One Thousand Two Hundred in Numbers

How to write 1,200 in words

The number 1,200 is written “one thousand two hundred” in British English.

The simplest method is to read the figure in groups of three digits from the left and name each group:

1. 1,000 is 1 in the thousands place, so we write “one thousand”.
2. 200 is what remains, written “two hundred”.
3. Join the groups in order, without “and” between them: “one thousand two hundred”.

In running text the number is normally lowercase: “the fee is one thousand two hundred pounds”. At the start of a sentence, in a heading, or on a legal document it takes capitals: One Thousand Two Hundred. Formal documents often give both forms together, for example “one thousand two hundred (1,200)”, so that a reader can check one against the other.

4 words · 21 letters · 1,200 = 1.2 × 1,000 (one thousand)

One Thousand Two Hundred in figures

To turn “one thousand two hundred” back into digits, work group by group. Each group word (billion, million, thousand) marks a block of three digits, so any block that is missing or short is padded with zeros. The result is 1,200, or 1200 without separators.

In expanded form: 1,000 + 200 = 1,200.

Commas go after every third digit counting from the right: 1,200. In Britain and the United States this is the standard grouping; in much of Europe the same number appears as 1.200, and international scientific style uses spaces: 1 200.

How to write 1,200 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 – “One thousand two hundred pounds and fifty pence only” for £1,200.50 – or write the pence as a fraction, “One thousand two hundred pounds 50/100”.
• US check: “One thousand two 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 one thousand two hundred only”, with the figure written Tk. 1,200/=.

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.

1,200 in British and American English

1,200 is spelled exactly the same way – “one thousand two 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.

1,200 in Bangla (বাংলায় ১,২০০)

In Bangla, 1,200 is written ১,২০০ using Bengali digits, and in words it is এক হাজার দুইশো. 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 এক হাজার দুইশো টাকা মাত্র (“এক হাজার দুইশো taka only”). In English on the same cheque it is Taka one thousand two hundred only – see How to write a cheque in Bangladesh.

Common mistakes when writing 1,200

• Adding “and” between groups. one thousand and two hundred is wrong – “and” only follows the hundreds, never the word thousand or million.
• Pluralising the group words. It is thousand, hundred, never “hundreds”, “thousands” or “millions” after a number.
• Using shorthand in formal documents. 1.2k is fine in a message, but a cheque or contract needs one thousand two hundred or 1,200.
• Miscounting the zeros. 1,200 has 4 digits. Check the commas: every group between commas should have exactly three digits.

Other ways to write 1,200

Half of 1,200 is 600 (six hundred). Double 1,200 is 2,400 (two thousand four hundred).