Learn The French Numbers From One To 100 And Beyond (2024)

Whether you’re telling someone the time or ordering a couple of coffees, knowing French numbers comes in handy. But there are literally des millions of them to learn. Plus, the French number system is full of complex rules and exceptions just waiting to trip you up.

Our guide will simplify everything. You’ll learn the numbers in French from 1-100 the basic digits, and the big figures.

Getting started with numbers in French

It’s time to count to 10 in French!

While French numbers look complex, they’re all about recognizing patterns and applying them systematically. The best starting point is the numbers in French one to ten, which form the basis of longer figures.

Digit

French number

Pronunciation (approximate)

1

un

uh(n)

2

deux

deuh

3

trois

trwah

4

quatre

katr

5

cinq

sank

6

six

sees

7

sept

set

8

huit

oo-eat

9

neuf

nuhf

10

dix

dees

There are some tricks to the pronunciation. Although the number six looks like the English equivalent, you say it like the word “cease.” The word huit also begins with a “w” sound.

Now that you have the first ten out of the way, you might also be interested in reading how to learn French step by step.

Going into the teens

Unlike higher numbers, French numbers from eleven to twenty are irregular. You’ll have to memorize numbers from eleven to sixteen because they don’t follow a rule.

Seventeen to nineteen are easier to remember. They can be formed by putting the relevant words together. For example, dix (ten) and sept (seven) make dix-sept (seventeen).

Digit

French number

Pronunciation (approximate)

11

onze

ohnz

12

douze

dooz

13

treize

trez

14

quatorze

kah-TOHRZ

15

quinze

canz

16

seize

sez

17

dix-sept

dees-SET

18

dix-huit

dees-OO-EAT

19

dix-neuf

dees-NUHF

20

vingt

van

From vingt to soixante

In French, once you hit vingt (twenty), you begin to see a pattern emerge. You simply have the word for the multiple of ten, followed by the word for the single-digit number. For example, quarante-deux (forty-two) is just quarante (forty) and deux (two).

The exception is numbers ending in un. You have to add et in the middle, so you get vingt-et-un (twenty-one), trente-et-un (thirty-one), quarante-et-un (forty-one), and so on.

Digit

French number

Pronunciation (approximate)

20

vingt

van

21

vingt-et-un

van-tay-uh(n)

22

vingt-deux

van-duh

23

vingt-trois

van-twah

24

vingt-quatre

van-katr

25

vingt-cinq

van-sank

26

vingt-six

van-sees

27

vingt-sept

van-set

28

vingt-huit

van-oo-eat

29

vingt-neuf

van-nuhf

30

trente

trahnt

31

trente-et-un

trahnt-ay-uh(n)

32

trente-deux

trahnt-duh

33

trente-trois

trahnt-twah

34

trente-quatre

trahnt-katr

35

trente-cinq

trahnt-sank

36

trente-six

trahnt-sees

37

trente-sept

trahnt-set

38

trente-huit

trahnt-oo-eat

39

trente-neuf

trahnt-nuhf

40

quarante

kah-rahnt

41

quarante-et-un

kah-rahnt-ay-uh(n)

42

quarante-deux

kah-rahnt-duh

43

quarante-trois

kah-rahnt-twah

44

quarante-quatre

kah-rahnt-katr

45

quarante-cinq

kah-rahnt-sank

46

quarante-six

kah-rahnt-sees

47

quarante-sept

kah-rahnt-set

48

quarante-huit

kah-rahnt-oo-eat

49

quarante-neuf

kah-rahnt-nuhf

50

cinquante

sank-ahnt

51

cinquante-et-un

sank-ahnt-ay-uh(n)

52

cinquante-deux

sank-ahnt-duh

53

cinquante-trois

sank-ahnt-twah

54

cinquante-quatre

sank-ahnt-katr

55

cinquante-cinq

sank-ahnt-sank

56

cinquante-six

sank-ahnt-sees

57

cinquante-sept

sank-ahnt-set

58

cinquante-huit

sank-ahnt-oo-eat

59

cinquante-neuf

sank-ahnt-nuhf

60

soixante

swah-sahnt

If you want to practice your pronunciation with a real French tutor, sign up for an online French course with Preply.

