Learning how to form and say numbers in French will help you recognize important dates, order items at a café, and communicate details like age. There are some irregular rules for counting in French, especially when you get to the higher numbers. But a bit of memorization and an understanding of how the French form their numbers will help you count as high as you want.
In English, we have some fairly simple number naming conventions. For example, number names like seventeen and seventy, include the word seven as the base for the new number name. But in French, there’s more math and less adding to a base word. For example, how you’d say 70 in French is the word for sixty (soixante) plus the word for ten (dix) because 60+10=70, so 70 is soixante-dix. Take a look at all the numbers in French from 1-100.
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French numbers 1-10
Like many languages, the first 10 numbers in French each have their own unique name. These names will be used in larger numbers, so knowing them first is a must.
Learning to pronounce these numbers correctly will also help you with larger numbers. Live interactions with expert French Rosetta Stone tutors who provide real-time feedback can help you master the pronunciation of all the numbers.
| Number | French Name | Approximate Pronunciation |
| 1 | un | uhn |
| 2 | deux | deuh |
| 3 | trois | twah |
| 4 | quatre | kat |
| 5 | cinq | sank |
| 6 | six | seess |
| 7 | sept | set |
| 8 | huit | weet |
| 9 | neuf | neuhf |
| 10 | dix | deess |
French numbers 11-29
In English, the numbers 11 and 12 have unique names, like the numbers 1-10, but the numbers 13-19 all use the “-teen” suffix.
Similarly, when counting in French, the numbers 11-16 have unique names. But when you get to 17, 18, and 19, these French numbers use dix (ten) and the second digit’s name with a hyphen between the two words—17 is dix-sept (ten-seven) because 10+7=17.
| Number | French Name | Approximate Pronunciation |
| 11 | onze | ownz |
| 12 | douze | dooz |
| 13 | treize | trehz |
| 14 | quatorze | katorz |
| 15 | quinze | canz |
| 16 | seize | sehz |
| 17 | dix-sept | deess-set |
| 18 | dix-huit | deess-wheet |
| 19 | dix-neuf | deess-neuhf |
Number learning tip: Write out the date every day of the week in French using both the number and the number name. Start with the number, then add the month. If it were July 22, you’d write le 22 (vingt-deux) juillet.
French numbers 20-29
The number 20 in French is vingt, pronounced van, and then the rest of the numbers up to 29 follow a pattern similar to 17, 18, and 19. Each number starts with vingt and ends with the second digit’s name. If you want to say 27, you’ll say vingt (twenty) and then sept (seven): vingt-sept.
| Number | French Name |
| 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 |
Number learning tip: Anytime you’re waiting for something, try counting in French in your head. You can do it when you’re waiting in line at the grocery store, waiting for something to cook in the microwave, or waiting for your train.
French numbers 30-39
The French word for 30 is trente, pronounced tront. You’ll follow the same rules and pattern as you did with the 20s to form all the numbers in the 30s.
| Number | French Name |
| 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 |
French numbers 40-49
The French word for 40 is quarante, pronounced karont. You’ll follow the same rules and pattern as you did with the 20s and 30s to form all the numbers in the 40s.
| Number | French Name |
| 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 |
French numbers 50-59
The French word for 50 is cinquante, pronounced sankont. You’ll follow the same rules and pattern as you did with the 20s, 30s, and 40s to form all the numbers in the 50s.
| Number | French Name |
| 50 | cinquante |
| 51 | cinquante-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 60-69
The French word for 60 is soixante, pronounced swahsont. You’ll follow the same rules and pattern as you did with the 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s to form all the numbers in the 60s.
| Number | French Name |
| 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 |
Number learning tip: Count your steps or reps in French as you work out. Learning while moving can help you remember things better.
French numbers 70-79
Like 17, 70 is a magic number in French when the rules start to change. Instead of having a unique name for 70 like there is for 20, 30, 40, 50, and 60, you’ll use soixante (sixty) and dix (ten) because 60+10=70.
After soixante-dix (seventy), you’ll keep tacking numbers 10 through 19 on the end of 60 to form numbers in the 70s. If you think of each like the math equation we just shared, it will help you remember these numbers.
| Number | French Name |
| 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 |
Number learning tip: If math and formulas don’t help you remember numbers in French, Rosetta Stone’s Dynamic Immersion method might. This approach doesn’t rely on memorization. Instead, understanding is built through context and reasoning.
French numbers 80-89
How you form numbers in the 80s in French follows a new pattern. You used addition to form numbers in the 70s, and now it’s time to use multiplication to form numbers in the 80s. There is no unique name for 80, instead, it’s formed by using quatre (four) and vingts (twenties) because 4×20=80. From 81-89, you’ll use quatre-vingt with a hyphen and the name of each single digit.
| Number | French Name |
| 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 |
French numbers 90-99
Continuing the pattern started by 80, numbers in the 90s use quatre-vingt as a base. Again, thinking in math terms, you’re going to use an equation like 80+X=number to form each number name. For example, 80+10=90, so the number name for 90 is quatre-vingt-dix (eighty-ten).
| Number | French Name |
| 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 |
French numbers 100 and above
When you reach 100, it gets its own unique name again. The French word for 100 is cent, pronounced sohn. If you remember that a century is 100 years, it will help you remember how to say 100 in French. To form numbers in the hundreds in French, start with how many hundreds, then add the next numbers.
You’ll notice that numbers with hyphens keep their hyphens, but you don’t add any hyphens between cent and the number.
| Number | French Name |
| 101 | cent un |
| 110 | cent dix |
| 165 | cent soixante-cinq |
| 175 | cent soixante-quinze |
| 185 | cent quatre-vingt-cinq |
| 195 | cent quatre-vingt-quinze |
| 200 | deux cents |
If you’ve mastered counting to the hundreds, you can move on to learning French counting in the thousands, millions, and billions.
- The French word for “thousand” is mille.
- The French word for “million” is million.
- The French word for “billion is milliard.
French numbers in different dialects
If you’re traveling to a french-speaking country outside of France, it’s important to know there are a couple of big differences in how to say certain numbers. Swiss French numbers and Belgian French numbers have some key differences from French numbers in France.
| Number | French | Swiss French | Belgian French |
| 70 | soixante-dix | septante | septante |
| 80 | quatre-vingts | huitante | quatre-vingts |
| 90 | quatre-vingt-dix | nonante | nonante |
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