Getting familiar with numbers is a must for all beginner language learners, especially if you want to start speaking as soon as possible. That applies to saying stuff as simple as “I am 98 years old” – J’ai 98 ans (literally: “I have 98 years”). Arabic numerals will only let you off the hook in writing!
Learning numbers might seem like a rather complicated task at first, because, let’s be honest – French numbers are famous for being just a wee bit complicated:
This reputation is merited to an extent, but only until you learn how to count to 100. After that, the whole affair becomes rather logical and straightforward.
So let’s get right to it!
Overview
- French numbers from 0 to 10
- French numbers from 11 to 20
- French numbers from 21 to 69
- French numbers from 70 to 100
French numbers from 0 to 10
| 0 | zéro | \ze.ʁo\– link to dictionary & sound |
| 1 | un | \œ̃\ – link |
| 2 | deux | \dø\ – link |
| 3 | trois | \tʁwa\ – link |
| 4 | quatre | \katʁ\ – link |
| 5 | cinq | \sɛ̃k\ – link |
| 6 | six | \sis\ if pronounced in itself, \siz\ before a vowel,\si\ if pronounced before a consonant – link |
| 7 | sept | \sɛt\ – link |
| 8 | huit | \ɥit\ – link |
| 9 | neuf (other meaning of “neuf”: “new”) | \nœf\ – link |
| 10 | dix | \dis\ (if pronounced in itself), \diz\ (before a vowel), \di\ (if pronounced before a consonant) – link |
You see the phonetic transcription of each number in the third column using IPA, or the International Phonetic Alphabet. If this way of representing pronunciation is new to you, I would recommend you look into this system a bit. It will definitely come in handy while learning from paper-based material (i.e. a dictionary or a glossary). In that case, checking it takes less effort than finding a dictionary with sound pronunciation samples.
While phonetic transcriptions might seem intimidating at first, it’s not all that complicated. You can get a good grasp of it just by looking at transcriptions of words you already know how to pronounce. To debunk a popular myth: you don’t need to become a linguist in order to benefit from transcriptions. Word!
So far so good. Now on to the next batch:
French numbers from 11 to 20
| 11 | onze | \ɔ̃z\ |
| 12 | douze | \duz\ |
| 13 | treize | \tʁɛz\ |
| 14 | quatorze | \ka.tɔʁz\ |
| 15 | quinze | \kɛ̃z\ |
| 16 | seize | \sɛz\ |
| 17 | dix-sept | \di.sɛt\ or \dis.sɛt\ |
| 18 | dix-huit | \di.z‿ɥit\ – the “‿” symbol represents the liaison. |
| 19 | dix-neuf | \dis.nœf\ |
| 20 | vingt | \vɛ̃\ (in France) or \vɛ̃t\ (in French-speaking Switzerland and Belgium) |
As you can see, the numbers from 11 to 16 are just like “eleven” and “twelve” in English: these are not compound words, so you can’t piece them together from the numbers you already know. No shortcuts available (yet).
| With the number 18, the liaison enters the picture. If you haven’t heard about it before: in French pronounciation, it’s common to link the last consonant of a word to the next word if it starts with a vowel. As a result, you pronounce the two words as if they were one, or, more precisely, as if the word boundaries were somewhere else. 18 is dix-huit in French; instead of “diz-huit”, you pronounce it as “di-zuit”. In speech, the letter x of dix gets transferred onto huit. |
In some cases, you’re obliged to do the liaison, in other cases, it’s optional. If this concept sounds novel to you, don’t worry! It’s very easy to get used to it.
