In any language, one of the first thing you learn is how to count. So if you want to learn French, learning French numbers is one of your first task.

Now get ready, because I admit, French numbers are not the easiest to learn… In this article, we’re going to see everything you need to know about French numbers, from 0 to 100, to 1000, to 1,000,000 and beyond!

 

French Numbers

 

French Numbers:  0  to  100

Cardinal Numbers  

 

  Ordinal Numbers  

 

0 Zéro [zéro]
// //
1 Un [ ĩ ]
le premier / la première the first
2 Deux [de]
le deuxième the second
3 Trois [troa]
le troisième the third
4 Quatre [katr]
le quatrième the fourth
5 Cinq [ssĩk]
le cinquième the fifth
6 Six [ssiss]
le sixième the sixth
7 Sept [ssêt]
le septième the seventh
8 Huit [ùit]
le huitième the eighth
9 Neuf [nœf]
le neuvième the ninth
10 Dix [diss]
le dixième the tenth

Nothing really difficult here.

Just note that the ordinal number for “the first” is the only one that has a masculine and a feminine form.

11 Onze [õz]
onzième eleventh
12 Douze [dŵz]
douzième twelfth
13 Treize [trêz]
treizième thirteenth
14 Quatorze [katôrz]
quatorzième fourteenth
15 Quinze [kĩz]
quinzième fifteenth
16 Seize [ssêz]
seizième sixteenth
17 Dix-sept [di-ssêt]
dix-septième seventeenth
18 Dix-huit [di-zùit]
dix-huitième eighteenth
19 Dix-neuf [diz-nœf]
dix-neuvième nineteenth
20 Vingt [vĩ]
vingtième twentieth
21 Vingt-et-un [vĩ-té-ĩ]
vingt et unième twenty-first
22 Vingt-deux [vĩt-de]
vingt-deuxième twenty-second
23 Vingt-trois [vĩt-troa]
vingt-troisième twenty-third
24 Vingt-quatre [vĩt-katr]
vingt-quatrième twenty-fourth
25 Vingt-cinq [vĩt-ssĩk]
vingt-cinquième twenty-fifth
26 Vingt-six [vĩt-ssiss]
vingt-sixième twenty-sixth
27 Vingt-sept [vĩt-ssêt]
vingt-septième twenty-seventh
28 Vingt-huit [vĩt-ùit]
vingt-huitième twenty-eighth
29 Vingt-neuf [vĩt-nœf]
vingt-neuvième twenty-ninth

The number 20 is quite weird, as you don’t pronounce the “g” and the “t“.

However, 21 makes a liaison with the silent “t” at the end, because there is the “et, and” in the middle which starts with a vowel sound.

Starting from 22, note that the “t” of “vingt” is still slightly pronounced even though the next word doesn’t start with a vowel sound. It almost sounds like a [n] sound when you say them fast: [vĩn-de] ; [vĩn-troa] ; [vĩn-katr]…

