Numbers In French

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 we 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…….

Part 1: Cardinal Numbers in French
Part 2: Ordinal Numbers in French

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Cardinal Numbers 0-20

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).

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.

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).

Note : Take note of the et that joins soixante et onze. The others all have hyphens.

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

Example:

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

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)
510 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.

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

A trillion – 1,000,000,000,000 (English) = un billion (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

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

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