French numbers from 21 to 69
| 21 | vingt-et-un | \vɛ̃.t‿e.œ̃\ |
| 22 | vingt-deux | \vɛ̃t.dø\ |
| 23 | vingt-trois | \vɛ̃t.tʁwɑ\ |
| 24 | vingt-quatre | \vɛ̃t.katʁ\ |
| 25 | vingt-cinq | \vɛ̃t.sɛ̃k\ |
| 26 | vingt-six | \vɛ̃t.sis\ – again: \sis\ if pronounced in itself, \siz\ before a vowel, \si\ if pronounced before a consonant |
| 27 | vingt-sept | \vɛ̃t.sɛt\ |
| 28 | vingt-huit | \vɛ̃.t‿ɥit\ |
| 29 | vingt-neuf | \vɛ̃t.nœf\ |
| 30 | trente | \tʁɑ̃t\ |
| 31 | trente-et-un | \tʁɑ̃.t‿e.œ̃\ |
| 32 | trente-deux | \tʁɑ̃t.dø\ |
| 33 | trente-trois | \tʁɑ̃t.tʁwa\ |
| 34 | trente-quatre | \tʁɑ̃t.katʁ\ |
| 35 | trente-cinq | \tʁɑ̃t.sɛ̃k\ |
| 36 | trente-six | \tʁɑ̃t.sis\ on its own, \tʁɑ̃t.si\ before a consonant, \tʁɑ̃t.siz\ before a vowel |
| 37 | trente-sept | \tʁɑ̃t.sɛt\ |
| 38 | trente-huit | \tʁɑ̃.t‿ɥit\ |
| 39 | trente-neuf | \tʁɑ̃t.nœf\ |
| 40 | quarante | \ka.ʁɑ̃t\ |
| 41 | quarante-et-un | \ka.ʁɑ̃.t‿e.œ̃\ |
| 42 | quarante-deux | \ka.ʁɑ̃t.dø\ |
| 43 | quarante-trois | \ka.ʁɑ̃t.tʁwa\ |
| 44 | quarante-quatre | \ka.ʁɑ̃t.katʁ\ |
| 45 | quarante-cinq | \ka.ʁɑ̃t.sɛ̃k\ |
| 46 | quarante-six | \ka.ʁɑ̃t.sis\ – again: [sis] if pronounced in itself, [siz] before a vowel,[si] if pronounced before a consonant |
| 47 | quarante-sept | \ka.ʁɑ̃t.sɛt\ |
| 48 | quarante-huit | \ka.ʁɑ̃.t‿ɥit\ |
| 49 | quarante-neuf | \ka.ʁɑ̃t.nœf\ |
| 50 | cinquante | \sɛ̃.kɑ̃t\ |
| 51 | cinquante-et-un | \sɛ̃.kɑ̃.t‿e.œ̃\ |
| 52 | cinquante-deux | \sɛ̃.kɑ̃t.dø\ |
| 53 | cinquante-trois | \sɛ̃.kɑ̃t.tʁwa\ |
| 54 | cinquante-quatre | \sɛ̃.kɑ̃t.katʁ\ |
| 55 | cinquante-cinq | \sɛ̃.kɑ̃t.sɛ̃k\ |
| 56 | cinquante-six | \sɛ̃.kɑ̃t.sis\ – again: \sis\ if pronounced in itself, \siz\ before a vowel, \si\ if pronounced before a consonant |
| 57 | cinquante-sept | \sɛ̃.kɑ̃t.sɛt\ |
| 58 | cinquante-huit | \sɛ̃.kɑ̃.t‿ɥit\ |
| 59 | cinquante-neuf | \sɛ̃.kɑ̃t.nœf\ |
| 60 | soixante | \swa.sɑ̃t\ |
| 61 | soixante-et-un | \swa.sɑ̃.t‿e.œ̃\ |
| 62 | soixante-deux | \swa.sɑ̃t.dø\ |
| 63 | soixante-trois | \swa.sɑ̃t.tʁwa\ |
| 64 | soixante-quatre | \swa.sɑ̃t.katʁ\ |
| 65 | soixante-cinq | \swa.sɑ̃t.sɛ̃k\ |
| 66 | soixante-six | \swa.sɑ̃t.sis\ – again: \sis\ if pronounced in itself, \siz\ before a vowel, \si\ if pronounced before a consonant |
| 67 | soixante-sept | \swa.sɑ̃t.sɛt\ |
| 68 | soixante-huit | \swa.sɑ̃.t‿ɥit\ |
| 69 | soixante-neuf | \swa.sɑ̃t.nœf\ |
Et in numbers: twenty and one, thirty and one, forty and one, fifty and one, sixty and one, seventy and one…
When you say 21 (vingt-et-un), you need to add et (“and”) in the middle – that’s just the way counting works in French. The same goes for 31 (trente-et-un), 41 (quatorze-et-un), 51 (cinquante-et-un), 61 (soixante-et-un), and 71 (soixante-et-onze).
Oddly enough, adding the “et” stops there. You don’t use it with 81 (quatre-vingt-un) or 91 (quatre-vingt-onze).
Apart from that, no irregularities here! The numbers above 40, 50 and 60 follow the same pattern.
Note: the final “t” in vingt (20) in the numbers 21 to 29 is always pronounced, unlike in the number 20 ([vɛ̃]).