30 Trente [trãt]
trentième thirtieth
31 Trente-et-un [trãt-é-ĩ]
trente et unième thirty-first
32 Trente-deux [trãt-de]
trente-deuxième thirty-second
33 Trente-trois [trãt-troa]
trente-troisième thirty-third
34 Trente-quatre [trãt-katr]
trente-quatrième thirty-fourth
35 Trente-cinq [trãt-ssĩk]
trente-cinquième thirty-fifth
36 Trente-six [trãt-ssiss]
trente-sixième thirty-sixth
37 Trente-sept [trãt-ssêt]
trente-septième thirty-seventh
38 Trente-huit [trãt-ùit]
trente-huitième thirty-eighth
39 Trente-neuf [trãt-nœf]
trente-neuvième thirty-ninth
40 Quarante [karãt]
quarantième fortieth
41 Quarante-et-un [karãt-é-ĩ]
quarante et unième forty-first
42 Quarante-deux [karãt-de]
quarante-deuxième forty-second
43 Quarante-trois [karãt-troa]
quarante-troisième forty-third
44 Quarante-quatre [karãt-katr]
quarante-quatrième forty-fourth
45 Quarante-cinq [karãt-ssĩk]
quarante-cinquième forty-fifth
46 Quarante-six [karãt-ssiss]
quarante-sixième forty-sixth
47 Quarante-sept [karãt-ssêt]
quarante-septième forty-seventh
48 Quarante-huit [karãt-ùit]
quarante-huitième forty-eighth
49 Quarante-neuf [karãt-nœf]
quarante-neuvième forty-ninth
50 Cinquante [ssĩkãt]
cinquantième fiftieth
51 Cinquante-et-un [ssĩkãt-é-ĩ]
cinquante et unième fifty-first
52 Cinquante-deux [ssĩkãt-de]
cinquante-deuxième fifty-second
53 Cinquante-trois [ssĩkãt-troa]
cinquante-troisième fifty-third
54 Cinquante-quatre [ssĩkãt-katr]
cinquante-quatrième fifty-fourth
55 Cinquante-cinq [ssĩkãt-ssĩk]
cinquante-cinquième fifty-fifth
56 Cinquante-six [ssĩkãt-ssiss]
cinquante-sixième fifty-sixth
57 Cinquante-sept [ssĩkãt-ssêt]
cinquante-septième fifty-seventh
58 Cinquante-huit [ssĩkãt-ùit]
cinquante-huitième fifty-eighth
59 Cinquante-neuf [ssĩkãt-nœf]
cinquante-neuvième fifty-ninth
60 Soixante [ssoassãt]
soixantième sixtieth
61 Soixante-et-un [ssoassãt-é-ĩ]
soixante et unième sixty-first
62 Soixante-deux [ssoassãt-de]
soixante-deuxième sixty-second
63 Soixante-trois [ssoassãt-troa]
soixante-troisième sixty-third
64 Soixante-quatre [ssoassãt-katr]
soixante-quatrième sixty-fourth
65 Soixante-cinq [ssoassãt-ssĩk]
soixante-cinquième sixty-fifth
66 Soixante-six [ssoassãt-ssiss]
soixante-sixième sixty-sixth
67 Soixante-sept [ssoassãt-ssêt]
soixante-septième sixty-seventh
68 Soixante-huit [ssoassãt-ùit]
soixante-huitième sixty-eighth
69 Soixante-neuf [ssoassãt-nœf]
soixante-neuvième sixty-ninth

Ok, now things are going to get really strange…

The number 70 is not formed from the number “sept, seven“. No, you’re gonna have to do some maths here, because it’s “soixante-dix“, which you might notice literraly means “sixty-ten” (60 + 10).

Following that logic, to say the numbers 71 to 79, just use the numbers 11 to 19 (and not 1 to 9).

70 Soixante-dix [ssoassãt-diss]
soixante-dixième seventieth
71 Soixante-et-onze [ssoassãt-é-õz]
soixante et onzième seventy-first
72 Soixante-douze [ssoassãt-dŵz]
soixante-douzième seventy-second
73 Soixante-treize [ssoassãt-trêz]
soixante-treizième seventy-third
74 Soixante-quatorze [ssoassãt-katôrz]
soixante-quatorzième seventy-fourth
75 Soixante-quinze [ssoassãt-kĩz]
soixante-quinzième seventy-fifth
76 Soixante-seize [ssoassãt-ssêz]
soixante-seizième seventy-sixth
77 Soixante-dix-sept [ssoassãt-di-ssêt]
soixante-dix-septième seventy-seventh
78 Soixante-dix-huit [ssoassãt-di-zùit]
soixante-dix-huitième seventy-eighth
79 Soixante-dix-neuf [ssoassãt-diz-nœf]
soixante-dix-neuvième seventy-ninth

The number 80 is not formed from the number “huit, eight. No, this time multiplications are involved, because it’s “quatre-vingts“. That’s right, it means “four-twenties” (4 x 20).

Then you just have to add the numbers “un, deux, trois…” after it.

Note that 80 takes an “s” at the end “quatre-vingts“, and that there’s no “et” this time for 81quatre-vingt-un“.

Besides, it’s one of the only exception in French where the “e” at the end of “quatre” is pronounced: [katre-vĩ] ; [katre-vĩ-ĩ] ; [katre-vĩ-de]…

