Numbers, dates and time
ቁጥሮች፣ ቀኖችና ሰዓት
When to write numbers in words or figures, ordinals, the American date order (month/day/year), times, money, phone numbers and addresses. Many forms in the US are filled in wrongly because the date order is different.
Words or figures? Ordinals
In ordinary writing, spell out one to nine (three children) and use figures for 10 and above (14 years). Always use figures for money, times, dates, addresses, ages on forms, percentages and measurements. Never start a sentence with a figure: write Twenty people came, or rewrite it. Ordinals show order: first (1st), second (2nd), third (3rd), fourth (4th).
In Amharic
በተለመደ ጽሑፍ ከአንድ እስከ ዘጠኝ በቃል ይጻፉ (three children)፤ ከ10 በላይ በአኃዝ ይጻፉ (14 years)። ለገንዘብ፣ ለሰዓት፣ ለቀን፣ ለአድራሻ፣ በቅጽ ላይ ለዕድሜ፣ ለመቶኛና ለልኬት ሁልጊዜ አኃዝ ይጠቀሙ። ዓረፍተ ነገርን በአኃዝ አይጀምሩ፦ Twenty people came ብለው ይጻፉ ወይም ዓረፍተ ነገሩን ይቀይሩ። ተራ ቁጥሮች ቅደም ተከተል ያሳያሉ፦ first (1st), second (2nd), third (3rd), fourth (4th)።
| Number | Ordinal | Short | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 one | first | 1st | irregular |
| 2 two | second | 2nd | irregular |
| 3 three | third | 3rd | irregular |
| 5 five | fifth | 5th | ve → f |
| 9 nine | ninth | 9th | no e |
| 12 twelve | twelfth | 12th | ve → f |
| 20 twenty | twentieth | 20th | y → ie |
| 21 twenty-one | twenty-first | 21st | hyphen 21–99 |
- Hyphenate numbers from twenty-one to ninety-nine when written as words.
- Large numbers take commas every three figures: 1,500 and 25,000. Ethiopia often uses the same; some countries use a full stop (1.500), which in the US means one and a half.
- Floors and birthdays use ordinals: the third floor, her 40th birthday.
- We have two children and one grandchild.
- The apartment is on the 12th floor.
- About 45 people came to the meeting.
- Thirty families signed the letter.
- Rent went up by 5 percent this year.
Dates: the American order
In the US, the month comes first: 10/26/2026 = October 26, 2026. In the UK and most of the world, the day comes first: 26/10/2026. Ethiopia uses its own calendar (Tikimt 16, 2019 E.C.) and usually the day first. So 03/04/2026 is March 4 in the US but 3 April in Britain. On US forms, if the box says MM/DD/YYYY, write the month first. To avoid confusion in emails, write the month as a word.
In Amharic
በአሜሪካ ወሩ ይቀድማል፦ 10/26/2026 = October 26, 2026። በእንግሊዝና በአብዛኛው ዓለም ቀኑ ይቀድማል፦ 26/10/2026። ኢትዮጵያ የራሷን የቀን አቆጣጠር ትጠቀማለች (ጥቅምት 16፣ 2019 ዓ.ም.)፤ ብዙ ጊዜም ቀኑ ይቀድማል። ስለዚህ 03/04/2026 በአሜሪካ March 4 ሲሆን በእንግሊዝ ግን 3 April ነው። በአሜሪካ ቅጾች ሳጥኑ MM/DD/YYYY ካለ ወሩን መጀመሪያ ይጻፉ። በኢሜይል ግራ መጋባትን ለማስቀረት ወሩን በቃል ይጻፉ።
| Style | Figures | Words | Say it |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 10/26/2026 | October 26, 2026 | October twenty-sixth |
| United Kingdom | 26/10/2026 | 26 October 2026 | the twenty-sixth of October |
| Ethiopia (E.C.) | 16/02/2019 | ጥቅምት 16፣ 2019 | day first, own calendar |
| US form box | MM/DD/YYYY | 03/04/1985 = March 4, 1985 | month first |
- Write the date as a number (October 26), but say it as an ordinal (October twenty-sixth).
