Talking about dates and years in English is part of everyday communication. You use them to talk about birthdays, documents, appointments, trips, and personal experiences. Because of that, learning how to say them clearly and naturally is essential.

English has a very practical way of dealing with dates and years. Instead of reading numbers as long mathematical forms, speakers break them into simple, easy-to-understand parts. Once you understand this logic, dates stop sounding complicated.

How English Speakers Say Years

Let’s start with years, because this is where English shows a very clear pattern.

In everyday speech, years are almost never read as one long number. Instead, they are usually divided into two parts, which makes them faster and clearer to say.

The Most Natural Way to Say Years

If you were born in 1987, you would normally say:

I was born in 1987.
I was born in nineteen eighty-seven.

This way of speaking sounds natural and is used in daily conversation.

More examples:

She was born in 1992.
nineteen ninety-two

They met in 1975.
nineteen seventy-five

Saying Years from 2000 Onwards

Years after 2000 follow slightly different patterns.

From 2000 to 2009, English speakers usually say:

2001 → two thousand one
2005 → two thousand five

From 2010 onwards, two forms are common, and both are correct:

2014 → two thousand fourteen or twenty fourteen
2020 → twenty twenty

In everyday English, the shorter form (twenty fourteen, twenty twenty) is increasingly common.

How to Say Full Dates in English

Now let’s look at full dates, including day, month, and year.

British English vs American English (Order Matters)

The main difference is the order:

• British English: day → month → year
• American English: month → day → year

The pronunciation rules, however, are very similar.

British English Examples

15 March 1998
the fifteenth of March, nineteen ninety-eight

I was born on 15 March 1998.

American English Examples

March 15, 1998
March fifteenth, nineteen ninety-eight

I was born on March 15, 1998.

Ordinal Numbers: A Key Detail

When talking about dates, English uses ordinal numbers, not cardinal ones.

• one → first
• two → second
• three → third
• four → fourth

Examples in real use:

July 4 → July fourth
October 21 → October twenty-first

Dates in Everyday Situations

Here are examples that sound natural in real life:

My birthday is on June 12.
June twelfth

The conference is on April 3, 2025.
April third, twenty twenty-five

We moved here in 2011.
twenty eleven

Notice how:

• on is used for specific dates,
• in is used for years.

How This Connects to Other Number Topics

The way English handles dates is very similar to how it handles other number-related information. In all cases, the goal is clarity.

This same logic applies when saying:

• telephone numbers,
• apartment numbers,
• flight numbers.

👉 See also:  How to say telephone numbers in English

Common Points to Pay Attention To

• Avoid reading years as one long number
• Always use ordinal numbers for days
• Choose British or American order and stay consistent

These small details make a big difference in how natural you sound.

Final Thoughts

English dates and years follow clear, practical patterns. Once you get used to breaking numbers into parts, saying dates becomes automatic.

With a bit of practice using real situations, birthdays, plans, and events. this way of speaking quickly becomes natural.