In some cases it's better to rearrange the sentence so that the number
appears later.
Recommended: In
general, avoid sending files larger than 164 MB as attachments.
Not recommended: 164 MB
is generally considered too large a file to send as an attachment.
Exception: It's okay, but non-optimal, to begin a
sentence with a four-digit year.
A number that is followed by a numeral.
Recommended: This
procedure creates fifteen 100,000-byte files.
But
Recommended: This
procedure creates 15 of the 100,000-byte files.
Indefinite and casual numbers.
Using words like millions or billions is fine for approximate numbers. For
precise numbers, use numerals.
Recommended: You
can specify thousands of combinations.
Recommended: The
API might return a list of a million songs.
Numbers as numerals
This section covers when to use numerals to write numbers.
If it's important to have the number and associated noun together on the same line, use
a nonbreaking space between the number and the noun.
In general, use numerals for the following:
Numbers 10 and greater.
Recommended: The link expires in 24
hours.
Recommended: 18 years old
Recommended: 27 minutes
Recommended: 728 shipments
Recommended: 18,000,000 users
Recommended: 10 chapters
Recommended: 102 degrees
Exceptions: Always use numerals for the following items, even if
they're less than 10:
Version numbers.
Recommended:
version 3
Technical quantities, such as amounts of memory, amounts of disk
space, numbers of queries, or usage limits.
Recommended: 6 queries per second
Recommended: 50 Mbps
Recommended: 64-bit
Page numbers.
Chapter numbers, sections, pages, and so on.
Step numbers. Avoid referring to step numbers whenever possible,
but in edge cases where you have no choice or it makes the most sense,
use the numeral.
Prices.
Numbers without units, such as numbers used in mathematical
expressions.
Numbers less than 10 when they appear in the same sentence with
numbers greater than 9.
Recommended: The
menu contains 15 options but 6 of them are deselected.
When two or more hyphenated compounds that start with numbers modify the same
word, use suspended hyphens.
Recommended: You can set up the system to
scan for new files at one-, two-, or three-hour intervals.
Currency
Make sure that it's clear what country's currency you are describing. For more information, see
the currency section in Units of measurement.
For US dollars, use a comma to delineate the thousands place of whole
currency. Use a period to delineate whole currency and fractions of currency.
Always include the dollar sign ($) at the beginning of the currency. Do
not use any punctuation or spaces to the right of the decimal.
Recommended: The price is $0.006653 per
vCPU hour.
Not recommended: The price is $0.006,653
per vCPU hour.
Recommended: $10,000 in fees is out of
reach for many developers.
Not recommended: $10 000 in fees is out
of reach for many developers.
Commas and decimal points in numbers
Use commas and decimal points in accordance with standard American number-formatting.
Specifically: in numbers four or more digits long, use commas to set off
groups of three digits, counting leftward from the decimal point, in the
standard American style. For long decimal numbers, do not use any digit-group separators to the
right of the decimal point.
Use a period for a decimal point, also in the standard American style.
Recommended
Not recommended
The limit is 1,532,784 bytes per day.
The limit is 1532784 bytes per day.
The API supports up to 2,000 vertices.
The API supports up to 2000 vertices.
$0.031611/vCPU hour
$0.031 611/vCPU hour
For more information about decimal points and digit group separators, see Wikipedia's decimal mark entry.
Dimensions
Use numerals for dimensions.
Use a lowercase x between the numerals in the dimensions, with no space between
the numerals and the x.
Accompany numerical concepts with real-world practical implications
Accompany numerical concepts with real-world practical implications to provide tangible meaning.
For example, if using a feature incurs additional fees, add a link to pricing calculator.
Provide visuals for math concepts
Accompany math concepts and numerals with
diagrams or other images
to support comprehension. For example, if comparing statistics, consider illustrating percentages in
a pie chart or a bar graph.