French numbers from 70 to 100
| 70 | soixante-dix (60 + 10) | \swa.sɑ̃t.dis] – [dis] if pronounced in itself, [diz] before a vowel, [di] if pronounced before a consonant |
| 71 | soixante-et-onze (60 + 11) | \swa.sɑ̃.t‿e ɔ̃z\ |
| 72 | soixante-douze (60 + 12) | \swa.sɑ̃t.duz\ |
| 73 | soixante-treize (60 + 13) | \swa.sɑ̃t.tʁɛz\ |
| 74 | soixante-quatorze (60 + 14) | \swa.sɑ̃t.ka.tɔʁz\ |
| 75 | soixante-quinze (60 + 15) | \swa.sɑ̃t.kɛ̃z\ |
| 76 | soixante-seize (60 + 16) | \swa.sɑ̃t.sɛz\ |
| 77 | soixante-dix-sept (60 + 17) | \swa.sɑ̃t.di.sɛt\ |
| 78 | soixante-dix-huit (60 + 18) | \swa.sɑ̃t.di.z‿ɥit\ |
| 79 | soixante-dix-neuf (60 + 19) | \swa.sɑ̃t.diz.nœf\ |
| 80 | quatre-vingts (extra “s” at the end!) (4×20) | \ka.tʁə.vɛ̃\ |
| 81 | quatre-vingt-un (no “et” !) | \ka.tʁə.vɛ̃.œ̃\ |
| 82 | quatre-vingt-deux | \ka.tʁə.vɛ̃.dø\ |
| 83 | quatre-vingt-trois | \ka.tʁə.vɛ̃.tʁwa\ |
| 84 | quatre-vingt-quatre | \ka.tʁə.vɛ̃.katʁ\ |
| 85 | quatre-vingt-cinq | \ka.tʁə.vɛ̃.sɛ̃k\ |
| 86 | quatre-vingt-six | \ka.tʁə.vɛ̃.sis\ – \sis\ if pronounced in itself, \siz\ before a vowel, \si\ if pronounced before a consonant |
| 87 | quatre-vingt-sept | \ka.tʁə.vɛ̃.sɛt\ |
| 88 | quatre-vingt-huit | \ka.tʁə.vɛ̃.ɥit\ |
| 89 | quatre-vingt-neuf | \ka.tʁə.vɛ̃.nœf\ |
| 90 | quatre-vingt-dix (4×20 + 10) | \ka.tʁə.vɛ̃.dis\ – \dis\ if pronounced in itself, \diz\ before a vowel, \di\ if pronounced before a consonant |
| 91 | quatre-vingt-onze (no “et” ! 4×20 + 11) | \ka.tʁə.vɛ̃.ɔ̃z\ |
| 92 | quatre-vingt-douze (4×20 + 12) | \ka.tʁə.vɛ̃.duz\ |
| 93 | quatre-vingt-treize (4×20 + 13) | \ka.tʁə.vɛ̃.tʁɛz\ |
| 94 | quatre-vingt-quatorze (4×20 + 14) | \ka.tʁə.vɛ̃.ka.tɔʁz\ |
| 95 | quatre-vingt-quinze (4×20 + 15) | \ka.tʁə.vɛ̃.kɛ̃z\ |
| 96 | quatre-vingt-seize (4×20 + 16) | \ka.tʁə.vɛ̃.sɛz\ |
| 97 | quatre-vingt-dix-sept (4×20 + 17) | \ka.tʁə.vɛ̃.di.sɛt\ |
| 98 | quatre-vingt-dix-huit (4×20 + 18) | \ka.tʁə.vɛ̃.di.z‿ɥit\ |
| 99 | quatre-vingt-dix-neuf (4×20 + 19) | \ka.tʁə.vɛ̃.diz.nœf\ |
| 100 | cent | \sɑ̃\ |
The real peculiarities start with the number 70. It does not have its “own” name*, so you have to put it together from 60 and 10: soixante-dix. Same goes for the numbers that follow. 71 becomes soixante-onze (60 + 11), 72 becomes soixante-douze (60 + 12), et cetera.
When you get to 80, you realize that besides addition, now we’re dealing with multiplication, too. 80, or quatre-vingts, means “four twenties”. It surely seems overly complicated/extravagant/why are you doing this to me? (you name it) at first, but don’t let that fool you: you don’t actually have to keep in mind what quatre-vingts stands for!
If you know it means 80, you can keep building your numbers from there without paying much attention to arithmetic operations. 81 is quatre-vingt-un, 82 is quatre-vingt-deux, 83 is quatre-vingt-trois, et cetera.
Note: 80 is quatre-vingts – this is the only number within the 80 to 90 range that has an extra “s” at the end (e.g. quatre-vingt-un, quatre-vingt-neuf).
Congratulations – now you can cross off one of the most important items on your French “to learn”-list!
To find out the difference between “chiffre” and “nombre” in French, check out this article right here. It will take less than a minute!
*In France, at least. In French-speaking Belgium and Switzerland, you say septante (70) and nonante (90); in addition to that, huitante (80) is used in some Swiss cantons (especially in Vaud, but also in Fribourg and Valais to some extent). Huitante is not used in Belgium. go back