80 Quatre-vingts [katre-vĩ]
quatre-vingtième eightieth
81 Quatre-vingt-un [katre-vĩ-ĩ]
quatre-vingt-unième eighty-first
82 Quatre-vingt-deux [katre-vĩ-de]
quatre-vingt-deuxième eighty-second
83 Quatre-vingt-trois [katre-vĩ-troa]
quatre-vingt-troisième eighty-third
84 Quatre-vingt-quatre [katre-vĩ-katr]
quatre-vingt-quatrième eighty-fourth
85 Quatre-vingt-cinq [katre-vĩ-ssĩk]
quatre-vingt-cinquième eighty-fifth
86 Quatre-vingt-six [katre-vĩ-ssiss]
quatre-vingt-sixième eighty-sixth
87 Quatre-vingt-sept [katre-vĩ-ssêt]
quatre-vingt-septième eighty-seventh
88 Quatre-vingt-huit [katre-vĩ-ùit]
quatre-vingt-huitième eighty-eighth
89 Quatre-vingt-neuf [katre-vĩ-nœf]
quatre-vingt-neuvième eighty-ninth

This time, the numbers 90 to 99 in French, instead of being another weird form of “neuf, nine“, they are just the continuation of the previous ones.

So we have 90quatre-vingt-dix” which means “four-twenty-ten” (4 x 20 + 10).

90 Quatre-vingt-dix [katre-vĩ-diss]
quatre-vingt-dixième ninetieth
91 Quatre-vingt-onze [katre-vĩ-õz]
quatre-vingt-onzième ninety-first
92 Quatre-vingt-douze [katre-vĩ-dŵz]
quatre-vingt-douzième ninety-second
93 Quatre-vingt-treize [katre-vĩ-trêz]
quatre-vingt-treizième ninety-third
94 Quatre-vingt-quatorze [katre-vĩ-katôrz]
quatre-vingt-quatorzième ninety-fourth
95 Quatre-vingt-quinze [katre-vĩ-kĩz]
quatre-vingt-quinzième ninety-fifth
96 Quatre-vingt-seize [katre-vĩ-ssêz]
quatre-vingt-seizième ninety-sixth
97 Quatre-vingt-dix-sept [katre-vĩ-di-ssêt]
quatre-vingt-dix-septième ninety-seventh
98 Quatre-vingt-dix-huit [katre-vĩ-di-zùit]
quatre-vingt-dix-huitième ninety-eighth
99 Quatre-vingt-dix-neuf [katre-vĩ-diz-nœf]
quatre-vingt-dix-neuvième ninety-ninth

 

 

French numbers:  100  to  1,000,000

Once you reach the hundreds, French numbers become easier.

You just have to add the numbers after “cent, hundred“. You don’t even need to put “et“, just connect them with a hyphen if you have to write them.

Note that “cent” takes an “s” for every hundred (200, 300, 400, 500…)

Also, French people don’t pronounce the last consonant of 400 (the “r” : [kat_-ssã] ), 600 (the “x” : [ssi_-ssã] ) and 800 (the “t” : [ùi_-ssã] ).

  100 Cent  
[ssã]  
  101 Cent-un  
[ssã-ĩ]  
  102 Cent-deux  
[ssã-de]  
  103 Cent-trois  
[ssã-troa]  
         
  200 Deux-cents  
[de-ssã]  
  210 Deux-cent-dix  
[de-ssã-diss]  
  219 Deux-cent-dix-neuf  
[de-ssã-diz-nœf]  
  221 Deux-cent-vingt-et-un  
[ssã-vĩ-té-ĩ]  
         
  300 Trois-cents  
[troa-ssã]  
  400 Quatre-cents  
[kat_-ssã]  
  500 Cinq-cents  
[ssĩk-ssã]  
  600 Six-cents  
[ssi_-ssã]  
  700 Sept-cents  
[ssêt-ssã]  
  800 Huit-cents  
[ùi_-ssã]  
  900 Neuf-cents  
[nœf-ssã]  
  999 Neuf-cent-quatre-vingt-dix-neuf  
[nœf-ssã-katre-vĩ-diz-nœf]  

When you get to 1000, it’s even easier since “one thousand” which is “mille” never takes an “s“.

Also, it’s just like before, you just have to add the numbers after “mille“.

