Number dictation: fourteen or forty?

Teen and -ty numbers are some of the easiest English words to mishear, and getting a price, a time or a room number wrong costs more than most mistakes. Hear a number, type it in digits, and learn what tells them apart.

For ordinal days and month names, try English date listening with explicit year-first answers.

Ten numbers a round and three lives. Listen, type the number in digits and press Enter. After each answer you can hear the number it is easily confused with. Each round gets harder.

How to hear fourteen and forty apart

1. Listen to the end of the word

Every teen number ends in -teen: a long ee and an n. Every -ty number ends in a short, weak -ty with no n. This is the one difference that never goes away, so it is the one to listen for.

2. Listen for the stress, but do not trust it alone

Said on its own, a teen number is stressed at the end (four-TEEN) and a -ty number at the front (FOR-ty). But before a noun, the teen stress usually moves to the front: FOUR-teen DOL-lars. Then the two numbers have the same rhythm, and only the -teen ending is left to tell them apart.

3. Listen to the t

In American English the t of thirty, forty and eighty is a quick tap, close to a soft d. In thirteen, fourteen and eighteen the t starts a stressed syllable and stays a clear t. When in doubt in real life, ask: is that one-four or four-oh?

The seven pairs

TeenSaid alone-tySaid alone
13 thirteen thir-TEEN 30 thirty THIR-ty
14 fourteen four-TEEN 40 forty FOR-ty
15 fifteen fif-TEEN 50 fifty FIF-ty
16 sixteen six-TEEN 60 sixty SIX-ty
17 seventeen seven-TEEN 70 seventy SEVEN-ty
18 eighteen eigh-TEEN 80 eighty EIGH-ty
19 nineteen nine-TEEN 90 ninety NINE-ty

Numbers, prices, times and years are said as in General American English. In level 3 there is no and inside a number (one hundred fifteen); British English usually says one hundred and fifteen, and both are correct.

Keep practising

Ready for whole sentences? Try short dictation. Stress is what moves in fourteen dollars; practise hearing it in the word stress game.

Where to go next

More listening and pronunciation, then a different skill.

Short dictation
English letter names
Dates by ear
Minimal pairs
Word stress
Word listening
Listen and repeat
Listening bingo
Phonics patterns

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