How to say years in English: 1984, 2005, 2025
By Michael McGettrickUpdated 11 October 2026
English says a year in : 1984 is nineteen eighty-four. The years 2000 to 2009 are the big exception: two thousand and five. Use in with a year: I was born in 1990.
Quick check
Three quick questions on what you have just read. The full practice is further down.
Pick the right one
0/3British English. How do you say the year?
1984
1905
2005
For the numbers themselves, see numbers in English.
The chart
| Year | Say it | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| 1984 | - | |
| 1776 | - | |
| 1900 | | 00: |
| 1905 | | 01-09: |
| 2000 | | |
| 2005 | | |
| 2025 | - | () |
Two pairs: nineteen eighty-four
Split the four digits into two numbers of two digits, and say each one.
- George Orwell wrote a book called Nineteen Eighty-Four. (1984)
- The war ended in nineteen forty-five. (1945)
- I was born in nineteen ninety-nine. (1999)
Never read the digits one by one: one nine eight four is a code, not a year.
1900 and 1905: hundred and oh
Two small rules for the second pair:
| Second pair | Say | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 00 | 1900 = nineteen hundred | |
| 01 09 | + digit | 1905 = nineteen oh five |
The house is from nineteen hundred. (1900) He was born in nineteen oh five. (1905) Without oh, nineteen five sounds like a mistake.
2000 to 2009: two thousand and five
These years are said as thousands, not pairs.
- two thousand (2000): the year two thousand
- two thousand and one (2001): British; American two thousand one
- two thousand and nine (2009)
Twenty oh five for 2005 is possible but rare: say two thousand and five.
2010 and after: both ways
From 2010, pairs came back. Both forms are correct. For the 2010s you hear both a lot; for the 2020s the pairs are now the usual choice.
| Year | Pairs | Thousands |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | twenty ten | two thousand and ten |
| 2019 | twenty nineteen | two thousand and nineteen |
| 2025 | twenty twenty-five | two thousand and twenty-five |
The Olympics were in London in twenty twelve. (2012) In formal speeches you may hear two thousand and twelve.
Decades: the eighties
A decade is ten years. Use the -ty number with an s, and the.
| Decade | Say |
|---|---|
| 1980s | eighties |
| 1990s | nineties |
| 1960s | sixties |
- My parents met in the eighties. (between 1980 and 1989)
- She is in her twenties. (she is between 20 and 29)
Write the 1980s, with no apostrophe before the s.
In 1990: the preposition
Years take , like months. Days and dates take .
- I was born in 1990. (a year: in)
- I was born in May. (a month: in)
- I was born on 5 May 1990. (a full date: on)
More in days, months and seasons.
Common mistakes
| Wrong | Right | Why |
|---|---|---|
| one nine eight four | nineteen eighty-four | , digits |
| nineteen five | nineteen oh five | 01-09: |
| on 1990 | in 1990 | |
| the eighty | the eighties | -ies |
| the 1980's | the 1980s | apostrophe |
What to do next
- Say the year you were born, then the year a parent was born, as pairs.
- Do the drills below.
- Back to numbers in English, or on to ordinal numbers.