{"id":54,"date":"2026-09-30T14:29:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-30T13:29:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leweb2ks.dev\/vitrine-vocadial\/en\/resources\/numbers-in-french\/"},"modified":"2026-09-30T14:29:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T13:29:12","slug":"numbers-in-french","status":"publish","type":"vd_ressource","link":"https:\/\/vocadial.com\/en\/resources\/numbers-in-french\/","title":{"rendered":"Numbers in French: from 0 to a million, soixante-dix and all"},"content":{"rendered":"

0 to 69<\/h2>\n\n

0 to 20<\/h3>\n\n

In the pronunciation column, (n) marks a nasal vowel: the n itself is not pronounced. “uh” is said with rounded lips, and the French r is made at the back of the throat.<\/p>\n\n

French<\/th>Number<\/th>Say it like<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
z\u00e9ro<\/td>0<\/td>zay-ROH<\/td><\/tr>
un<\/td>1<\/td>uh(n)<\/td><\/tr>
deux<\/td>2<\/td>duh<\/td><\/tr>
trois<\/td>3<\/td>trwah<\/td><\/tr>
quatre<\/td>4<\/td>katr<\/td><\/tr>
cinq<\/td>5<\/td>sa(n)k<\/td><\/tr>
six<\/td>6<\/td>seess<\/td><\/tr>
sept<\/td>7<\/td>set<\/td><\/tr>
huit<\/td>8<\/td>weet<\/td><\/tr>
neuf<\/td>9<\/td>nuhf<\/td><\/tr>
dix<\/td>10<\/td>deess<\/td><\/tr>
onze<\/td>11<\/td>o(n)z<\/td><\/tr>
douze<\/td>12<\/td>dooz<\/td><\/tr>
treize<\/td>13<\/td>trez<\/td><\/tr>
quatorze<\/td>14<\/td>ka-TORZ<\/td><\/tr>
quinze<\/td>15<\/td>ka(n)z<\/td><\/tr>
seize<\/td>16<\/td>sez<\/td><\/tr>
dix-sept<\/td>17<\/td>dee-SET<\/td><\/tr>
dix-huit<\/td>18<\/td>dee-ZWEET<\/td><\/tr>
dix-neuf<\/td>19<\/td>deez-NUHF<\/td><\/tr>
vingt<\/td>20<\/td>va(n)<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n

The p of sept<\/span> and the gt of vingt<\/span> are silent. Deux<\/span> and douze<\/span> are easily confused in listening: the vowel of deux<\/span> is the “u” of British “fur”, that of douze<\/span> the “oo” of “food”.<\/p>\n\n

21 to 69<\/h3>\n\n
French<\/th>Number<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
vingt et un<\/td>21<\/td><\/tr>
vingt-deux<\/td>22<\/td><\/tr>
trente<\/td>30<\/td><\/tr>
trente et un<\/td>31<\/td><\/tr>
quarante<\/td>40<\/td><\/tr>
cinquante<\/td>50<\/td><\/tr>
soixante<\/td>60<\/td><\/tr>
soixante et un<\/td>61<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n

The x of soixante<\/span> is pronounced like an s: “swa-SAH(N)T”. The units 1 are joined with et<\/span> (21, 31, 41, 51, 61); all the others with a hyphen.<\/p>\n\n

70 to 99: counting in twenties<\/h2>\n\n
France<\/th>Number<\/th>Belgium and Switzerland<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
soixante-dix<\/td>70<\/td>septante<\/td><\/tr>
soixante et onze<\/td>71<\/td>septante et un<\/td><\/tr>
soixante-douze<\/td>72<\/td>septante-deux<\/td><\/tr>
soixante-dix-neuf<\/td>79<\/td>septante-neuf<\/td><\/tr>
quatre-vingts<\/td>80<\/td>quatre-vingts; huitante in some Swiss cantons<\/td><\/tr>
quatre-vingt-un<\/td>81<\/td>quatre-vingt-un; huitante et un<\/td><\/tr>
quatre-vingt-dix<\/td>90<\/td>nonante<\/td><\/tr>
quatre-vingt-onze<\/td>91<\/td>nonante et un<\/td><\/tr>
quatre-vingt-dix-neuf<\/td>99<\/td>nonante-neuf<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n

From 70, France adds 10 to 19 to soixante<\/span>: 77 is soixante-dix-sept<\/span>, “sixty-seventeen”. 80 is “four twenties”, and 90 to 99 are “four twenties plus ten to nineteen”.<\/p>\n\n

Septante<\/span> and nonante<\/span> are standard in Belgium and Switzerland. Huitante<\/span> is used in the Swiss cantons of Vaud, Valais and Fribourg; elsewhere, Belgians and Swiss say quatre-vingts<\/span>. Quebec uses the same forms as France. Teach the French forms for production, but mention the others: pupils find them logical, and they may hear them.<\/p>\n\n

