How to use it
- Type the number or amount. Commas, spaces and a $ or ¥ sign are ignored, so 1,234.56 and $1234.56 give the same result.
- Read the three results: plain English words, the cheque form with cents as a fraction of 100, and Chinese financial numerals. Each has its own Copy button.
- Tick British style to add "and" after hundreds, as in "one hundred and one". Leave it off for the American style used on US cheques.
- If you need the date for a Chinese cheque, pick it under Date on a Chinese cheque; the tool applies the extra 零 and 壹 that Chinese banks require.
How numbers are written out
English
Numbers are read in groups of three digits, each followed by its scale word: thousand, million, billion, trillion, quadrillion. The tool uses the short scale, in which a billion is a thousand million (10^9). That has been standard in American English for a long time and in British official usage since 1974, when the Prime Minister confirmed in a written answer to Parliament that ministers would use it in that sense. Compound numbers from 21 to 99 are hyphenated: twenty-one, ninety-nine.
American and British English differ on one word. Americans write 101 as "one hundred one"; British English adds "and": "one hundred and one", and also "two thousand and one". Both are correct in their own contexts. Decimals are read digit by digit after "point": 3.14 is "three point one four".
Cheques
On a cheque, the whole-currency part is written in words and the cents as a fraction: 1,234.56 becomes "One thousand two hundred thirty-four and 56/100". Writing 00/100 for a round amount and drawing a line through the rest of the space prevents anyone from adding words later. The amount is rounded to the cent first, so 19.999 becomes "Twenty and 00/100".
Chinese financial numerals
Chinese invoices, receipts and cheques must show the amount in "large" numerals (大写) — 壹 贰 叁 肆 伍 陆 柒 捌 玖 instead of 一 二 三 — because the everyday characters are easy to alter: 一 can become 二 or 十 with a single stroke. The People's Bank of China sets the rules for how they are written, and this tool follows them:
- A zero in the middle is written 零, and a run of zeros is written as a single 零: 6,007.14 is 陆仟零柒元壹角肆分.
- When the jiao (tenths) digit is zero but the fen (hundredths) digit is not, 零 must follow 元: 16,409.02 is 壹万陆仟肆佰零玖元零贰分.
- An amount that ends at 元 is followed by 整 ("exactly"): 1 is 壹元整. Amounts that end in 角 or 分 do not need it.
- Ten to nineteen are written with 壹: 10 is 壹拾元整, not 拾元整.
Groups of four digits are named 万 (10^4) and 亿 (10^8), so 100,000,000 is 壹亿 and 10^12 is 壹万亿. That is why Chinese amounts are grouped by four digits, not three.
Examples
| Number | Result |
|---|---|
101 | one hundred one · British: one hundred and one |
2001 (British) | two thousand and one |
1234567 | one million two hundred thirty-four thousand five hundred sixty-seven |
1000000000 | one billion |
3.14 | three point one four |
1234.56 cheque | One thousand two hundred thirty-four and 56/100 |
75 cheque | Seventy-five and 00/100 |
1409.50 | 壹仟肆佰零玖元伍角 |
16409.02 | 壹万陆仟肆佰零玖元零贰分 |
107000.53 | 壹拾万零柒仟元伍角叁分 |
The Chinese examples are taken from the People's Bank of China guidance. For amounts like 1,680.32, where the 元 digit is zero, the guidance allows both 壹仟陆佰捌拾元零叁角贰分 and 壹仟陆佰捌拾元叁角贰分; this tool uses the second, shorter form. For a cheque dated 15 January 2026, the date is written 贰零贰陆年零壹月壹拾伍日, with 零 before the month and 壹 before 拾.
Limits
- Range. English words go up to 18 digits (just under a quintillion); Chinese amounts go up to 16 digits before the decimal point, just under 1 亿亿.
- Cents only. Amounts are rounded to two decimal places, half up, before being written as currency. Plain English words keep every decimal digit.
- One currency style each. The Chinese result is for renminbi (元, 角, 分); the cheque form suits dollars and other currencies divided into 100 cents. Ordinal numbers (first, second) and other languages are not covered.
- Check local rules. Banks can have their own requirements, for example about the words "only" or "exactly" on cheques. Follow your bank when it differs.
Frequently asked questions
How do I write $1,234.56 on a cheque?
One thousand two hundred thirty-four and 56/100, followed by a line to the end of the space.
Is it "one hundred one" or "one hundred and one"?
Both are correct: American English usually omits "and", British English includes it. US cheques use the American form.
Is a billion a thousand million or a million million?
In modern English, both American and British, a billion is a thousand million (10^9). The older British "million million" meaning is no longer used officially.
Why do Chinese amounts use characters like 壹 and 贰?
They are hard to alter. Everyday numerals such as 一 and 二 can be changed with a single stroke, so banks and invoices require the financial forms.
Is anything sent to a server?
No. All conversions run in your browser.