Forteen or Fourteen? Spelling 14 Correctly

For today’s lesson about hard words to spell in English, we will confront the ever-confusing “forteen or fourteen” quandary. There are specific reasons that spelling 14 is so difficult, and we’ll unpack those, as well as ways to remember how to write it correctly.

As background, my name is Ms. Marshall, and I’ve been an English teacher for almost 20 years. I’m also an artist, and hand-draw each and every one of the illustrations here, with love… including those in the recent article, “How Do You Spell Valentine’s Day?” On to today’s tutorial…

Forteen or Fourteen

Luckily, in the “forteen vs. fourteen” battle, there is an easy solution. The spelling “forteen” is INCORRECT, and should be thrown in the trash with other misspelled, fake words, such as “recieve!”

It’s a figment of the imagination, and does not exist. (This is similar to the misspelling, “whitch,” which we also learned should be tossed out the window.)

This therefore means that the correct spelling of 14 is “fourteen,” with the word “FOUR” at the start, not “FOR.” My illustration below helps us remember it by personifying the “4” (as I did in our “Ninty or Ninety?” article) to explain, “To spell 14, write my name at the start: FOURteen.”

Why is This Confusing?

Why is the spelling of 14 so confusing? Check this out: 4 is spelled FOUR, 14 is spelled FOURteen, 400 is spelled FOUR hundred… but as we found out in our “Forty or Fourty” article, 40 is spelled FORty!!!

Huh?! Argh! The illogical English language. The good news is that spelling 14 actually follows the logical rule.

Forteen or Fourteen? Now You Know!

Tell your friends (not “freinds“) that now you know: the number 14 is spelled “fourteen,” not “forteen,” even though 40 is spelled “forty.” What other English language lessons would you like me to illustrate and explain? Do share!

Want more? Check out my article on “Wheather, Weather, or Weither!”