“The Ultimate Guide to Perfect Pronunciation: Fifteen or Fifteen Years?”

Five

Five is the numeral form of the number 5 and is used in counting after numbers in the tens place.

Examples: fifty-five, sixty-five, seventy-five,…

Year

“Year” is also a noun with multiple meanings depending on the context.

• The time it takes for the Earth to complete one revolution around the Sun: 1 year = 365 days 5 hours 48 minutes 40 seconds.
• A period of time equal to 12 months: for example, a freshman student.

Fifteen or Ten: Which is Correct?

Both of these pronunciations are correct, but the correct one depends on the context. Fifteen is the number 15, and ten is the number 10. To distinguish between these two numbers when speaking, here are some tips:

• Use ordinal or unit words. For example, fifteen can be said as the fifteenth, or fifteen items, fifteen people, etc. Ten can be said as the tenth, or ten items, ten people, etc.
• Use time or distance words. For example, fifteen can be said as one and a half minutes or one-fifteenth or one-sixth. Ten can be said as one minute, or one-tenth, or one-sixtieth.

However, there are cases where “year” is used to refer to a number, as in the following examples:

• 9.5: Nine point five
• 105: One hundred and five
• 155: One hundred and fifty-five.

Writing “one hundred and fifty years” could be misinterpreted as “150 years” or “150 years old.” This is why, nowadays, people often write “five” to distinguish it from “year.”

In fact, this is influenced by the pronunciation of the initials L and N in some regions, which has gradually become a common and unified expression in society. Some places even say “nham,” for example, 15 is read as “mười nhăm,” and 25 is “hai mươi nhăm.” According to textbooks that people learn from a young age, teachers usually teach reading and writing as “lăm” instead of “năm,” which has become universal in the way we use the language.

How to Write and Read the Number 5 in Mathematics

When counting in order, use “five” and “lăm” in different positions. The rule is as follows:

• We write “lăm” if the tens digit is from 1 to 9. For example, the number 15 is read as “mười lăm,” 25 as “hai mươi lăm,” and 35 as “ba mươi lăm,”…
• Write “năm” if the tens digit is 0 or when combined with the word “mươi” after it. For example, 105 is read as “một trăm linh năm,” and 2455 is read as “hai nghìn bốn trăm năm mươi lăm.”

Rules for Writing Fifteen or Ten

In the number sequence XXX:

• If it is in the form 5XY: Write it as “năm”.
• If it is in the form X5Y: Write it as “năm”.
• If it is in the form XY5: Write it as “lăm” if Y > 0, write it as “năm” if Y = 0.

In other words: The word “lăm” is only used for the unit position, however, if there is a zero before it, it will be read as “linh năm” or “lẻ năm,” thus distinguishing it from “năm” in the date.

Examples:

• 50, 500, 550 – “năm” is not in the unit position: năm mươi, năm trăm, năm trăm năm mươi..
• 15, 25, 155 – “năm” is in the unit position: mười lăm, hai lăm, một trăm năm lăm..
• 105, 1005 – there is a zero before 5: một trăm linh năm, một nghìn không trăm linh năm..
• In addition, from 25 to 95, it can also be read as: hai nhăm, chín nhăm.. However, this is a less common pronunciation and is not encouraged.

How to Read the Number 5 in Mathematics

Now that you understand the rules for reading fifteen or ten, let’s apply them to some examples:

• 5: Five
• 15: Fifteen
• 25: Twenty-five
• 50: Fifty
• 95: Ninety-five
• 105: One hundred and five
• 125: One hundred and twenty-five
• 150: One hundred and fifty
• 155: One hundred and fifty-five
• 555: Five hundred and fifty-five
• 1005: One thousand and five
• 1025: One thousand and twenty-five
• 1125: One thousand one hundred and twenty-five
• 1500: One thousand five hundred

Reading and writing the number 5 in Vietnamese also depends on its position in the number sequence. The following are the common rules applied:

How to Use the Word “Lăm”

Use “lăm” when the number 5 is in the unit position, and there is another number before it that is greater than 0.

Examples: 15 (mười lăm), 25 (hai mươi lăm), 35 (ba mươi lăm), 45 (bốn mươi lăm).

How to Use the Word “Năm”

• When the number 5 stands alone: “năm”.
• When 5 is in the unit position but after the word “mươi”: 50 (năm mươi).
• When 5 is in the hundreds or thousands place: 105 (một trăm linh năm), 205 (hai trăm linh năm).

Examples:

• 105: Một trăm linh năm.
• 2455: Hai nghìn bốn trăm năm mươi lăm.
• 5555: Năm nghìn năm trăm năm mươi lăm.
• 555555: Năm trăm năm mươi lăm nghìn năm trăm năm mươi lăm.

Why is there Confusion between Fifteen and Ten?

The confusion between fifteen and ten arises from various factors, the most notable being the difference in pronunciation across regions. Some people have a habit of mispronouncing between “lăm” and “năm,” leading to incorrect usage in writing. Therefore, to avoid regrettable mistakes, we need to understand the nature of each writing form and use them accurately according to the context.

Guidelines for Writing Common Pairs of Words with “Năm” or “Lăm”

Five Million or Ten Million?

The correct way to write it is ten million. The reason is that “million” is a large unit, and when 5 comes before units like million or billion, it is written as “năm.”

Five Thousand or Ten Thousand?

The correct way to write it is ten thousand. Similarly, when 5 comes before “thousand,” it is written as “năm.”

Five Hundred Million or Ten Hundred Million?

The correct way to write it is ten hundred million. When 5 comes before “hundred,” the standard writing is “năm trăm.”

Fifteenth or Tenth?

The correct way to write it is tenth. When referring to days of the week or order, we always use “thứ năm.”

Fifty-five or Five Years?

Both ways of writing are correct, depending on the context.

• “Fifty-five” refers to the number 55, for example: “I am fifty-five years old.”
• “Five years” refers to a period of five years, for example: “I have been working here for five years.”

Five Hundred or Ten Hundred?

The correct way to write it is ten hundred. When the number 5 comes before “hundred,” the standard writing is “năm trăm.”

Fifty-five or Fifty Years?

• “Fifty-five” refers to the number 55, for example: “He is fifty-five years old.
• “Fifty years” refers to a period of 50 years, for example: “I have lived here for fifty years.”

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