Numbers in French

euros

Numbers in French are not difficult - if you learn the numbers from 1 to 20 plus the multiples of 10, then you are almost there.

If you think about it, most languages have a logical pattern when it comes to numbers (e.g. 120 = one hundred and twenty), so if you can count in English, I am sure that I can teach you to count in French.

There is quite a lot to take in, so I suggest you do this lesson in two parts.

OK let's begin...

Cardinal Numbers in French

0 - 20
20 - 69
70 - 79
80 - 99
100 plus

Ordinal Numbers in French

-- Numbers in French --

Cardinal Numbers in French

Cardinal Numbers 0-20

0 zéro	5 cinq	9 neuf	13 treize	17 dix-setp
1 un, une	6 six	10 dix	14 quatorze	18 dix-huit
2 deux	7 sept	11 onze	15 quinze	19 dix-neuf
3 trois	8 huit	12 douze	16 seize	20 vingt
4 quatre

Remember :
Un and Une are the only ones to agree in gender with a following noun. E.g Une femme (one lady) and Un home (one man).

-- Numbers in French --

Cardinal Numbers 20- 69

From 21 – 69, the numbers in French use the multiples of 10 just like we do in English and then simply add the numbers 1-10.

Remember :
Un(e) is joined to the multiples of 10 by an et. The other numbers are joined by a hyphen.

20 vingt	30 trente	40 quarante	50 cinquante	60 soixante
21 vingt et un(e)	31 trente et un(e)	41 quarante et un(e)	51 cinquante et un(e)	61 soixante et un(e)
22 vingt-deux	32 trente-deux	42 quarante-cinq	52 cinquante-deux	62 soixante-deux
23 vingt-trois	33 trente-trois	43 quarante-six	53 cinquante-trois	63 soixante-trois
24 vingt-quatre	34 trente-quatre	44 quarante-quatre	54 cinquante-quatre	64 soixante-quatre
25 vingt-cinq	25 trente-cinq	45 quarante-cinq	55 cinquante-cinq	65 soixante-cinq
26 vingt-six	26 trente-six	46 quarante-six	56 cinquante-six	66 soixante-six
27 vingt-sept	27 trent-sept	47 quarante-sept	57 cinquante-sept	67 soixante-sept
28 vingt-huit	28 trente-huit	48 quarante-huit	58 cinquante-huit	68 soixante-huit
29 vingt-neuf	29 trente-euf	49 quarante-neuf	59 cinquante-neuf	69 soixante-neuf

-- Numbers in French --

Cardinal Numbers 70 - 79

From 70-79 it's easy. Just take sixty and add the numbers from ten to nineteen. So for example 70 becomes 60 + 10 (soixante-dix) and 71 becomes 60 + 11 (soixante et onze).

70 soixante-dix 75 soixante-quinze

71 soixante et onze 76 soixante-seize

72 soixante-douze 77 soixante-dix-sept

73 soixante-treize 78 soixante-dix-huit

74 soixante-quatorze 79 soixante-neuf

Note :
Take note of the et that between soixante et onze (71). The others all have hyphens.

-- Numbers in French --

Cardinal Numbers 80 - 99

From 80 – 99, the numbers in French use multiples of 20 and then add the units 1-19 to it.

Example:

Eighty three becomes four twenties plus three (quatre-vingt-trois)

Ninety three becomes four twenties plus thirteen (quatre-vingt-treize).

Note :
Un(e) is joined to quatre-vingt by a hyphen and not et as in earlier numbers. Confusing isn't it?

80   quatre-vingt 90   quatre-vingt

81 quatre-ving-un(e) 91 quatre-ving-onze

82   quatre-vingt-deux 92   quatre-vingt-douze

83   quatre-vingt-trois 93   quatre-vingt-treize

84   quatre-vingt-quatre 94   quatre-vingt-quatorze

85 quatre-vingt-cinq 95 quatre-vingt-quinze

86 quatre-vingt-six 96 quatre-vingt-seize

87 quatre-vingt-sept 97 quatre-vingt-dix-sept

88 quatre-vingt-huit 98 quatre-vingt-dix-huit

89 quatre-vingt-neuf 99 quatre-vingt-dix-neuf

-- Numbers in French --

Cardinal Numbers 100 plus

100 = Cent

To say multiples of 100, you simply add the number of hundreds and put an S on the end of cent.

Note :
If the multiple of 100 has another number that follows eg three hundred and twelve, then you drop the S from the cent.

100 cent 624 soixante cent vingt-quatre

200 deux cents 789 sept cent quatre-vingt-neuf

300 trois cents 832 huit cent trente-deux

405 quatre cent cinq 901 neuf cent un(e)

600 cinquante cent dix

1000 = mille

It is invariable, so you never put an S on the end.

Note :
Neither Cent nor mille has an un before it. In English we say one hundred / one thousand whereas the French simply say cent / mille.

1.000 mille 1 000 mille

1.001 mille un 100 000 cent mille

1.200 mille deux cents 200 000 deux cent mille

2.000 deux mille 543 210 cinq cent quarante-trois mille deux cent dix

3.500 trois mille cinq cents 765 432 sept cent soixante-cinq mille quatre cent trente-deux

Note :
The French use a period or a space to separate thousands unlike in English which uses a comma. The French use the comma as a decimal point.

1,000 (English) = 1 000 or 1.000 (French)

2.5 (English) = 2,5 (French)

So when shopping if you see a lovely pair of shoes priced at 1.000 euros, they are not cheap!

1 000 000 = million

When million comes before a noun, you add a de before the noun. However if there is another word between million and the noun, then you don’t add the de.

Example:

Un million de livres (one million books)

Deux millions d'habitants (one million habitants)

Trois millions trois cent mille fourmis (Three million three hundred thousand ants)

Deux millions deux Anglais (Two million and two English)

1,000,000,000 (English billion) = un milliard (French)

1,000,000,000,000 (English trillion) = un billion (French)

-- French Numbers --

Ordinal Numbers in French

Most ordinal numbers in French are formed by adding -ième to the cardinal number.

Note :
The exception is with un/une which is premier/première when it means first on its own. Hoewver if you add another number then it becomes unième or onzième

Example

First = premier/première

Twenty-first = vingt et unième

Seventy-first = soixante et onzième

Eighty-first = quatre-vingt-unième

Also note the spelling for fifth and ninth.

First premier/première sixth sixième fifteenth cinquième

second deuxième seventh septième twentieth vingtième

third troisième eighth huitième hundreth centième

fourth quatreième ninth neuvième thousandth millième

fifth cinquième tenth dixième millionth millionième