French Numbers 1-100

The French numbers 1-100 are much more complex than un, deux trois (one, two, three). While counting from 1-20 is very straight forward, the numbers 60-100 become much more complicated. Apply our useful five tips (further down the page) and learn how to easily count to from one hundred and beyond.

Numbers in French 1-100

Image of French cardinal numbers from 1-100 and all the way up to 2,000 with phonetic symbols from vintage textbook.

French numbers 1-20

To memorize 1-10, try counting in either even or odd numbers separately. Another effective tip is to try counting backwards from ten to zero.

French numbers 1-10

0 – Zéro
1 – Un
2 – Deux
3 – Trois
4 – Quatre
5 – Cinq
6 – Six
7 – Sept
8 – Huit
9 – Neuf
10 – Dix

Tips for learning to count from 11-20

Many students get confused on the numbers quinze (fifteen) seize (sixteen). A fun tip is to repeat, “You Can Say Quinze Seize”.

In addition many of the numbers above 10 end in the -z sound, such as onze (eleven), douze (twelve) and treize (thirteen).

You can remember that these are the “teenz”. This will help you to distinguish these numbers from the higher numbers which we’ll observe below.

11 – onze
12 – douze
13 – treize
14 – quatorze
15 – quinze
16 – seize
17 – dix-sept
18 – dix-huit
19 – dix-neuf

Image of French numbers one to twenty (1-20).

French 1-20 song

Practice the French numbers 1-20 with this fun song by Alain Le Lait:

French numbers 20-59

The numbers 20-59 are not very complicated. To say twenty, say vingt (pronounced vɛ̃), the same pronunciation as the word for wine, vin!).

To say twenty-one, add “et un” or and one. Then, for 22-29 simply add un, deux, trois, etc. This pattern works for the numbers all the up through 59.

Many students experience difficulties distinguishing the teens from these higher numbers. A tip to remember these higher numbers is to say, “I have a lot of aunts”.

This is because the word aunt (New England or UK pronunciation) rhymes with these numbers, trente, quarante and cinquante.

Numbers 20-29

20 – Vingt
21 – Vingt et un
22 – Vingt-deux
23 – Vingt-trois
24 – Vingt-quatre
25 – Vingt-cinq
26 – Vingt-six
27 – Vingt-sept
28 – Vingt-huit
29 – Vingt-neuf

Numbers 30-39

30 – Trente
31 – Trente et un
32 – Trente-deux
33 – Trente-trois
34 – Trente-quatre
35 – Trente-cinq
36 – Trente-six
37 – Trente-sept
38 – Trente-huit
39 – Trente-neuf

Numbers 40-49

40 – Quarante
41 – Quarante et un
42 – Quarante-deux
43 – Quarante-trois
44 – Quarante-quatre
45 – Quarante-cinq
46 – Quarante-six
47 – Quarante-sept
48 – Quarante-huit
49 – Quarante-neuf

Numbers 50-59

50 – Cinquante
51 – Cinqante et un
52 – Cinquante-deux
53 – Cinquante-trois
54 – Cinquante-quatre
55 – Cinquante-cinq
56 – Cinquante-six
57 – Cinquante-sept
58 – Cinquante-huit
59 – Cinquante-neuf

French numbers 60-79

The numbers 60-70 are often a big challenge for beginner students. This is where our key tips come into play.

To count from 60-69, simply say soixante then follow the same pattern the numbers in the previous section covering 20-69. When you come to seventy, you must say soixante-dix, which translates to ‘sixty ten’.

Numbers 60-69

60 – Soixante
61 – Soixante et un
62 – Soixante-deux
63 – Soixante-trois
64 – Soixante-quatre
65 – Soixante-cinq
66 – Soixante-six
67 – Soixante-sept
68 – Soixante-huit
69 – Soixante-neuf

Then, for 71-79, you must add soixante (sixty) to the corresponding teen (11-19) number. Hence, seventy-one is soixante-et-onze (sixty and eleven). Seventy-two is soixante-douze (sixty twelve).

One useful tip to say the numbers 60-79 easier is to first say the word soixante without considering the entire number.

If the number is 60-69 that’s easy: Just add un, deux, trois, etc.

If the number is 70-79, the same tip applies. First say soixante. Then, add the corresponding teen. The key is to first say soixante quickly. That way, you prevent yourself from stumbling and say the number easier.

Numbers 70-79

70 – Soixante-dix
71 – Soixante et onze
72 – Soixante douze
73 – Soixante treize
74 – Soixante-quatorze
75 – Soixante-quinze
76 – Soixante-seize
77 – Soixante-dix-sept
78 – Soixante-dix-huit
79 – Soixante-dix-neuf

French numbers 80-99

Image showing how to form the number 80 in French (quatre-vingts): 4 x 20 = 80.