- Prepositions: on a day or date (on Monday, on June 5), in a month or year (in June, in 2026), at a time (at 3 p.m.).
- On US documents, convert your Ethiopian-calendar birth date to the Gregorian date first.
- My appointment is on Tuesday, November 3.
- Date of birth: 07/15/1988 (July 15, 1988).
- The lease starts on January 1, 2027.
- We moved to Las Vegas in 2019.
- The school year ends in late May.
Times, money, phone numbers and addresses
Americans use a 12-hour clock with a.m. (midnight to noon) and p.m. (noon to midnight). Ethiopian time counts from sunrise, so 7 a.m. in English is ፩ ሰዓት in Ethiopian time: always check which clock someone means. Money: the $ sign goes before the number, with a full stop for cents ($12.50). Phone numbers are grouped (702) 555-0123. Addresses go from small to big: number and street, then city, state and ZIP code.
In Amharic
አሜሪካውያን የ12 ሰዓት አቆጣጠር ይጠቀማሉ፦ a.m. (ከእኩለ ሌሊት እስከ ቀትር) እና p.m. (ከቀትር እስከ እኩለ ሌሊት)። የኢትዮጵያ ሰዓት ከፀሐይ መውጫ ይቆጠራል፤ ስለዚህ በእንግሊዝኛ 7 a.m. በኢትዮጵያ ሰዓት ፩ ሰዓት ነው፦ ሰውዬው የትኛውን ሰዓት እንደሚል ሁልጊዜ ያረጋግጡ። ገንዘብ፦ የ $ ምልክት ከቁጥሩ በፊት ይገባል፤ ሳንቲም በነጥብ ይለያል ($12.50)። ስልክ ቁጥሮች በቡድን ይጻፋሉ (702) 555-0123። አድራሻ ከትንሽ ወደ ትልቅ ይሄዳል፦ ቁጥርና መንገድ፣ ከዚያ ከተማ፣ ግዛትና ZIP ኮድ።
| What | Write | Say |
|---|---|---|
| time | 7:30 a.m. / 3:15 p.m. | seven thirty / a quarter past three |
| noon / midnight | 12 p.m. (noon) / 12 a.m. (midnight) | noon / midnight |
| money | $12.50 / $1,200 | twelve dollars and fifty cents / twelve hundred dollars |
| cents only | 75¢ or $0.75 | seventy-five cents |
| phone | (702) 555-0123 | seven oh two, five five five, oh one two three |
| address | 1450 E. Sahara Ave., Apt. 12, Las Vegas, NV 89104 | street, apartment, city, state, ZIP |
- Do not use a.m./p.m. with o'clock or with morning/evening: 7 a.m. or seven o'clock in the morning, not 7 a.m. in the morning.
- Say 0 as “oh” in phone numbers and room numbers.
- Use states' two-letter codes in addresses: NV (Nevada), CO (Colorado), CA (California).
- My shift starts at 6 a.m. and ends at 2:30 p.m.
- The rent is $1,350 a month.
- Please call us at (702) 555-0147.
- Send it to 3200 W. Charleston Blvd., Las Vegas, NV 89102.
- The coffee costs $3.75.
Common mistakes
| Mistake | Correct | Why |
|---|---|---|
| My birthday is 07/15/1988. | US forms put the month first: MM/DD/YYYY. | |
| The price is $12.50. | The dollar sign goes before the number. | |
| I start work at 7 a.m. | a.m. already means in the morning. | |
| Five people called today. | Do not start a sentence with a figure. | |
| The meeting is on Monday. | on for days and dates, in for months and years. | |
| She lives on the twelfth floor. | twelve → twelfth: ve becomes f. |
Practice
Each answer is checked as you go, with the reason. Nothing here is saved.
Write 3 as an ordinal word: ___
On a US form (MM/DD/YYYY), March 4, 1990 is:
Which is correct?
I have an appointment ___ June 5.
Write 12 as an ordinal word: ___
Which is correct?
Which sentence is best?
Write 21 in words: ___
In the UK, 05/08/2026 means:
12 p.m. is also called ___ (one word)