<p>Is there any peer-reviewed evidence which suggests whether it is faster and/or easier for a native English speaker to recognise digits (1, 2, 3, 4) vs. full written English word equivalents (one, two, three, four)? In this particular instance I'm not dealing with numbers greater than four.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-08-18T02:47:11.330Z
By 'recognize', do you mean the ability to recognize that 'four' represents the number four, or do you mean the ability to use the word / number as a symbol (i.e. to make a calculation)?
Sydney Maples
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-08-19T06:33:43.177Z
Good question - the former.
HaydnW
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-09-02T16:53:39.720Z
Theoretically words should be better recognizable, since it is just a much more rich pattern than number signs, so you can tell the difference between "one" and "three" much faster. But practically it depends on the situation and it is more of psychology and habits. For example if you deal with math operations or comparison it is very uncommon to see words instead of numbers.
Mikhail V
<reading><writing>
Is it easier/faster to recognise digits or written words?
HaydnW
# Is it easier/faster to recognise digits or written words?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2015-08-17)

Is there any peer-reviewed evidence which suggests whether it is faster and/or easier for a native English speaker to recognise digits (1, 2, 3, 4) vs. full written English word equivalents (one, two, three, four)? In this particular instance I'm not dealing with numbers greater than four.

**Tags:** reading, writing

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: By 'recognize', do you mean the ability to recognize that 'four' represents the number four, or do you mean the ability to use the word / number as a symbol (i.e. to make a calculation)?  
> **username_0**: Good question - the former.  
> **username_2**: Theoretically words should be better recognizable, since it is just a much more rich pattern than number signs, so you can tell the difference between "one" and "three" much faster. But practically it depends on the situation and it is more of psychology and habits. For example if you deal with math operations or comparison it is very uncommon to see words instead of numbers.  

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## 0 answers