[null,null,["Last updated 2025-07-08 UTC."],[[["\u003cp\u003eSpell out numbers zero through nine and use numerals for numbers 10 and greater, with exceptions for technical quantities and specific contexts like version numbers.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eUse numerals for dimensions, percentages, currency, and measurements, ensuring proper formatting and units.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eExpress fractions as decimals when possible, and format ranges of numbers with hyphens.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eFor clarity, provide real-world examples and visuals to support comprehension of numerical concepts.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eWrite out ordinal numbers (first, second, third) instead of using numerals (1st, 2nd, 3rd).\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],["Numbers zero through nine are spelled out, except in technical quantities, version numbers, or when paired with numbers above nine. Use numerals for 10 and above, technical quantities, page/chapter numbers, prices, and measurements. Start sentences with spelled-out numbers, except for four-digit years. Fractions should be decimal numbers if possible; percentages are numerals with \"%\". Use commas in four-digit-or-more numbers and periods for decimals. Use lowercase \"x\" between dimension numbers.\n"],null,["# Numbers\n\n| For information about formatting quantities like 10 MB, see [Units of measurement](/style/units-of-measure).\n\nOrdinal numbers\n---------------\n\nSpell out all ordinal numbers in text.\n\nRecommended: first, fifth, twelfth,\nforty-third\n\nNot recommended: 1st, 5th, 12th, 43rd\n\nNumbers as words\n----------------\n\nThis section covers when to spell out numbers as words.\n\nIf it's important to have the number and associated noun together on the same line, use\na nonbreaking space between the number and the noun.\n\nIn general, spell out the following:\n\n- Numbers from zero through nine, except as noted in\n [Numbers as numerals](#numbers-as-numerals).\n\n Recommended:\n two-day total\n\n Recommended: four options\n\n Recommended: five minutes\n\n Recommended: nine developers\n- A number that starts a sentence.\n\n Recommended: Fifteen\n directories are created.\n\n In some cases it's better to rearrange the sentence so that the number\n appears later.\n\n Recommended: In\n general, avoid sending files larger than 164 MB as attachments.\n\n Not recommended: 164 MB\n is generally considered too large a file to send as an attachment.\n\n **Exception**: It's okay, but non-optimal, to begin a\n sentence with a four-digit year.\n- A number that is followed by a numeral.\n\n Recommended: This\n procedure creates fifteen 100,000-byte files.\n\n *But*\n\n Recommended: This\n procedure creates 15 of the 100,000-byte files.\n- Indefinite and casual numbers.\n\n Using words like *millions* or *billions* is fine for approximate numbers. For\n precise numbers, use numerals.\n\n Recommended: You\n can specify thousands of combinations.\n\n Recommended: The\n API might return a list of a million songs.\n\nNumbers as numerals\n-------------------\n\nThis section covers when to use numerals to write numbers.\n\nIf it's important to have the number and associated noun together on the same line, use\na nonbreaking space between the number and the noun.\n\nIn general, use numerals for the following:\n\n- Numbers 10 and greater.\n\n Recommended: The link expires in 24\n hours.\n\n Recommended: 18 years old\n\n Recommended: 27 minutes\n\n Recommended: 728 shipments\n\n Recommended: 18,000,000 users\n\n Recommended: 10 chapters\n\n Recommended: 102 degrees\n\n **Exceptions**: Always use numerals for the following items, even if\n they're less than 10:\n - Version numbers. Recommended:\n version 3\n\n - Technical quantities, such as amounts of memory, amounts of disk\n space, numbers of queries, or usage limits.\n\n Recommended: 6 queries per second\n\n Recommended: 50 Mbps\n\n Recommended: 64-bit\n - Page numbers.\n - Chapter numbers, sections, pages, and so on.\n - Step numbers. Avoid referring to step numbers whenever possible, but in edge cases where you have no choice or it makes the most sense, use the numeral.\n - Prices.\n - Numbers without units, such as numbers used in mathematical expressions.\n - Numbers less than 10 when they appear in the same sentence with\n numbers greater than 9.\n\n Recommended: The\n menu contains 15 options but 6 of them are deselected.\n- Negative numbers.\n- Most [fractions](#fractions).\n- [Percentages](#percentages).\n- [Dimensions](#dimensions).\n- Numbers containing decimal points.\n - Treat decimal numbers as plural even when less than or equal to 1.0.\n\n Recommended: 1.0 inches\n - For decimal numbers less than one, place a zero in front of the decimal point.