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A Better Number Words Converter

4 min read

Turning numbers into words sounds simple—until you actually try it. Multiple languages, decimals, weird edge cases… it gets messy fast. That’s why I built number-words-converter: a lightweight, dependency-free tool that just works, no matter what you throw at it.

The Problem With Number Localization

Need to show amounts in words? It’s everywhere—finance, legal docs, accessibility, you name it. But most libraries are bloated, English-only, or tied to frameworks you don’t want.

I wanted something lean, multilingual (yes, Romanian!), and universal. Couldn’t find it. So I built it.

Enter Number Words Converter

The solution? Build a package that focuses on doing one thing exceptionally well:

The package embraces a few key principles that I believe make for excellent developer tools:

  • Zero dependencies – No bloat, no security vulnerabilities from the dependency chain
  • Type safety – Full TypeScript support with proper typings
  • Focused functionality – Does one thing extremely well
  • Cross-environment compatibility – Works in both Node.js and browsers
  • Comprehensive testing – Over 95% test coverage for reliability

Implementation: How It Works

Under the hood, it splits numbers into parts and applies the right language rules. No magic, just clean logic.

Here's a simplified look at how it handles different formats:

Real-World Applications

Where might you use this package? Here are some common scenarios:

  • Financial applications – For checks, invoices, and legal documents that require amounts in words
  • Accessibility enhancements – Making numeric data more accessible for screen readers
  • Educational software – Helping students learn number names in different languages
  • Internationalized applications – Supporting multiple language formats for numbers
  • Document generation – Creating PDFs or documents with formal number representations

The Power of Small, Focused Packages

I'm a firm believer in the Unix philosophy: tools should do one thing and do it well. This approach leads to more maintainable, testable, and reusable code. Number-words-converter exemplifies this philosophy by focusing exclusively on number-to-word conversion with excellence.

The package is also designed to be extensible. While it currently supports English and Romanian, the architecture makes it simple to add additional languages:

Try It Yourself

Want to see it in action? Hit the live demo, or just drop it into your project:

The package is fully open source, so contributions are welcome! If you'd like to add support for additional languages or features, check out the GitHub repository.

Final Thoughts

The best developer tools don’t try to do everything—they do one thing, and they do it brilliantly. Number-words-converter is built on that principle: solve a real problem, keep it simple, and make it rock-solid.

If you’ve ever wrestled with bloated libraries or edge-case bugs just to say “forty-two” in Romanian, you know the pain. This package is my answer: minimal, reliable, and ready for whatever your next project throws at it.

So here’s my challenge: next time you need numbers in words, skip the bloat and reach for a tool that just works. Because sometimes, the smartest move isn’t to add more—it’s to do less, but do it right.