Numbers, Dates and Spelt-Out Names in IELTS Listening
Pradeep from Kolkata wrote “43” when the speaker said “double four, double three”. Then the speaker spelt a surname, and he lost the third letter.
Numbers, dates and spelt-out names in IELTS Listening can follow patterns you might not expect, such as “double three” or “oh” for zero. Learning these spoken forms and the letters that sound alike helps you write exactly what you hear.
How Are Numbers and Names Said?
IDP IELTS says numbers can appear in any of the 40 questions, although you are most likely to meet them in the first part. It notes that zero can be called “oh”, and that a number repeated two or three times in a row may be called “double” or “triple”.
| How it is said | What you write |
|---|---|
| double three | 33 |
| triple seven | 777 |
| oh-two-oh | 020 |
| forty-five pounds | £45, or 45 if the £ is printed |
| the eighteenth of May | 18 May |
| June twenty-first | 21 June (or June 21) |
| eight fifteen in the morning | 8.15 am or 8:15 am |
| B-S-one, five-A-H | BS1 5AH |
| B-R-A-N-S-O-N | Branson |
| two hundred and twenty thousand | 220,000 |
How Do I Catch Letters That Sound Alike?
When a name is spelt out, some listeners confuse letters that sound alike, such as B, P and V, or M and N, or G and J. The Cambridge IELTS FAQ says names of people, places and companies may be spelt out in the recording.
Spell out names and postcodes to a friend and ask them to write them down, then compare. Our lesson on numbers, days and time covers basic vocabulary for dates and times.
How Should I Write Dates and Numbers?
IDP IELTS says numbers can be written as figures or words, but it advises figures because spelling matters in Listening. A number and a word can sit together in one answer, as in “12 years” in the official sample answer key.
IDP also says dates can be written in a variety of ways, for example “March 5th” or “5th of Mar”. As a habit, writing the month as a word avoids any day-month mix-up. If you add an ending, make it correct: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th.
For money, IDP says to include the £ or $ when the question does not provide the symbol. When it is already printed, the digits are enough. It also says to separate thousands with a comma and use a full stop for decimals, as in 1,000 and $4.50.
Check each date against the word limit, as our guide to form, note and table completion explains.
Incorrect: “Writing “double four” as a single 4.”
Correct: “Double” means the digit is said twice, so “double four” is 44 and “triple seven” is 777.
Tip
Read a phone number aloud in groups, as a speaker would, then write it from memory and check it.
Practice: A Bicycle Repair Booking
Ask a partner to read this transcript aloud once, or record yourself reading it and play it back before answering.
Practice transcript (written for this post)
Mechanic: City Bike Repairs, David speaking. How can I help?
Customer: Hello, I’d like to book a service for my road bike, please.
Mechanic: Certainly. Could I have your surname?
Customer: It’s Branson. That’s B-R-A-N-S-O-N.
Mechanic: Thanks. And a contact number?
Customer: Yes, it’s oh seven seven, double oh, nine double oh, four two eight.
Mechanic: Got it. What day would you like to bring the bike in?
Customer: Could we make it the eighteenth of May?
Mechanic: Yes, that’s free. A basic overhaul costs forty-five pounds.
Customer: That sounds fair.
Mechanic: Great. And your postcode, for the booking?
Customer: It’s B-S-one, five-A-H.
Questions
Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.
- Customer surname: _____
- Contact phone number: _____
- Date of bicycle service: _____
- Cost of basic overhaul: £ _____
- Customer postcode: _____
Show answers
- Branson — the customer spells it out: “B-R-A-N-S-O-N”.
- 07700 900428 — “oh” is 0 and “double oh” is 00: “oh seven seven, double oh, nine double oh, four two eight”.
- 18 May — the customer asks for “the eighteenth of May”.
- 45 — the mechanic says “forty-five pounds”, and the £ is already printed beside the gap.
- BS1 5AH — the customer gives the letters and digits one by one: “B-S-one, five-A-H”.
Try It
Write each spoken phrase as digits or letters:
- “oh-seven-double-nine, three-one-four”
- “twenty-third of August”
- “triple eight, four-two”
- “sixty-eight pounds”
- “N-E-W-M-A-N”
Show answers
- 0799 314 — “oh” is 0 and “double nine” is 99.
- 23 August (or August 23) — writing the month as a word avoids day-month mix-ups.
- 888 42 — “triple eight” is 888.
- £68 — there is no printed symbol, so the £ goes in your answer.
- Newman — write the spelt-out name as a single word.
Key Takeaways
- IDP IELTS advises writing numbers as figures to avoid spelling slips.
- “Double” and “triple” mean the next digit is written twice or three times.
- Dates can be written in several ways, such as “March 5th” or “5th of Mar”.
- Add the £ or $ when the question does not already print it.
The bottom line: Hear each number the way a speaker says it, then write it the way the answer line expects.