure the reader notices.

• 0.15
• 19.54

Money

Chicago recommends spelling out monetary values when it’s a whole number that is one hundred or less.

• The train ticket cost eleven dollars.
• Each game charged seventy-five cents.

Monetary values over one hundred dollars should be represented by numerals or (when the value is a million dollars or more) a mixture of numerals and spelled-out numbers.

• The table was on sale for $150.
• The homes in that neighborhood are around $150,000.
• The plot of land was valued at around $180 million.

APA and MLA both recommend using numerals for most monetary amounts; APA clarifies that numerals should be used for “exact sums of money,” so it sounds like they want round numbers spelled out (one million dollars) and all exact sums as numerals ($1,000,511).

Years

Years should always be set in numerals, not spelled out.

I was born in 1995.

If the year begins a sentence, it’s usually a good idea to reword the sentence.

Seventeen seventy-six was an important year in American history.

The year 1776 was important in American history.

Percentages

Percentages should always be numerals, not spelled out. In nontechnical and nonscientific writing, the word “percent” comes after the numeral; in statistical, scientific, and technical writing, use the symbol %.

• Fewer than 8 percent of homeowners attended the HOA meeting.
• The project is only about 89 percent done.
• The experiment revealed a 76% success rate.

Back-to-back Numbers

When you have back-to-back numbers, it’s best to use a combination of numerals and spelled-out numbers to avoid confusion.

• Five 10-seater vans will be used for transportation.
• There are 3 four-way intersections on that road.

What questions do you have about spelled-out numbers vs. numerals? Drop them in the comments, and I’ll do my best to find you an answer!

Click here to check out two controversial punctuation techniques!

Sources:

• American Psychological Association. Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. 7th ed. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 2020.
• The Chicago Manual of Style. 17th ed. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 2017.
• Einsohn, Amy. The Copyeditor’s Handbook. 3rd ed. Berkeley and Los Angeles, California: Univ of California Pr, 2011.
• MLA Handbook. 8th ed. New York: The Modern Language Association of America, 2016.