French Numbers: How to Count in French from 1-1,000+

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I'm James, a lover of travel and languages. 

So much so that I blog about them on this site. 

I hope you find this information useful! 😊

French Numbers Table

1 un	2 deux	3 trois	4 quatre	5 cinq
6 six	7 sept	8 huit	9 neuf	10 dix
11 onze	12 douze	13 treize	14 quatorze	15 quinze
16 seize	17 dix-sept	18 dix-huit	19 dix-neuf	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	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	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	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	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	70 soixante-dix
71 soixante-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	80 quatre-vingt
81 quatre-vingt-et-un	82 quatre-vingt-et-deux	83 quatre-vingt-et-trois	84 quatre-vingt-et-quatre	85 quatre-vingt-et-cinq
86 quatre-vingt-et-six	87 quatre-vingt-et-sept	88 quatre-vingt-et-huit	89 quatre-vingt-et-neuf	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-sept	98 quatre-vingt-dix-huit	99 quatre-vingt-dix-neuf	100 cent

Counting in French

The counting system in French is essentially split into three phases.

The first phase is the numbers 1-16; these give you a base for all other numbers. Once you have these memorized, the rest of the French numbers are simple variations of them.

Below, you will find a list of numbers 1 to 100, grouped together in singles, the 10s, the 20s, the 30s, etc.

Each number will be written in the Arabic numeral system, (1,2,3, etc.), then in French.

For the first twenty numbers and the first number of each set, I will spell out the French pronunciation of each number, so that you will know the correct way to say each one.

After you practice a bit, I highly recommend you look up videos or recordings of native French speakers saying these numbers so that you can get the pronunciation down.

Now, let’s start easy with the single-digit French numbers 1-9.

Numbers 1-9 in French

These first nine numbers are the foundation for understanding French numbers pronunciation and for learning how to write out larger numbers.

1 un

2 deux duh

3 trois twah

4 quatre kat-ruh

5 cinq sank

6 six sees

7 sept set

8 huit wheet

9 neuf nuhf

Numbers 10-19 in French

10 dix dees

11 onze onz

12 douze dooz

13 treize trez

14 quatorze kah-tohr-z

15 quinze cans

16 seize sez

17 dix-sept dees set

18 dix-huit dees wheet

19 dix-neuf dees nuhf

Make a Mental Note of the Following Rule

From 17 to 69, you will use the tens number and add every single number on the end.

For example, below you will see that the number 17 is dix-sept, which literally means ten seven.

Each of the below numbers in French will follow this rule up until number 69.

Once we get to number 70, you will see that things get a bit more complicated. For now, just focus on this rule.

Numbers 20-29 in French

The 20s follow the same rule as the last three 10s except you sill replace dix with vingt or twenty.

This will continue with the 30s, 40s, 50s, and 60s.

20 vingt van

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 in French

30 trente tront

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 in French

40 quarante ka-ront

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 in French

50 cinquante san-kont

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

Numbers 60-69 in French

60 soixante swa-sont

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

Numbers 70-79 in French

This is when things start to get a bit complicated.

Depending on where you visit, you may hear different types of numbers in French.

The reason for this is that in France, people use the numbers in the first column, which requires a bit of math.

Instead of just saying seventy-two, they say sixty-twelve, because sixty plus twelve is 72.

However, if you go to Belgium or Switzerland, you may encounter a different way of counting.

These countries chose to not use the mathematical technique and so the rules above continue to apply to the numbers above 69.

This is not something you really have to worry about too much unless you go to these places.

It is best to learn the France version of these French numbers first. Once you figure the math out, the other version will be a breeze.

Given that it is not essential to learn these versions of the French numbers, I will only list the alternatives next to each number in this set of 70s.

This way, you will get a glimpse of how it is different.

French Numbers in France Vs Belgium & Switzerland

🇫🇷 France: 70 soixante-dix (literally meaning sixty ten) swa-sont dees
🇧🇪 🇨🇭 Belgium/Switzerland: 70 septante

🇫🇷 France: 71 soixante-onze
🇧🇪 🇨🇭 Belgium/Switzerland: 71 septante-et-un

🇫🇷 France: 72 soixante-douze (sixty twelve)
🇧🇪 🇨🇭 Belgium/Switzerland: 72 septante-deux

🇫🇷 France: 73 soixante-treize
🇧🇪 🇨🇭 Belgium/Switzerland: 73 septante-trois

🇫🇷 France: 73 soixante-quatorze
🇧🇪 🇨🇭 Belgium/Switzerland: 74 septante-quatre

🇫🇷 France: 75 soixante-quinze
🇧🇪 🇨🇭 Belgium/Switzerland: 75 septante-cinq

🇫🇷 France: 76 soixante-seize
🇧🇪 🇨🇭 Belgium/Switzerland: 76 septante-six

🇫🇷 France: 77 soixante-dix-sept
🇧🇪 🇨🇭 Belgium/Switzerland: 77 septante-sept

🇫🇷 France: 78 soixante-dix-huit
🇧🇪 🇨🇭 Belgium/Switzerland: 78 septante-huit

🇫🇷 France: 79 soixante-dix-neuf
🇧🇪 🇨🇭 Belgium/Switzerland: 79 septante-neuf

Numbers 80-89 in French

The grouping of eighties starts each number with quatre-vingt, which literally means four twenty because 80 = 4 x 20.