\n\n Recommended: 0.3 inches\n- Measurements.\n\n Recommended: 8 pixels\n- [Numbers in a range](#ranges-of-numbers).\n\nNumbers as Roman numerals\n-------------------------\n\nIn general, avoid using Roman numerals when possible. Instead, use Arabic numerals because they\nare easier to scan.\n\nYou can use Roman numerals for\n[sub-steps in numbered procedures](/style/procedures#sub-steps-in-numbered-procedures).\n\nFractions\n---------\n\nExpress fractions as decimal numbers, when possible.\n\nWhen expressing fractions as words, connect the numerator and\ndenominator with a hyphen unless one of them is already hyphenated.\n\nRecommended: two-fifths\n\nRecommended: five sixty-fourths\n\nPercentages\n-----------\n\nIn general, use numerals and the percent sign (%), without a space between them.\n\nRecommended: 40%\n\n**Exception** : If the percentage starts the sentence, then spell out both\nthe number and the word *percent*.\n\nRecommended: Forty\npercent of the files\n\nRanges of numbers\n-----------------\n\nUse a hyphen with no space on either side of it. Do not use an\nen dash (`–`).\n\nRecommended:\n2012-2016\n\nFor more information, see the following:\n\n- [Ranges of numbers with units](/style/units-of-measure#ranges)\n- [Range of numbers](/style/hyphens#number-range)\n\nSuspended hyphens\n-----------------\n\nWhen two or more hyphenated compounds that start with numbers modify the same\nword, use [suspended hyphens](/style/hyphens#suspended-hyphens).\n\nRecommended: You can set up the system to\nscan for new files at one-, two-, or three-hour intervals.\n\nCurrency\n--------\n\nMake sure that it's clear what country's currency you are describing. For more information, see\nthe [currency](/style/units-of-measure#currency) section in Units of measurement.\n\nFor US dollars, use a comma to delineate the thousands place of whole\ncurrency. Use a period to delineate whole currency and fractions of currency.\nAlways include the dollar sign ($) at the beginning of the currency. Do\nnot use any punctuation or spaces to the right of the decimal.\n\nRecommended: The price is $0.006653 per\nvCPU hour.\n\nNot recommended: The price is $0.006,653\nper vCPU hour.\n\nRecommended: $10,000 in fees is out of\nreach for many developers.\n\nNot recommended: $10 000 in fees is out\nof reach for many developers.\n\nCommas and decimal points in numbers\n------------------------------------\n\nUse commas and decimal points in accordance with standard American number-formatting.\n\nSpecifically: in numbers four or more digits long, use commas to set off\ngroups of three digits, counting leftward from the decimal point, in the\nstandard American style. For long decimal numbers, do not use any digit-group separators to the\nright of the decimal point.\n| **Note** : Even though the [International\n| System of Units](https://www.nist.gov/pml/weights-and-measures/metric-si/si-units) (SI) uses a thin space as a digit group separator, we use a comma, which is the most common digit group separator used in the US.\n\nUse a period for a decimal point, also in the standard American style.\n\n| Recommended | Not recommended |\n|----------------------------------------|---------------------------------------|\n| The limit is 1,532,784 bytes per day. | The limit is 1532784 bytes per day. |\n| The API supports up to 2,000 vertices. | The API supports up to 2000 vertices. |\n| $0.031611/vCPU hour | $0.031 611/vCPU hour |\n\n| **Note**: Even though in some scientific writing, four-digit numbers don't use commas, our style is to use a comma for a four-digit number.\n\nFor more information about decimal points and digit group separators, see Wikipedia's [decimal mark](http://wikipedia.org/wiki/Decimal_mark) entry.\n\nDimensions\n----------\n\nUse numerals for dimensions.\n\nUse a lowercase *x* between the numerals in the dimensions, with no space between\nthe numerals and the *x*.\n\nRecommended: 192x192\n\nNot recommended: 192 x 192\n\nExponents\n---------\n\nUse [standard mathematical\nnotation](https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Exponentiation). Don't put a space between the base and the exponent.\n\nRecommended: 2^3^\n\nAccompany numerical concepts with real-world practical implications\n-------------------------------------------------------------------\n\nAccompany numerical concepts with real-world practical implications to provide tangible meaning.\nFor example, if using a feature incurs additional fees, add a link to pricing calculator.\n\nProvide visuals for math concepts\n---------------------------------\n\nAccompany math concepts and numerals with\n[diagrams or other images](/style/images)\nto support comprehension. For example, if comparing statistics, consider illustrating percentages in\na pie chart or a bar graph."]]
