How to say the year in English
What year is this?
We do not say:
one thousand, nine hundred and eighty-four
No, that is not correct.
Years are normally divided into two parts.
The first digit, or first two digits
and the last two digits.
In this example,
the year is divided into the first two digits... 19
and the last two digits... 84
so you would say the year is...
nineteen eighty-four
How do you say these years?
The first year is...
ten sixty-six
The next year is...
sixteen fifty-two.
The next year is...
nineteen forty-one
The last year is...
twenty seventeen
When a year ends in a number between 01 and 09
then that zero is pronounced the same as the letter O
and then we add the number after it.
In the example,
we can see that the year ends in a 0 and a 2
We would say the year is...
sixteen O two
the zero is pronounced like the letter O
sixteen O two
How do you say these years?
fifteen O eight
seventeen O nine
eighteen O four
nineteen O one
When a year ends in zero zero such as in the example,
then the year is said as the number before the two zeros
and then the word hundred.
In the example
it is the year... sixteen hundred
How do you say these years?
The first one is the year
twelve hundred
fifteen hundred
seventeen hundred
eighteen hundred
For the year 2000 you say
the year two thousand
For the years 2001 to 2010,
the most common way of saying the year is
two thousand and.... plus... the number
Listen to these examples.
two thousand and one
two thousand and two
two thousand and five
two thousand and eight
For the first years after 2010,
you may hear two different alternatives or ways of saying the year.
Look at the year that appears.
Some people say: two thousand and twelve
while others say: twenty twelve
They're both used and both correct.
However,
now it is becoming more and more frequent to say
the year divided into its two parts
as we do for all the other years.
When were you born?
Let us know in the comments.
Remember to write the year in words not numbers.