For this grouping, the following numbers will have the French word et in them, which just means and.

A lot of times there will be versions of numbers with et and without et.

For this grouping, I have written both versions side-by-side.

80 quatre-vingts (literally meaning four twenties) kat-re van

81 quatre-vingt-et-un (or quatre vingt un)

82 quatre-vingt-et-deux (or quatre vingt deux)

83 quatre-vingt-et-trois (or quatre vingt trois)

84 quatre-vingt-et-quatre (or quatre vingt quatre)

85 quatre-vingt-et-cinq (or quatre vingt cinq)

86 quatre-vingt-et-six (or quatre vingt six)

87 quatre-vingt-et-sept (or quatre vingt sept)

88 quatre-vingt-et-huit (or quarte vingt huit)

89 quatre-vingt-et-neuf (or quatre vingt neuf)

Numbers 90-99 in French

For this grouping, you have the same first two words as the eighties (quatre-vingt), but add teens instead of single numbers.

For example, 90 literally means four twenty ten because it is twenty times four plus ten (20 x 4 + 10) and 91 means four twenty eleven (20 x 4 + 11).

I will write the direct translations next to each of these numbers so that you can understand what each word means.

90 quatre-vingt-dix (four twenty ten) kat-re van dees

91 quatre-vingt-onze (see above)

92 quatre-vingt-douze (four twenty-twelve)

93 quatre-vingt-treize (four twenty-thirteen)

94 quatre-vingt-quatorze (four twenty-fourteen)

95 quatre-vingt-quinze (four twenty-fifteen)

96 quatre-vingt-seize (four twenty-sixteen)

97 quatre-vingt-dix-sept (four twenty-seventeen)

98 quatre-vingt-dix-huit (four twenty-eighteen)

99 quatre-vingt-dix-neuf (four twenty-nineteen)

French Numbers in the 100s

The triple digits have the same system as above, but they add the word cent to the front.

For numbers in the 100s, each French number will start with cent and add from there.

Below are a few examples of different combinations.

100 cent san

118 cent dix huit

122 cent vingt deux

124 cent vingt quatre

177 100 cent + 77 soixante dix sept = cent soixante dix sept

181 cent quatre vingt un

188 cent quatre vingt huit

194 cent quatre-vingt-quatorze

Numbers above 200 in French

Each triple-digit number in French after the 100s will continue to use cent or cents. However, it will have a single digit before this word depending on what the number is.

For example, a number like 700 will start with sept (seven) and end with cents.

Based on this rule, the full name for 700 is sept cents.

Below, I will provide several examples of different types of triple-digit numbers so that you can see all of the different ways in which they are written.

200 deux cents

217 deux cent dix sept

283 deux cent quatre vingt trois

295 deux cent quatre vingt quinze

298 deux cent quatre-vingt-dix-huit

300 trois cents

321 troi cent vingt et un

373 trois cent soixante treize

387 trois cent vingt sept

390 trois cent quatre vingt dix

399 trois cent quatre-vingt-dix-neuf

400 quatre cents

479 quatre cent soixante dix neuf

480 quatre cent quatre vingts

492 quatre cent quatre vingt douze

493 quatre cent quatre vingt treize

500 cinq cents

525 cinq cent vingt cinq

589 cinq cent quatre vingt neuf

597 cinq cent quatre vingt dix sept

685 six cent huitante cinq

688 six cent quatre vingt huit

Numbers in the 1,000s

After you have mastered the three-digit numbers, moving on to the four-digit numbers will be a breeze!

Every number follows the same rules that you have learned above, but you will now add a new word, mille, into the mix.

As you can guess, this means one thousand. Below, I will leave you with a few examples of different combinations of four-digit numbers in french.

If you want to challenge yourself a bit more, try making your own combinations and using the lists above to create the French numbers.

1,000 mille

1,080 mille quatre vingts

1,172 mille cent soixante douze

1,225 mille deux cent vingt cinq

1,991 mille neuf cent quatre vingt onze

3,071 trois mille soixante et onze

5,578 mille cinq cent soixante dix huit

6,000 six mille

French Numbers in the Ten Thousands and Above

10,000 dix mille

100,000 cent mille

500,000 cinq cent mille

1,000,000 un million

1,000,000,000 un milliard

French Expressions for Counting

Mathematics

Plus: plus

Moins: minus

Multiplié par: multiply by

Divisé par: divide by

Pour cent: percent

Years in French

You can say years the exact same way that you would say the French four-digit numbers.

I will provide a few examples below. For practice, think about the year you were born and some other important years and try to write them out.

1996: mille neuf cent quatre vingt seize

1899: mille huit cent huitante cinq

2005: deux mille cinq

Ordinal Numbers in French

First premier/première

Second deuxième

Third troisième

Fourth quatrième

Fifth cinquième

Sixth sixième

Seventh septième

Eighth huitième

Ninth neuvième

Tenth dixième

Summing up: How to Count in French from 1-100+

Now that you are a pro at counting in French, French numbers no longer need to be scary.

Keep this article on hand so that if you ever forget any French numbers, you can use these charts as a quick reference.

If you are interested in learning French online, you can find a mixture of different French Language Resources on this site.

Now, go out into the world and impress your friends with your knowledge of French numbers!