How To Read Years in English?

Unlike reading digits, reading years in English can be a bit tricky since the natural way of reading dates can vary from decades to decades and century to century. This blog will cover everything you need to know about telling years in English.

Reading years in English

1. Years before 999

For years before 999, read them just like numbers.

• in 999 CE - in nine hundred and ninety-nine CE
• in 900 CE - in nine hundred CE
• in 801 CE - in eight hundred and one CE
• in 71 CE - in seventy-one CE

2. Years from 1000 to 1999

Reading dates from 1000 to 1999 is rather difficult since varied ways are there. We need to sub-categorize them further for convenience.

1. Years ending in 00

Read them as hundreds.

• in 1800 - in eighteen hundred
• in 1100 - in eleven hundred

2. Years ending in 01, 02, 03, 04, to 09

Read the first digits in tens, read the zero as "oh" and read the last digit

• in 1901 - in nineteen oh one
• in 1105 - in eleven oh five
• in 1509 - in fifteen oh nine

3. Years with first and third digits are numbers other than zero

Read them as two sets of tens

• in 1050 - in ten fifty
• in 1245 - in twelve forty-five
• in 1061 - in ten sixty-one
• in 1490 - in fourteen ninety

4. Another method for all years from 1000 to 1999

Just so you know you could read years from 1000 to 1999 in a single method telling the first two-number set in hundreds and the second set in tens. But you don't have to make it a practice if you are more comfortable with the above method. Anyway, I shall mention it.

• in 1900 - in nineteen hundred
• in 1901 - in nineteen hundred and one
• in 1987 - in nineteen hundred and eighty-seven
• in 1056 - in ten hundred and fifty six
• in 1490 - in fourteen hundred and ninety

3. Years from 2000 to 2009

Read them as whole numbers in thousands

• in 2001 - in two thousand and one
• in 2009 - in two thousand and nine

4. Years from 2010 to 2019

You can read them in two different ways. In one way, you could read them as two sets of tens. In the other, read them as whole numbers in thousands.

• in 2015 - in twenty fifteen
• in 2015 - in twenty thousand and fifteen

5. Years from 2020

You can read them in two different ways. In one way, you could read them as two sets of tens. In the other, read them as whole numbers in thousands. But reading in tens would be more popular. So better stick to one method, that way you will get into the groove with reading dates fast.

• in 2020 - in twenty twenty
• in 2035 - in twenty thirty-five

6. Decades of 1900 to 2000

For the decades of this century, we just need the last two digits.

• in the 50s - in the fifties

7. Decades of any century other than from 1900 to 2000.

For any decades prior to 1900, we need all digits.

• in the 1790s - in the seventeen nineties.

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