The French numbers 80-99 become much more complicated. This is because to say eighty, you must say quatre-vingts, which means ‘four twenties’.

For the number eighty-one, the et disappears. Hence, 81 is quatre-vingt-un, which literally means ‘four twenty one’.

For 82-89, say quatre-vingt (4 x 20), then add un, deux, trois, etc. through neuf. Eight-five, for example is quatre-vingt-cinq (4 x 20 + 5).

Numbers 80-89

80 – Quatre-vingts
81 – Quatre-vingt-un
82 – Quatre-vingt-deux
83 – Quatre-vingt trois
84 – Quatre-vingt-quatre
85 – Quatre-vingt-cinq
86 – Quatre-vingt-six
87 – Quatre-vingt-sept
88 – Quatre-vingt-huit
89 – Quatre-vingt-neuf

To say ninety, say quatre-vingt-dix, which equates to ‘four twenty ten’. Then, for 91-99, add the corresponding teen number. For example ninety-five is quatre-vingt-quinze (4 x 20 + 15).

The same tips for the previous section on 60-79 apply for 80-99. For any of these numbers 80-99 first get out the word quatre-vingts. Then, worry about what you have to add.

If you are in 80-89 territory simply add un, deux, trois, etc. Then if you are 90 or higher you must add the corresponding teen number.

Again, the way to avoid stumbling is to immediately say ‘quatre-vingts’, then tackle the rest of the number.

Image showing how to form the number 90 in French: 4 x 20 + 10 = 90 (quatre-vingts-dix).

Numbers 90-99

90 – Quatre-vingt-dix
91 – Quatre-vingt-onze
92 – Quatre-vingt-douze
93 – Quatre-vingt-treize
94 – Quatre-vingt-quatorze
95 – Quatre-vingt-quinze
96 – Quatre-vingt-seize
97 – Quatre-vingt-dix-sept
98 – Quatre-vingt-dix-huit
99 – Quatre-vingt-dix-neuf

Counting in Switzerland and Belgium: Septante and Nonante

The counting system for 60-99 is much less complicated in Switzerland and Belgium.

This is because these two countries have specific words for seventy, eighty and ninety: septante (70) and huitante (80) and nonante (90).

Hence, in these countries 75, 85 and 95 would be septant-cinq, huitante-cinq and nonante-cinq.

This makes the French numbers 1-100 in these countries much easier!

This counting system eliminates the need to calculate math and cuts down significantly on the number of words required to express the corresponding numbers.

Big numbers 100 and beyond

To say both one hundred and one thousand, say cent and mille, respectively. Do not add the word un to either of these numbers.

Hence, ‘one hundred one’ and ‘one thousand one’ are cent un and mille un, respectively. For larger hundreds, add an -s: two-hundred is deux cents.

For larger thousands, never an an -s to mille. Hence, two thousand is deux mille. One million is un million and one billion is un milliard. Add an -s to both of these to make higher numbers. Hence, two million is deux millions.

This page provides a table for practicing big numbers with MP3 audio.

100 cent
101 cent un
150 cent cinquante
524 cinq cents vingt-quatre
1,000 mille
1,001 mille un
1,250 mille deux cents cinquante
10,000 dix mille
1,000,000 un million
1,000,000 un milliard (billion)

Here’s how to say a few years in French:

1975: mille neuf cent soixante-quinze (you can also day dix-neuf cent)
2007: deux mille sept

Image with words "Vive La France" (Long live France) against backdrop of lavender field.

More uses and resources for French numbers

French decimals and percentages

In France, the decimal points are written with commas. The word for comma is virgule. Hence the decimil 1.5 is written 1,5 and read as un vigrule cinq.

The word percent is written in two words in French: pour cent. Hence 50% would be cinquante pour cent.

French ordinal numbers

Ordinal numbers are counting numbers: first second, third, etc. To form an ordinal number in French, simply add -ième to the number.

Hence, second and third are deuxième and troisième. The only big exception to this guideline premier and primière for first. Our ordinal number page has a complete table with example sentences.

French fractions

To form a fraction, simply put a cardinal number (un, deux, trois, etc.) over an ordinal number. Hence, the fraction 1/5 would be un cinquième.

All fractions are masculine. Our fractions page offers a complete table with example sentences.

Math in French

Learning the French numbers is essential for talking about math. The word for plus in French is plus (say the -s).

The words for minus, multiplied by and divided by are: moins, multiplié par and divisé par.

Our math page offers a complete table covering examples of simple math problems using French numbers.

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Become an expert in French numbers!
Gaining mastery in French numbers can be a big challenge. We suggest taking a look at Frenchtoday.com’s audio course, “Mastering French Numbers“. With Camille’s drills you’ll be able to rattle off even the trickiest of numbers in no time!

Another must-have resource is the book, Practice Makes Perfect , Complete French All-in-One, which has a great chapter covering numbers with useful exercises.