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Fifty six or Fifty-six?

Fifty six or fifty-six?

In this article we show you how to write 56 in English words correctly.

In addition, we provide you with the grammar rule right away. 🙂

Regardless of where they appear in a number, hyphenate all compound numbers between 21 and 99 (not 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, and 90) such as 56. In other words:

Hyphenate all numbers between twenty-one and ninety-nine, except those divisible by ten, even if the compound number is preceded or succeeded by numbers that do not require hyphens.
Thus, the correct spelling of 56 is fifty-six (hyphenated).

Along the same lines:
  • 56,000 = fifty-six thousand (hyphenated).
  • 56,000,000 = fifty-six million (hyphenated).
  • 56,000,000,000 = fifty-six billion (hyphenated).

Fifty-six or Fifty six Spelling

It doesn’t matter which noun follows the adjective, the grammar rule explained above remains in place.

In the examples below the correct spelling is underlined.

Fifty six years or fifty-six years?
Fifty six percent or fifty-six percent?
Fifty six hours or fifty-six hours?

Frequently Asked Questions about Fifty Six

Does fifty six have a hyphen?

Yes, 56 has a hyphen and is spelled correctly as fifty-six.

Do you hyphenate fifty six?

Yes, you put a hyphen between fifty and six: fifty-six.

Does fifty six need a hyphen?

As 56 is a compound number in between 21 and 99 it needs a hyphen; therefore writing 56 in full is fifty-six.

In the table below we show you the correct spelling of some numbers succeeding and precededing 56:
NumberName
51fifty-one
52fifty-two
53fifty-three
54fifty-four
55fifty-five
56fifty-six
57fifty-seven
58fifty-eight
59fifty-nine
60sixty
61sixty-one

Fifty sixth or Fifty-sixth?

In the following examples the correct spelling is underlined.

Fifty sixth part or fifty-sixth part?
Fifty sixth day or fifty-sixth day?
Fifty sixth hour or fifty-sixth hour?

Frequently Asked Questions about Fifty sixth

  • Does fifty sixth have a hyphen? Yes, the ordinal number for 56 has a hyphen and is spelled correctly as fifty-sixth.
  • Do you hyphenate fifty sixth? Yes, you put a hyphen between fifty and sixth: fifty-sixth.
  • Does fifty sixth need a hyphen? 56 is a compound number in between 21 and 99 which needs a hyphen. Thus, writing 56th in full is fifty-sixth.

Fifty sixth or Fifty-six?

As you already know, 56 as cardinal numeral is fifty-six, and 56 as ordinal numeral is fifty-sixth.

Thus, the question in the subtitle above mixes two distinguished linguistic concepts and cannot be answered as such.

Observe that you can always check how to spell a number in full correctly using our converter below.

English:

American
British

To:

Words
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Currency

Letter case:

Sentence case
lowercase
UPPERCASE
Title Case
Spelling: Fifty-six

Summary

As explained by the hyphens-in-numbers rule, 56 = fifty-six.

If you are happy with our information, then you may also be interested in our article fifty-eight or fifty eight.


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– Article written by Mark, last updated on May 5th, 2023