Hundreds, thousands and millions<\/h2>\n\n
French<\/th>Number<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
cent<\/td>100<\/td><\/tr>
cent un<\/td>101<\/td><\/tr>
deux cents<\/td>200<\/td><\/tr>
deux cent cinq<\/td>205<\/td><\/tr>
mille<\/td>1,000<\/td><\/tr>
mille un<\/td>1,001<\/td><\/tr>
deux mille<\/td>2,000<\/td><\/tr>
cent mille<\/td>100,000<\/td><\/tr>
un million<\/td>1,000,000<\/td><\/tr>
deux millions<\/td>2,000,000<\/td><\/tr>
un milliard<\/td>1,000,000,000<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n

Spelling rules<\/h3>\n\n
  1. Et only with 1 and 11, and only up to 71.<\/strong> vingt et un<\/span>, soixante et onze<\/span>, but quatre-vingt-un<\/span>, quatre-vingt-onze<\/span>, cent un<\/span>.<\/li>
  2. Quatre-vingts takes an s only at the end.<\/strong> quatre-vingts<\/span>, but quatre-vingt-trois<\/span>.<\/li>
  3. Cent takes an s when multiplied and at the end.<\/strong> deux cents<\/span>, but deux cent trois<\/span>. The s stays before millions<\/span>: deux cents millions<\/span>.<\/li>
  4. Mille never changes.<\/strong> deux mille<\/span>, dix mille<\/span>.<\/li>
  5. No “un” before cent or mille.<\/strong> “One hundred” is cent<\/span>, “one thousand” is mille<\/span>.<\/li>
  6. Million and milliard are nouns.<\/strong> They take an s and de<\/span> before a noun: deux millions d’habitants<\/span>.<\/li>
  7. A billion is un milliard.<\/strong> The French un billion<\/span> is a million million.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n

    Hyphens: traditionally, hyphens join only numbers below 100 (vingt-deux<\/span>, deux cent trois<\/span>). The 1990 spelling reform allows hyphens between all parts, et<\/span> included: vingt-et-un<\/span>, deux-cent-trois<\/span>. Both spellings are correct; choose one and be consistent.<\/p>\n\n

    Liaisons and silent letters<\/h2>\n\n

    Final consonants change according to what follows, which is why numbers sound different in six<\/span>, six livres<\/span> and six ans<\/span>.<\/p>\n\n

    • six<\/span> and dix<\/span>: “seess” on their own, “see” before a consonant (six livres<\/span>), “seez” before a vowel (six ans<\/span>).<\/li>
    • huit<\/span>: “weet” on its own and before a vowel, often “wee” before a consonant (huit jours<\/span>).<\/li>
    • neuf<\/span>: “nuhf”, but “nuhv” in neuf ans<\/span> and neuf heures<\/span>.<\/li>
    • vingt<\/span>: the t is heard from 21 to 29 (vingt-deux<\/span>: “va(n)t-duh”) and before a vowel (vingt ans<\/span>), but not in quatre-vingt-un<\/span>.<\/li>
    • deux<\/span>, trois<\/span>: a z sound before a vowel: deux ans<\/span>, “duh-ZAH(N)”.<\/li>
    • un<\/span>: an n sound before a vowel: un an<\/span>, “uh-NAH(N)”.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n

      Decimals, phone numbers and ordinals<\/h2>\n\n

      French uses a decimal comma: 3,5 is trois virgule cinq<\/span>. Thousands are separated by a space: 10 000. Prices are read without the comma: 3,50 \u20ac is trois euros cinquante<\/span>.<\/p>\n\n

      French phone numbers are read in pairs: 06 12 34 56 78 is z\u00e9ro six, douze, trente-quatre, cinquante-six, soixante-dix-huit<\/span>. It is excellent practice for 70 to 99.<\/p>\n\n

      Ordinals add -i\u00e8me: deuxi\u00e8me<\/span>, troisi\u00e8me<\/span>. Watch premier<\/span> \/ premi\u00e8re<\/span>, cinqui\u00e8me<\/span> (with a u) and neuvi\u00e8me<\/span> (f becomes v).<\/p>\n\n

