Forty eight or Forty-eight?

Forty eight or forty-eight?

In this article we show you how to write 48 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 48. 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 48 is forty-eight (hyphenated).

Along the same lines:

• 48,000 = forty-eight thousand (hyphenated).
• 48,000,000 = forty-eight million (hyphenated).
• 48,000,000,000 = forty-eight billion (hyphenated).

Forty-eight or Forty eight 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.

Forty eight years or forty-eight years?
Forty eight percent or forty-eight percent?
Forty eight hours or forty-eight hours?

Frequently Asked Questions about Forty Eight

Does forty eight have a hyphen?

Yes, 48 has a hyphen and is spelled correctly as forty-eight.

Do you hyphenate forty eight?

Yes, you put a hyphen between forty and eight: forty-eight.

Does forty eight need a hyphen?

As 48 is a compound number in between 21 and 99 it needs a hyphen; therefore writing 48 in full is forty-eight.

In the table below we show you the correct spelling of some numbers succeeding and precededing 48:

Forty eighth or Forty-eighth?

In the following examples the correct spelling is underlined.

Forty eighth part or forty-eighth part?
Forty eighth day or forty-eighth day?
Forty eighth hour or forty-eighth hour?

Frequently Asked Questions about Forty eighth

• Does forty eighth have a hyphen? Yes, the ordinal number for 48 has a hyphen and is spelled correctly as forty-eighth.
• Do you hyphenate forty eighth? Yes, you put a hyphen between forty and eighth: forty-eighth.
• Does forty eighth need a hyphen? 48 is a compound number in between 21 and 99 which needs a hyphen. Thus, writing 48th in full is forty-eighth.

Forty eighth or Forty-eight?

As you already know, 48 as cardinal numeral is forty-eight, and 48 as ordinal numeral is forty-eighth.

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.

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Spelling: Forty-eight

Summary

As explained by the hyphens-in-numbers rule, 48 = forty-eight.

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


We love to hear your feedback and answer any question about how to correctly write 48 you might have.

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