Thirty nine or Thirty-nine?

Thirty nine or thirty-nine?

In this article we show you how to write 39 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 39. 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 39 is thirty-nine (hyphenated).

Along the same lines:

• 39,000 = thirty-nine thousand (hyphenated).
• 39,000,000 = thirty-nine million (hyphenated).
• 39,000,000,000 = thirty-nine billion (hyphenated).

Thirty-nine or Thirty nine 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.

Thirty nine years or thirty-nine years?
Thirty nine percent or thirty-nine percent?
Thirty nine hours or thirty-nine hours?

Frequently Asked Questions about Thirty Nine

Does thirty nine have a hyphen?

Yes, 39 has a hyphen and is spelled correctly as thirty-nine.

Do you hyphenate thirty nine?

Yes, you put a hyphen between thirty and nine: thirty-nine.

Does thirty nine need a hyphen?

As 39 is a compound number in between 21 and 99 it needs a hyphen; therefore writing 39 in full is thirty-nine.

In the table below we show you the correct spelling of some numbers succeeding and precededing 39:

Thirty ninth or Thirty-ninth?

In the following examples the correct spelling is underlined.

Thirty ninth part or thirty-ninth part?
Thirty ninth day or thirty-ninth day?
Thirty ninth hour or thirty-ninth hour?

Frequently Asked Questions about Thirty ninth

• Does thirty ninth have a hyphen? Yes, the ordinal number for 39 has a hyphen and is spelled correctly as thirty-ninth.
• Do you hyphenate thirty ninth? Yes, you put a hyphen between thirty and ninth: thirty-ninth.
• Does thirty ninth need a hyphen? 39 is a compound number in between 21 and 99 which needs a hyphen. Thus, writing 39th in full is thirty-ninth.

Thirty ninth or Thirty-nine?

As you already know, 39 as cardinal numeral is thirty-nine, and 39 as ordinal numeral is thirty-ninth.

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: Thirty-nine

Summary

As explained by the hyphens-in-numbers rule, 39 = thirty-nine.

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


We love to hear your feedback and answer any question about how to correctly write 39 you might have.

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