Level A1 (Beginner)
Published March 6, 2026 — Lesson written by French teacher David Issokson for students who want to learn French online, with native audio by Marie Assel Cambier, a voice artist from France.
The French Word of the Day is quatre-vingts, meaning “eighty” (80). Unlike English, French forms this number as “four twenties,” which surprises many learners at first. On this page you’ll learn how quatre-vingts works and how to use it naturally in everyday sentences.
📘 Quatre-vingts meaning in French
Quatre-vingts means “eighty” in French. The word literally translates to “four twenties,” reflecting an older base-20 (vigesimal) counting system that influenced how French numbers are formed. Numbers above 80 continue from this base, such as quatre-vingt-un (81), quatre-vingt-deux (82), etc. Numbers from 90 to 99 also use quatre-vingt, such as quatre-vingt-dix (90) and quatre-vingt-onze (91).
Note that when used alone, quatre-vingts takes an s, but the s disappears when another number follows (for example quatre-vingt-un or quatre-vingt-deux). See also: 👉 French numbers 1-100.
💡 Octante vs quatre-vingts
Octante is an alternative word for “eighty” used in some French-speaking regions, particularly Switzerland and parts of Belgium. In France, however, quatre-vingts is the standard form. Most French speakers understand both systems, even though each region generally prefers its own numbering style.
➞ quatre-vingt-cinq = octante-cinq (85)
🎧 Quatre-vingts pronunciation in French
The pronunciation of quatre-vingts is /kat.ʁə vɛ̃/ (IPA), which sounds roughly like “katr-vahn.”
📝 Quatre-vingts usage examples
Elle a quatre-vingts ans, mais elle marche tous les jours.
She is eighty years old, but she walks every day.
Il a grandi en France pendant les années quatre-vingts.
He grew up in France during the eighties.
J’ai payé quatre-vingts euros pour ce billet.
I paid eighty euros for this ticket.
Il y a quatre-vingts pages dans ce livre.
There are eighty pages in this book.
Listen to Marie’s audio for numbers 80-99 on this page:
👉 French numbers 1-100 »
❓ Want to feel more confident in French?
🎯 À Moi Paris — This is my top recommendation for online French courses, and it pairs wonderfully with my daily lessons. Camille Chevalier teaches with engaging audio stories that she records at three speeds. Her specialty is helping students with pronunciation and bridging the gap between textbook French and real spoken French as you hear it on the streets of Paris.
👉 Explore À Moi Paris »
👉 Read my review »
🎧 French Verb Drills — Having trouble with French verb conjugations? Camille’s audio drills break everything down step by step so you can finally lock in the patterns and speak with confidence.
If you purchase the courses, I may earn a small commission — at no extra cost to you.
🔗 Related words and expressions
- le chiffre — digit, numeral
- le nombre — number, quantity
- compter — to count
- le numéro — number (identifier)
- la centaine — about one hundred
- soixante-dix — seventy
- quatre-vingt-dix — ninety
- cent — one hundred
📚 Related lessons on FrenchLearner!
👉 French numbers 1-100 »
👉 Approximate numbers »
👉 Ordinal numbers »