It goes on like this until the millions. Here’s a few examples:

  1000 Mille  
[mil]  
  1001 Mille-un  
[mil-ĩ]  
  1002 Mille-deux  
[mil-de]  
  1123 Mille-cent-vingt-trois  
[mil-ssã-vĩt-troa]  
  2000 Deux-mille  
[de-mil]  
  3000 Trois-mille  
[troa-mil]  
  5459 Cinq-mille-quatre-cent-cinquante-neuf  
[ssĩk-mil-kat_-ssã-ssĩkãt-nœf]  
  9876 Neuf-mille-huit-cent-soixante-seize  
[nœf-mil-ùi_-ssã-ssoassãt-ssêz]  
         
  10 000 Dix-mille  
[di_-mil]  
  16 000 Seize-mille  
[sêz-mil]  
  95 000 Quatre-vingt-quinze-mille  
[katre-vĩ-kĩz-mil]  
         
  100 000 Cent-mille  
[ssã-mil]  
  800 017 Huit-cent-mille-dix-sept  
[ùi_-ssã-mil-di-ssêt]  
  989 241 Neuf-cent-quatre-vingt-neuf-mille-deux-cent-quarante-et-un  
[nœf-ssã-katre-vĩ–nœf-mil-de-ssã-karãt-é-ĩ]  

 

The comma, the space and the period

As you can see, in French, we don’t separate the numbers every 3 digits with a comma. Most people usually just leave a space between them, and they usually start doing so from the ten thousands (10 000).

Sometimes, people use a period instead of a comma, which can be quite confusing as it’s used for decimal numbers in English.

Guess what? In French it’s the opposite, we use the comma for decimal numbers! So for example if you go in a bakery in France, you might see that a baguette costs 1,05€ (1 € and 5 cents).

 

Big French numbers: 1,000,000  and  beyond

For really big numbers, the rule is the same, except that now you have to add “un, one” to a single unit, exactly like in English. They also take an “s” in the plural (only “mille” (1000) never takes an “s“).

However, be careful because these big numbers are often false cognates:

1 000 000 :
un million
 [ĩ miliõ] > one million
1 000 000 000 :
un milliard
 [ĩ miliar] > one billion
1 000 000 000 000 :
un billion 
[ĩ biliõ] > one trillion
1 000 000 000 000 000 :
un billiard 
[ĩ biliar] > one quadrillion

As you can see, French people use another suffix: “-iard” after the “-ion” step. So be careful, “one billion” in English is “un milliard” in French. It’s a very common mistake.

You can check this page for more information.

Here’s one last example: how would you write “3 763 894” ?

> trois-millions-sept-cent-soixante-trois-mille-huit-cent-quatre-vingt-quatorze

 

French numbers in Belgium, Switzerland and Luxembourg

This kind of crazy way to count French numbers is not exactly the same for every French speaker in the world.

Basically, all the countries that adopted French due to colonization (Cameroun, Algeria, Quebec, New Caledonia…) have the same counting system as France.

However, other French-speaking countries like Belgium, Switzerland or Luxembourg are much more logical when it comes to say the numbers 70 to 99.

70 Septante [sêptãt]
septantième seventieth
71 Septante-et-un [sêptãt-é-ĩ]
septante et unième seventy-first
72 Septante-deux [sêptãt-de]
septante-deuxième seventy-second
73 Septante-trois [sêptãt-troa]
septante-troisième seventy-third
           
80 Huitante [ùitãt]
huitantième eightieth
81 Huitante-et-un [ùitãt-é-ĩ]
huitante et unième eighty-first
82 Huitante-deux [ùitãt-de]
huitante-deuxième eighty-second
83 Huitante-trois [ùitãt-troa]
huitante-troisième eighty-third
           
90 Nonante [nonãt]
nonantième ninetieth
91 Nonante-et-un [nonãt-é-ĩ]
nonante et unième ninety-first
92 Nonante-deux [nonãt-de]
nonante-deuxième ninety-second
93 Nonante-trois [nonãt-troa]
nonante-troisième ninety-third

Note that you might sometimes see “octante” for 80 instead of “huitante“. It depends on the person and where she comes from.

 

Which number system you should use?

It’s true that the Belgian or Swiss way of counting French numbers is easier. But if you want to speak French like a French person, or like most of the French-speaking population in the world, it’s better to stick with the French way to count numbers. Something like 9 out of 10 French speaker in the world use it.

Of course, if you’re planning to live in Belgium, Swtizerland, Luxembourg… then why not learning the simpler way.

But know that French people may find it a bit strange and funny, even if they would probably understand you. They’re just not used to it.

 

A simple exercise to memorize French numbers

So I know it might take some time before you get used to say French numbers correctly. But you’ll see, you just need a bit of practice and at some point, it will become so natural for you to say 92four-twenty-twelve” instead of “ninety-two“.

Here’s a good website to help you practice. You just have to insert the number in the search bar, and you can see the correct name and spelling with a simple click of the “OK” button. Try to think of a number before clicking “OK”, and see if the result matches your answer.

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