      Typical mistakes of English-speaking learners<\/h2>\n\n
      • Age with \u00eatre:<\/strong> “je suis douze ans”. Age uses avoir<\/span>: J’ai douze ans.<\/span><\/li>
      • “Cent et un”:<\/strong> a calque of “a hundred and one”. It is cent un<\/span>.<\/li>
      • “Un cent”, “un mille”:<\/strong> it is cent<\/span> and mille<\/span>.<\/li>
      • “Soixante-dix-et-un”:<\/strong> it is soixante et onze<\/span>.<\/li>
      • Quatre-vingts and cents<\/strong> with the s in the wrong place.<\/li>
      • Silent letters pronounced:<\/strong> the p of sept<\/span>, the t of vingt<\/span> and cent<\/span> on their own.<\/li>
      • Billion:<\/strong> translating “a billion” as un billion<\/span>.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n

        In class: a number routine<\/h2>\n\n

        Numbers are forgotten fast if they are not used, and 70 to 99 need practice all year. Five numbers at the start of each lesson keep them alive.<\/p>\n\n

        1. Show a number in figures on the board.<\/li>
        2. The class says it aloud, all together or one pupil at a time.<\/li>
        3. Reveal the number written in words, so pupils can check hyphens, s and et<\/span>.<\/li>
        4. Repeat with four more numbers, each a little harder than the last.<\/li>
        5. Now and then, reverse it: say a number, pupils write the figures on mini whiteboards.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n

          This is exactly what a daily routine does: little, often, and slightly harder each time.<\/p>\n\n

          Adapting to your class<\/h3>\n\n
          • A1<\/b>0 to 100, with a focus on 70 to 99.<\/li>
          • A2<\/b>Up to 1,000, with the s of cents<\/span>.<\/li>
          • B1<\/b>Up to 100,000, with decimals: trois virgule cinq<\/span>.<\/li>
          • B2<\/b>Up to 9,000,000, with millions de<\/span>.<\/li><\/ul>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            From z\u00e9ro to un million: 70 to 99 explained, Belgian and Swiss variants, liaisons, spelling rules and a daily five-number routine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"menu_order":11,"template":"","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"Numbers in French: Full List, Spelling and Rules | VocaDial","_seopress_titles_desc":"Numbers in French from 0 to 1,000,000: soixante-dix, quatre-vingts, septante and nonante, liaisons, spelling rules and the mistakes English speakers make.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_seopress_news_disabled":"","_seopress_video_disabled":"","_seopress_video":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas_manual":[],"_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable_all":"","_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas":[],"_vd_topic":"nombres","_vd_target":"fr","_vd_module":"numero","_vd_level":"A1","_vd_minutes":"8","_vd_card_word":"soixante-dix","_vd_answer":"Numbers in French from 1 to 10 are un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq, six, sept, huit, neuf, dix<\/span>. From 70 French counts in twenties: 70 is soixante-dix<\/span> (sixty-ten), 80 is quatre-vingts<\/span> (four twenties) and 90 is quatre-vingt-dix<\/span>. In Belgium and Switzerland, 70 and 90 are septante<\/span> and nonante<\/span>.","_vd_faq":"[{\"q\":\"How do you count to 10 in French?\",\"a\":\"Un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq, six, sept, huit, neuf, dix<\\\/span>. Zero is z\u00e9ro<\\\/span>.\"},{\"q\":\"Why is 70 soixante-dix in French?\",\"a\":\"French in France counts partly in twenties from 60 upwards: 70 is \\\"sixty-ten\\\", 80 is \\\"four twenties\\\" (quatre-vingts<\\\/span>) and 90 is \\\"four twenties and ten\\\" (quatre-vingt-dix<\\\/span>).\"},{\"q\":\"Where do people say septante and nonante?\",\"a\":\"In Belgium and Switzerland. Some Swiss cantons (Vaud, Valais, Fribourg) also say huitante<\\\/span> for 80. France and Quebec use soixante-dix<\\\/span> and quatre-vingt-dix<\\\/span>.\"},{\"q\":\"Does quatre-vingts take an s?\",\"a\":\"Only when nothing follows: quatre-vingts<\\\/span>, but quatre-vingt-trois<\\\/span>. The same rule applies to cents<\\\/span>: deux cents<\\\/span>, but deux cent trois<\\\/span>.\"},{\"q\":\"Is it vingt et un or vingt-et-un?\",\"a\":\"Both are correct. Vingt et un<\\\/span> is the traditional spelling; vingt-et-un<\\\/span> follows the 1990 spelling reform.\"},{\"q\":\"How do you say your age in French?\",\"a\":\"With avoir<\\\/span>: J'ai douze ans<\\\/span>, literally \\\"I have twelve years\\\". \\\"Je suis douze ans\\\" is a typical English-speaker mistake.\"}]","_vd_key":"nombres-fr","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-54","vd_ressource","type-vd_ressource","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vocadial.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vd_ressource\/54","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vocadial.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vd_ressource"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vocadial.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/vd_ressource"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vocadial.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vd_ressource\/54\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vocadial.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}