Four Hundred and Ninety-Nine in Numbers

How to write 499 in words

The number 499 is written “four hundred and ninety-nine” in British English. Notice the word “and”: British English places it between the hundreds and the rest of the group. American English usually leaves it out. The hyphen in ninety-nine is not optional – every compound number from twenty-one to ninety-nine is hyphenated.

Because 499 is below one thousand it is a single group: name the hundreds, add "and", then name the remaining tens and units. That gives “four hundred and ninety-nine”.

In running text the number is normally lowercase: “the fee is four hundred and ninety-nine pounds”. At the start of a sentence, in a heading, or on a legal document it takes capitals: Four Hundred and Ninety-Nine. Formal documents often give both forms together, for example “four hundred and ninety-nine (499)”, so that a reader can check one against the other.

5 words · 24 letters

Four Hundred and Ninety-Nine in figures

To turn “four hundred and ninety-nine” back into digits, work group by group. Each group word (billion, million, thousand) marks a block of three digits. The result is 499, or 499 without separators.

How to write 499 on a cheque

Banks read the amount in words as the legal amount, so it must be exact. Write the pounds in words, add the word pounds, and finish with only so that nothing can be added afterwards.

• With pence: add the pence after the pounds – “Four hundred and ninety-nine pounds and fifty pence only” for £499.50 – or write the pence as a fraction, “Four hundred and ninety-nine pounds 50/100”.
• US check: “Four hundred ninety-nine and 00/100 dollars”. American cheques drop the “and” after the hundreds and put it before the cents.
• Bangladesh, India and Pakistan: the currency word comes first and the amount is counted in lakh and crore – “Taka four hundred and ninety-nine only”, with the figure written Tk. 499/=.

Read the full guide to writing a UK cheque or the guide to writing a cheque in Bangladesh for the layout, the date, and what to do if the words and figures disagree.

499 in British and American English

This is one of the numbers where the two spellings differ. British English keeps “and” after the hundreds; American English generally drops it.

Both are correct in their own country and both are understood everywhere. For a UK cheque, contract or exam, use the British form. See British vs American English numbers for the full comparison.

499 in Bangla (বাংলায় ৪৯৯)

In Bangla, 499 is written ৪৯৯ using Bengali digits, and in words it is চারশো নিরানব্বই. Bangla has its own word for every number from one to ninety-nine, and above that it counts in হাজার (thousand), লাখ (lakh) and কোটি (crore), the same grouping used across Bangladesh and India.

On a cheque or invoice written in Bangla the amount reads চারশো নিরানব্বই টাকা মাত্র (“চারশো নিরানব্বই taka only”). In English on the same cheque it is Taka four hundred and ninety-nine only – see How to write a cheque in Bangladesh.

Common mistakes when writing 499

• Missing the hyphen. four hundred and ninety nine is a very common misspelling. Write four hundred and ninety-nine.
• Dropping “and”. four hundred ninety-nine is American usage. In British English write four hundred and ninety-nine.
• Pluralising the group words. It is hundred, never “hundreds”, “thousands” or “millions” after a number.
• Mixing words and figures. In running text keep to one style: four hundred and ninety-nine or 499, not 499 (four hundred and ninety-nine) unless it is a legal document.

Other ways to write 499