The rest of the double digits

Once you hit soixante (sixty), things take an interesting turn. French has a base-twenty system for some numbers, which can be tricky to learn if you’re not familiar with the concept.

In a base-twenty system, you count from zero to nineteen for each “place” before moving on to the next “place.”

Just like in the base-ten system (our usual counting system), where you count from zero to nine and then move to the next digit to the left and start again.

For instance, quatre-vingts (eighty) in French would translate to “four twenties” in English. Likewise, quatre-vingt-dix (ninety) is “four twenties and ten.”

Number

In French

Literal translation

Pronunciation

60

soixante

sixty

swah-sawnt

61

soixante-et-un

sixty-one

swah-sawnt-ay-uh

62

soixante-deux

sixty-two

swah-sawnt-duh

63

soixante-trois

sixty-three

swah-sawnt-twah

64

soixante-quatre

sixty-four

swah-sawnt-katr

65

soixante-cinq

sixty-five

swah-sawnt-sank

66

soixante-six

sixty-six

swah-sawnt-sees

67

soixante-sept

sixty-seven

swah-sawnt-set

68

soixante-huit

sixty-eight

swah-sawnt-oo-eat

69

soixante-neuf

sixty-nine

swah-sawnt-nurf

70

soixante-dix

seventy (sixty-ten)

swah-sawnt-dees

71

soixante-et-onze

seventy-one (sixty-eleven)

swah-sawnt-ay-ohnz

72

soixante-douze

seventy-two (sixty-twelve)

swah-sawnt-dooz

73

soixante-treize

seventy-three (sixty-thirteen)

swah-sawnt-trez

74

soixante-quatorze

seventy-four (sixty-fourteen)

swah-sawnt-kah-TOHRZ

75

soixante-quinze

seventy-five (sixty-fifteen)

swah-sawnt-kanz

76

soixante-seize

seventy-six (sixty-sixteen)

swah-sawnt-sehz

77

soixante-dix-sept

seventy-seven (sixty-seventeen)

swah-sawnt-dees-set

78

soixante-dix-huit

seventy-eight (sixty-eighteen)

swah-sawnt-dees-oo-eat

79

soixante-dix-neuf

seventy-nine (sixty-nineteen)

swah-sawnt-dees-nurf

80

quatre-vingts

eighty (four-twenties)

katra-VAH (the final “s” is silent)

81

quatre-vingt-un

eighty-one (four-twenty-one)

katra-VAH-uh

82

quatre-vingt-deux

eighty-two (four-twenty-two)

katra-VAH-duh

83

quatre-vingt-trois

eighty-three (four-twenty-three)

katra-VAH-twah

84

quatre-vingt-quatre

eighty-four (four-twenty-four)

katra-VAH-katr

85

quatre-vingt-cinq

eighty-five (four-twenty-five)

katra-VAH-sank

86

quatre-vingt-six

eighty-six (four-twenty-six)

katra-VAH-sees

87

quatre-vingt-sept

eighty-seven (four-twenty-seven)

katra-VAH-set

88

quatre-vingt-huit

eighty-eight (four-twenty-eight)

katra-VAH-oo-eat

89

quatre-vingt-neuf

eighty-nine (four-twenty-nine)

katra-VAH-nurf

90

quatre-vingt-dix

ninety (four-twenty-ten)

katra-VAH-dees

91

quatre-vingt-onze

ninety-one (four-twenty-eleven)

katra-VAH-ohnz

92

quatre-vingt-douze

ninety-two (four-twenty-twelve)

katra-VAH-dooz

93

quatre-vingt-treize

ninety-three (four-twenty-thirteen)

katra-VAH-trez

94

quatre-vingt-quatorze

ninety-four (four-twenty-fourteen)

katra-VAH-kah-TOHRZ

95

quatre-vingt-quinze

ninety-five (four-twenty-fifteen)

