Four Hundred in Numbers

How to write 400 in words

The number 400 is written “four hundred” in British English.

Because 400 is below one thousand it is a single group: name the hundreds and stop. That gives “four hundred”.

In running text the number is normally lowercase: “the fee is four hundred pounds”. At the start of a sentence, in a heading, or on a legal document it takes capitals: Four Hundred. Formal documents often give both forms together, for example “four hundred (400)”, so that a reader can check one against the other.

2 words · 11 letters · 400 = 4 × 100 (one hundred)

Four Hundred in figures

To turn “four hundred” back into digits, work group by group. Each group word (billion, million, thousand) marks a block of three digits. The result is 400, or 400 without separators.

How to write 400 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 pounds and fifty pence only” for £400.50 – or write the pence as a fraction, “Four hundred pounds 50/100”.
• US check: “Four hundred 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 only”, with the figure written Tk. 400/=.

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.

400 in British and American English

400 is spelled exactly the same way – “four hundred” – in British and American English. The two varieties only differ when a number contains hundreds followed by tens or units, where British English adds “and”. Read more in our guide to British vs American English numbers.

400 in Bangla (বাংলায় ৪০০)

In Bangla, 400 is written ৪০০ using Bengali digits, and in words it is চারশো. 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 টাকা মাত্র (“চারশো taka only”). In English on the same cheque it is Taka four hundred only – see How to write a cheque in Bangladesh.

Common mistakes when writing 400

• 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 or 400, not 400 (four hundred) unless it is a legal document.

Other ways to write 400

Half of 400 is 200 (two hundred). Double 400 is 800 (eight hundred).