Fourteen or forty? Hear teen and -ty numbers

Fourteen is 14; forty is 40. Listen to the whole ending as well as the stronger syllable. In a phrase, stress can move, so a single cue is not enough.

These examples follow General American English. Other accents can differ.

Watch the 60-second listening lesson with captions and answer reveals.

Three clues to listen for

Clue	Fourteen — 14	Forty — 40
Stress when said alone	Usually four-TEEN /ˌfɔrˈtiːn/	Usually FOR-ty /ˈfɔrti/
Ending vowel	A full /iː/ vowel in -teen	An unstressed /i/ vowel in -ty
Final consonant	Ends with /n/	No final /n/

Length changes with emphasis and speaking speed. Listen for the final /n/ and the rhythm together. In American forty, the /t/ often becomes a quick tongue tap that can sound like a soft d; it is still the word forty.

Stress can change before a noun

When someone answers “How many?” with just fourteen, the strongest beat is usually at the end. Before a strongly stressed noun, speakers may put more stress near the start: FOUR-teen PEO-ple. Emphasis can change the pattern again.

Do not decide “40” just because the first syllable sounds strong. In fourteen people, listen for the /n/ before people. Compare the full phrases fourteen people and forty people, then compare the numbers alone.

Build a small set of contrasts

Teen number	-ty number
thirteen — 13	thirty — 30
fourteen — 14	forty — 40
fifteen — 15	fifty — 50
sixteen — 16	sixty — 60
seventeen — 17	seventy — 70
eighteen — 18	eighty — 80
nineteen — 19	ninety — 90

Notice the spellings forty (no u) and fifteen/fifty. Practise the spoken forms as complete words.

Listen, type, compare

Open Number dictation and start with “Teen or -ty?”. Type the digits you hear.
After answering, replay the number and its partner. Listen to the ending before looking away and trying again.
Move to “In a sentence” and compare the numbers in phrases. Use the speed buttons if you need a slower replay.

Someone says a number with a strong first syllable and a final /n/. Is that enough evidence for forty?

Show the answers and reasons

No: stress alone cannot settle the number.: Forty has no final /n/, while a teen number can move its stress in a phrase. Listen for the ending or ask: ?Fourteen, one-four, or forty, four-zero?? Read the guide

Practise teen and -ty numbers

For the basic stress pattern in other words, read word stress.

Explore all pronunciation guides

General American English. The narration and the spoken examples are synthesized with Microsoft Azure Speech, the Andrew voice. No music. Captions include the answers; leave them off for the listening challenge. About our audio.

Full lesson text and spoken examples · English captions

Practise this in the guided pronunciation path, then choose and hear each reply in a capstone conversation.