This is one of the things we learn from the very beginning of learning a language: numbers. But in French, it’s not enough to memorise numbers, you must also know how to count and have a very, very open mind! Watch out for a headache… Here we go!
French Numbers: 0 to 16
Here is the first step, numbers from 0 to 16 are numbers simply to be memorised as it is, they have a name of their own.
0 = zéro
1 = un
2 = deux
3 = trois
4 = quatre
5 = cinq
6 = six
7 = sept
8 = huit
9 = neuf
10 = dix
11 = onze
12 = douze
13 = treize
14 = quatorze
15 = quinze
16 = seize
So far so good, right? The only difficulty is pronunciation because many words have final consonants that sometimes are pronounced, and sometimes are not! Go listen to them here to find out for yourself.
Little detail: in French, “chiffres” are numbers from 0 to 9, and “nombres” are everything else.
French numbers: 17 to 69
Now we go to the next level of complexity. When in English, we start composing numbers from 13 (thir+teen , four+teen…), in Spanish it’s from 16 (dieci+seis, dieci+siete…), in French, we start the combination from 17, and we need a hyphen.
17 = dix-sept
18 = dix-huit
19 = dix-neuf
Then the tens have their own special name:
20 = vingt
30 = trente
40 = quarante
50 = cinquante
60 = soixante
And we combine with the name of the unit (always with a hyphen):
24 = vingt-quatre
36 = trente-six
43 = quarante-trois
59 = cinquante-neuf
67 = soixante-sept
The only quirk is when you combine the ten with the number one, you have to add an “and”:
21 = vingt-et-un
31 = trente-et-un
41 = quarante-et-un
51 = cinquante-et-un
61 = soixante-et-un
French numbers: 70 to 99
This is the stage where you have to keep a very open mind, are you ready? So we’re going to move on to mathematics now. Instead of saying “septante”, like the Belgians and the Swiss, the French say:
70 = 60 + 10 = soixante-dix
Instead of saying “huitante” or “octante” (Swiss), we say:
80 = 4 x 20 = quatre-vingts
Instead of saying “ninety” (Belgian and Swiss), we say:
90 = 4 x 20 + 10 = quatre-vingt-dix
But the madness doesn’t stop there! Now we must combine with the units:
70 = soixante-dix
71 = soixante-et-onze
72 = soixante-douze
73 = soixante-treize
80 = quatre-vingts
81 = quatre-vingt-un
82 = quatre-vingt-deux
83 = quatre-vingt-trois
90 = quatre-vingt-dix
91 = quatre-vingt-onze
97 = quatre-vingt-dix-sept
98 = quatre-vingt-dix-huit
99 = quatre-vingt-dix-neuf
Have you noticed any differences? Go back up, take a good look… Yes, you saw well, and I didn’t forget : 71 has the little word “and”, then for 81 and 91 it disappears !
Anything else? Look carefully at the word “quatre-vingts”, there is an “s” at the end, and not at the following numbers. The Académie française has again struck with a completely crazy spelling rule to be respected: when the word “vingt” is multiplied, you put an “s”, and when it is followed by another word, you don’t put an “s”…
Finally, as you’ve seen, it takes four different words to pronounce the numbers 97, 98 and 99! Imagine how much time we spend when we give our date of birth!
French numbers: from 100 to infinity!
We’ll finish gently and serenely this time, the hardest part is over. For higher numbers, a good memory and practice will do the trick.
100 = cent
101 = cent-un
102 = cent-deux
200 = deux-cents
201 = deux-cent-un
300 = trois-cents
400 = quatre-cents
500 = cinq-cents
600 = six-cents
700 = sept-cents
800 = huit-cents
900 = neuf-cents
You just have to know that ” cent ” reacts like ” vingt “, and takes an ” s ” when it is not followed by other words.
If it can reassure you, this spelling rule is very little respected or known by the French, who remain very attached to the cheque book and have to manually fill in the amount of their purchases in figures and letters.
Hitting those high French numbers
1000 = mille (invariable, never « s »)
10 000 = dix mille
100 000 = cent mille
1 000 000 = un million
1 000 000 000 = un milliard
Finally, if you don’t have too much of a headache after learning the numbers, I suggest you watch this hilarious video of a Canadian commenting on French numbers up to 100 like a New York taxi.
