Spelling Negative Numbers
A minus sign in writing becomes the word negative (formal, mathematical) or minus (casual) in speech.
Rules
- Negative is the formal word, used in math, science, and finance.
- Minus is common in speech and in temperature readings (minus ten degrees).
- Don't use both: negative minus five is wrong.
- Accountants sometimes write negatives in parentheses instead: ($1,450) means negative one thousand four hundred fifty dollars.
Examples
| Input | In words |
|---|---|
| -1 | negative one |
| -5 | negative five |
| -47 | negative forty-seven |
| -100 | negative one hundred |
| -1,000 | negative one thousand |
See also
- Spelling Money Amounts
How to write dollar amounts in words — for checks, contracts, and legal documents. Examples from $1 to $1,000,000. - Writing Numbers on a Check
Step-by-step: how to spell the amount on a US check, including cents, the word 'and', and common mistakes. - Ordinal Numbers
Ordinals tell position or rank — first, second, third, and so on. Here's the spelling for every ordinal from 1st to 100th. - Writing Dates in Words
How to write dates like 'April 23, 2026' or 'the 23rd of April' in full English words. - Saying Phone Numbers in Words
Standard ways to pronounce and write out a US phone number digit by digit. - Spelling Fractions
Fractions in English combine a cardinal (top) with an ordinal (bottom). Here's the rule and a table of common fractions. - Spelling Decimal Numbers
How to read and write decimals like 3.14 or 0.005 in English — digit by digit after the point. - Million, Billion, Trillion, and Beyond
The short-scale names for large numbers used in the US — million, billion, trillion, quadrillion, and up.