Telephone number

A telephone number (/ˈteləfəʊn ˈnʌmbə(r)/) or phone number (/ˈfəʊn ˈnʌmbə(r)/) is a number that is used to call a specific telephone.

Nowadays, most people have a phone number.

It’s customary to read out each digit separately, but note:

• 0 is commonly said as "oh" /əʊ/ due to its resemblance to the letter O, rather than "zero.”
• double digits (fairly common) are often expressed as 11 = “double one", 22 = “double two", etc.
• triple digits (fairly rare) are often expressed, e.g. as 111 = "triple 1" or "treble one", 222 = "triple 2"/"treble 2", etc.
• quadruple digits however tend to be expressed as 1111 = “double one, double one",

There may be a country code as well, with a following 0 in brackets.

Accurately recording phone numbers is an important skill, particularly in some roles, e.g. receptionist. The person receiving the number should repeat the number back to check understanding.

Especially in the United States, it’s common for companies to describe a phone number using a word, where the letters:

Letters	Number
A, B, C	2
D, E, F	3
G, H, I	4
J, K, L	5
M, N, O	6
P, Q, R, S	7
T, U, V	8
W, X, Y, Z	9

So, for example, the word English becomes 3645474.