katra-VAH-kanz

96

quatre-vingt-seize

ninety-six (four-twenty-sixteen)

katra-VAH-sehz

97

quatre-vingt-dix-sept

ninety-seven (four-twenty-seventeen)

katra-VAH-dees-set

98

quatre-vingt-dix-huit

ninety-eight (four-twenty-eighteen)

katra-VAH-dees-oo-eat

99

quatre-vingt-dix-neuf

ninety-nine (four-twenty-nineteen)

katra-VAH-dees-nurf

100

cent

one hundred

sahn

Beyond the basics: Triple and quadruple digits

Now you’ve got the building blocks for larger numbers in French. It’s mostly a matter of combining all the digits you need.

There’s some bad news, though. Large French numbers are very similar sounding, and there are even a few false friends:

  • Mille is “thousand.”
  • Million is “million.”
  • Milliard is “billion.”
  • Billion is “trillion.”

But there’s good news. To make complex figures, you just add however many thousands or millions there are to the start of the word. For example, “two thousand” is simply deux mille.

Telling the time

The next step after learning the numbers is telling the time. That way, when someone asks, “Quelle heure est-il?” (What time is it?), you’ll know just what to say.

French speakers usually follow the twenty-four-hour clock in writing but the twelve-hour clock in speech. It’s simple enough if it’s on the hour. You can say, “Il est une heure” (It’s one o’clock) or “Il est deux heures” (It’s two o’clock) all the way up to twelve.

To express time as fractions, you use the following phrases:

  • Il est trois heures et quart. (It’s three hours and a quarter./It is a quarter past three.)
  • Il est quatre heures et demi. (It’s four hours and a half./It is half past four.)
  • Il est cinq heures moins le quart. (It’s five hours minus a quarter./It’s a quarter to five.)

At midday, you can say, “Il est midi” (It is noon), and, if you happen to be awake at midnight, you can say, “Il est minuit” (It is midnight).

Is it time for your kids to learn French, too? Here are some of the best ways for kids to learn French online.

Saying ordinal numbers

Let’s say you’re arranging a meeting and need to decide both the time and date. You’ll need the ordinal numbers in French (and perhaps the days of the week).

The French ordinals are straightforward once you understand the basic pattern. You form most of them by adding -ième to the numbers. For example, quatre (four) becomes quatrième (fourth). There are some exceptions, including:

  • Un, which becomes premier (first) for masculine and première for feminine forms.
  • Cinq, which becomes cinquième (fifth).
  • Neuf, which becomes neuvième (ninth).

Note that numbers ending in un don’t follow the same rules as English. It’s vingt-et-unième (twenty-first), not vingt-et-premier.

Saying the years

If you know the time and day of the month, all that’s left is the year. This aspect of French can seem tricky at first, but you’ll find it’s logical with a little practice. In English, years are often said in “pairs” – for example, “nineteen ninety-nine.” In French, you have two options:

  • Say the full number, like mille neuf cent quatre-vingt-dix-neuf for 1999.
  • Split the year into two numbers, like dix-neuf cent quatre-vingt-dix-neuf.

But if the year is before 1099 or from 2000 onwards, you can use only the first approach. For example, 2013 is simply deux mille treize.

Saying the decades

Decades are very simple. When referring to a specific decade, you would generally use les (the), followed by années (years) and then the decade. So, “the thirties” would be les années trente. For the 2000s, you might also hear les années deux mille.

Top tip: If you want a little more French practice this decade, download some of these apps to learn French.

Final thoughts

French numbers may look challenging, but they won’t have you compter les moutons (counting sheep). Once you know the rules, they’re easy to follow. When you need them for everything from telling the time to paying a bill, you’ll be glad you practiced them.

While we went only as high as a milliard, there’s no need to stop there. You can take your French lessons to infinité by reaching out to one of our French tutors. Preply can help you find your best match, or you can browse our extensive directory yourself.

Learn The French Numbers From One To 100 And Beyond (2024)
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