๐ข Numbers in French
๐ In short
Numbers are one of the first things we need: to say our age, count things and tell the time. The numbers from 1 to 16 are learned by heart, then the others are built from them like Lego. Some are said in a very funny way: 80 is โfour twentiesโ!
๐ The lesson
1 From 1 to 10
| Number | In French |
|---|---|
| 1 | un |
| 2 | deux |
| 3 | trois |
| 4 | quatre |
| 5 | cinq |
| 6 | six |
| 7 | sept |
| 8 | huit |
| 9 | neuf |
| 10 | dix |
2 From 11 to 20
From 17 we start building: dix-sept means โten-sevenโ.
| Number | In French |
|---|---|
| 11 | onze |
| 12 | douze |
| 13 | treize |
| 14 | quatorze |
| 15 | quinze |
| 16 | seize |
| 17 | dix-sept |
| 18 | dix-huit |
| 19 | dix-neuf |
| 20 | vingt |
3 The tens
With one we say et un: vingt et un, and after that we use a hyphen: vingt-deux, trente-cinq.
| Number | In French |
|---|---|
| 20 | vingt |
| 30 | trente |
| 40 | quarante |
| 50 | cinquante |
| 60 | soixante |
| 100 | cent |
4 70, 80 and 90: funny maths!
In French, 70 is โsixty-tenโ, 80 is โfour twentiesโ and 90 is โfour twenties and tenโ. In Belgium and Switzerland they say septante and nonante.
- soixante-dix (60 + 10)Seventy
- quatre-vingts (4 ร 20)Eighty
- quatre-vingt-dix (4 ร 20 + 10)Ninety
- quatre-vingt-dix-neufNinety-nine
๐ก Watch out!
- quatre-vingts takes an s when it comes last, and loses it if another number follows: quatre-vingt-trois.
- cent means a hundred, and mille means a thousand.
๐งฉ Test yourself
1 How do we write 15?
2 Which number is quatre-vingts?
3 How do we write 21?
โ Greetings and introductions in Frenchโ Days, months and seasons