You might think that some French numbers look quite weird. And we all could agree on this! But historically, the French counting system developed in the same way as many other languages. The big difference is that this system has been maintained in France while other countries abandoned it a long time ago.
Before we start learning French numbers, let's set the scene. It will help you understand their construction and memorize them more easily. First of all, keep in mind that French is a Latin language, i.e. the language spoken by the Romans in ancient times. The Romans used a decimal numeral system i.e. based on 10. But France has also been inhabited by, among others, the Gauls, the Normans and the Celts. And just for your information, the Celts used a vigesimal numeral system i.e. based on 20. You will understand later why all of these origins are important in learning French numbers.
Another key point you should keep in mind when writing French numbers is the place of dashes. Some say that there should be a dash between each number (123: cent-vingt-trois), others say there should not be any (123: cent vingt trois). Others suggest there should only be one for numbers below 100 (123: cent vingt-trois) like in English. So what's the rule? Keep it simple, put a dash between each number, always! This is what the 1990 reform governing the new French number spelling recommends.
We've compiled a list of the most important numbers to help you count in French. If you want to keep these numbers in your pocket, you might want to try French Translator & Dictionary + by downloading it for free on your
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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
17 - DIX-SEPT (TEN-SEVEN)
18 - DIX-HUIT (TEN-EIGHT)
19 - DIX-NEUF (TEN-NINE)
20 - VINGT
30 - TRENTE
40 - QUARANTE
50 - CINQUANTE
60 - SOIXANTE
70 - SOIXANTE-DIX (SIXTY-TEN) or SEPTANTE (Belgium, Switzerland)
80 - QUATRE-VINGTS (FOUR-TWENTIES) or HUITANTE / OCTANTE (Belgium, Switzerland)
90 - QUATRE-VINGT-DIX (FOUR-TWENTY-TEN) or NONANTE (Belgium, Switzerland)
We can clearly see that, in France, French numbers get a bit weird from 70 onwards. Remember the various origins? The most likely explanation is that soixante-dix, quatre-vingts and quatre-vingt-dix come from the Celts who counted by 20s. Nobody knows exactly the reason why these terms appeared in the 17th century. At that time, the French Academy rejected the words septante, octante, huitante and nonante, which had been dominant until then.
20 - VINGT
21 - VINGT-ET-UN (Add 'et' between the ten and the unit but for this one only)
22 - VINGT-DEUX
23 - VINGT-TROIS
24 - VINGT-QUATRE
25 - VINGT-CINQ
26 - VINGT-SIX
27 - VINGT-SEPT
28 - VINGT-HUIT
29 - VINGT-NEUF
Once you get the pattern, it's pretty simple. I.e. you add the unit after the ten and it's the same for all the other tens:
30 - TRENTE
31 - TRENTE-ET-UN
32 - TRENTE-DEUX, etc.
Same with QUARANTE, CINQUANTE and SOIXANTE.
70 - SOIXANTE-DIX
71 - SOIXANTE-ET-ONZE (As above, add 'et' between the ten and the unit but for this one only)
72 - SOIXANTE-DOUZE
73 - SOIXANTE-TREIZE
74 - SOIXANTE-QUATORZE
75 - SOIXANTE-QUINZE
76 - SOIXANTE-SEIZE
77 - SOIXANTE-DIX-SEPT
78 - SOIXANTE-DIX-HUIT
79 - SOIXANTE-DIX-NEUF
For the French number QUATRE-VINGTS (eighty), things are a bit more tricky: you decline it as all other tens, except for SOIXANTE-DIX (seventy) and QUATRE-VINGT-DIX (ninety), but without adding 'et' between the ten and the unit and forgetting the 's' at the end of VINGT. You're with me? 😉
80 - QUATRE-VINGTS
81 - QUATRE-VINGT-UN
82 - QUATRE-VINGT-DEUX
83 - QUATRE-VINGT-TROIS
84 - QUATRE-VINGT-QUATRE
85 - QUATRE-VINGT-CINQ
86 - QUATRE-VINGT-SIX
87 - QUATRE-VINGT-SEPT
88 - QUATRE-VINGT-HUIT
89 - QUATRE-VINGT-NEUF
90 - QUATRE-VINGT-DIX is built the same way as QUATRE-VINGTS (eighty) but adding the 2-digit numbers as for SOIXANTE-DIX (seventy):
91 - QUATRE-VINGT-ONZE
92 - QUATRE-VINGT-DOUZE, etc.
Bear in mind that VINGT (twenty) only agrees when it is multiplied by a number without being followed by another number: QUATRE-VINGTS (eighty) but QUATRE-VINGT-DEUX (eighty-two).
The rule is the same with the French number CENT (hundred) i.e. DEUX-CENTS (two hundred) but DEUX-CENT-UN (two hundred and one). And while MILLE (thousand) is invariable, MILLION (million) and MILLIARD (billion) always agree:
1.500 - MILLE-CINQ-CENTS
3.499 - TROIS-MILLE-QUATRE-CENT-QUATRE-VINGT-DIX-NEUF
2.501.000 - DEUX-MILLIONS-CINQ-CENT-UN-MILLE
3.499.500.000 - TROIS-MILLIARDS-QUATRE-CENT-QUATRE-VINGT-DIX-NEUF-MILLIONS-CINQ-CENT-MILLE
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Christine Ducos-Restagno
Lead French linguist
VidaLingua
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