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 |
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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).
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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.
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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.
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