---
id: num2words
version: "0.5.14"
license: LGPL
license_treatment: copyleft
maintenance: aging
---

# num2words — Modules to convert numbers to words. Easily extensible.

License: copyleft · Maintenance: aging · Downloads: 9.5M/mo

## What it is and what it does

num2words is a library that converts numeric values into their written word equivalents across multiple languages. It handles cardinal numbers (42 → 'forty-two'), ordinal forms (42 → 'forty-second'), year formats, and currency representations. The library supports language variants including English, Spanish, French, German, and many others, with locale-specific fallback behavior when exact regional variants are unavailable.

The package is designed for internationalization and localization tasks where numeric output needs to be human-readable in multiple languages. It exposes a single primary function with optional parameters to specify the conversion type and target language. The library includes both a Python API and a command-line interface, making it suitable for integration into applications or standalone text processing workflows.

Use it for:

- Generate human-readable invoice or receipt text in customer-preferred languages for e-commerce or billing systems.
- Convert numeric data to words for text-to-speech or accessibility features in multilingual applications.
- Format currency amounts as spelled-out text for legal documents, checks, or formal correspondence.
- Localize numeric output in reports, forms, or user-facing content for international audiences.
- Create ordinal representations for ranking, positioning, or date formatting in multilingual contexts.

## Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts above — verify before relying.

Converts numbers to their word representations in multiple languages, supporting cardinal numbers, ordinals, years, and currency formats.

Yes. The package is stable (Production/Stable status), widely used (9461923 monthly downloads, top_5000 tier), has no known vulnerabilities, and imposes minimal install friction. The copyleft license is a consideration for proprietary applications but not a barrier for most use cases. The 605-day gap since the last release suggests slower maintenance, but the active repository and recent commits indicate ongoing support. Install it if you need multilingual number-to-words conversion.

## Install

pip install num2words
uv add num2words
poetry add num2words

## Installing num2words

Before you install: Low install friction with a single lightweight runtime dependency (docopt). Last release was 605 days ago; the repository remains active with recent commits (2025-05-30) and 962 stars, though maintenance pace appears to have slowed.

License in practice: Licensed under LGPL (copyleft). Any derivative work or modification must be distributed under compatible terms; proprietary closed-source applications using this library must comply with copyleft obligations or obtain alternative licensing.

Quickstart:

pip install num2words

from num2words import num2words
print(num2words(42))
print(num2words(42, to='ordinal'))
print(num2words(42, lang='fr'))

Verify before relying:

- Whether ordinal number generation is reliable across all supported languages (description notes this feature is 'a bit buggy for some languages').
- Current test coverage and robustness of less commonly used language implementations.
- Performance characteristics when handling very large numbers or bulk conversions.
- Total number of supported language variants and regional locales.

## Package facts

- License: LGPL (copyleft)
- Python support: unspecified
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: aging
- Downloads: 9.5M/month (top 5,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

number to words conversion, convert numbers to text, multilingual number formatting, ordinal number generation, currency word conversion, i18n number localization, numeric text representation, i18n-localization, text-generation, multilingual

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