adminLearning numbers in French is actually just a question of memorisation.
If you can learn the first 16 numbers by heart, after that it’s just a case of adding up numbers or multiplying them.
It might sound a bit complicated at first but in reality, it’s not.
Use the audio below to help you imitate the pronunciation.
Numbers 1 – 60
Numbers 60 – 100
| Number | French | Pronunciation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | zéro | zay-roh | |
| 1 | un | ahn | |
| 2 | deux | duh | |
| 3 | trois | twah | |
| 4 | quatre | cat | |
| 5 | cinq | sank | |
| 6 | six | seese | |
| 7 | sept | set | |
| 8 | huit | wheat | |
| 9 | neuf | nuhf | |
| 10 | dix | deese | |
| 11 | onze | ohnz | |
| 12 | douze | dooz | |
| 13 | treize | trehz | |
| 14 | quatorze | kah-tohrz | |
| 15 | quinze | cans | |
| 16 | seize | says | |
| 17 | dix-sept | deese-set | |
| 18 | dix-huit | deese-wheat | |
| 19 | dix-neuf | deese-nuhf | |
| 20 | vingt | vahn | |
| 21 | vingt et un | vahn tay uhn | From here on, for most numbers that end in 1 (21,31,41,51,61,71) you add "ET” (and) in between. I call them the “1” numbers because they end in 1. Example: 21 is 20 AND 1 which is VINGT ET UN. There is a liaison (a link) between the “t” and “et” so it is pronounced VAHN TAY UHN |
| 22 | vingt-deux | vahn-duh | |
| 23 | vingt-trois | vahn-twah | |
| 24 | vingt-quatre | vahn-cat | |
| 25 | vingt-cinq | vahn-sank | |
| 26 | vingt-six | vahn-seese | |
| 27 | vingt-sept | vahn-set | |
| 28 | vingt-huit | vahn-wheat | |
| 29 | vingt-neuf | vahn-nuhf | |
| 30 | trente | trawnt | |
| 31 | trente et un | trawn-tay-ahn | |
| 32 | trente-deux | trawnt-duh | |
| 33 | trente-trois | trawnt-twah | |
| 34 | trente-quatre | trawnt-cat | |
| 35 | trente-cinq | trawnt-sank | |
| 36 | trente-six | trawnt-seese | |
| 37 | trente-sept | trawnt-set | |
| 38 | trente-huit | trawnt-wheat | |
| 39 | trente-neuf | trawnt-nuhf | |
| 40 | quarante | kuh-rawnt | |
| 41 | quarante et un | kuh-rawn-tay-ahn | |
| 42 | quarante-deux | kuh-rawnt-duh | |
| 43 | quarante-trois | kuh-rawnt-twah | |
| 44 | quarante-quatre | kuh-rawnt-cat | |
| 45 | quarante-cinq | kuh-rawnt-sank | |
| 46 | quarante-six | kuh-rawnt-seese | |
| 47 | quarante-sept | kuh-rawnt-set | |
| 48 | quarante-huit | kuh-rawnt-wheat | |
| 49 | quarante-neuf | kuh-rawnt-nuhf | |
| 50 | cinquante | sank-awnt | |
| 51 | cinquante et un | sank-awn-tay-ahn | |
| 52 | cinquante-deux | sank-awnt-duh | |
| 53 | cinquante-trois | sank-awnt-twah | |
| 54 | cinquante-quatre | sank-awnt-cat | |
| 55 | cinquante-cinq | sank-awnt-sank | |
| 56 | cinquante-six | sank-awnt-seese | |
| 57 | cinquante-sept | sank-awnt-set | |
| 58 | cinquante-huit | sank-awnt-wheat | |
| 59 | cinquante-neuf | sank-awnt-nuhf | |
| 60 | soixante | swah-sawnt | |
| 61 | soixante et un | swah-sawn-tay-ahn | |
| 62 | soixante-deux | swah-sawnt-duh | |
| 63 | soixante-trois | swah-sawnt-twah | |
| 64 | soixante-quatre | swah-sawnt-cat | |
| 65 | soixante-cinq | swah-sawnt-sank | |
| 66 | soixante-six | swah-sawnt-seese | |
| 67 | soixante-sept | swah-sawnt-set | |
| 68 | soixante-huit | swah-sawnt-wheat | |
| 69 | soixante-neuf | swah-sawnt-nuhf | |
| 70 | soixante-dix | swah-sawnt-deese | From here on we have to do some maths. In French 70 is simply 60 + 10 (you don’t need to say PLUS) |
| 71 | soixante et onze | swah-sawn-tay-ohnz | Then you continue but remember that it is still a “1” number so don't forget the “ET”. 60+11= 71 (60 ET 11) |
| 72 | soixante-douze | swah-sawnt-dooz | 60+12 |
| 73 | soixante-treize | swah-sawnt-trehz | 60+13 |
| 74 | soixante-quatorze | swah-sawnt-kah-tohrz | 60+14 |
| 75 | soixante-quinze | swah-sawnt-cans | 60+15 |
| 76 | soixante-seize | swah-sawnt-says | 60+16 |
| 77 | soixante-dix-sept | swah-sawnt- deese-set | 60+17 |
| 78 | soixante-dix-huit | swah-sawnt-deese-wheat | 60+18 |
| 79 | soixante-dix-neuf | swah-sawnt-deese-nuhf | 60+19 |
| 80 | quatre-vingts | ka-truh-vahn | this time we must times the numbers - 4X20= 80. Of course, we do not say “times” we just say the numbers…4 20 |
| 81 | quatre-vingt-un | ka-truh-vahn-ahn | We do not apply the number 1 rule for 81 |
| 82 | quatre-vingt-deux | ka-truh-vahn-duh | 4x20+2 |
| 83 | quatre-vingt-trois | ka-truh-vahn-twah | 4x20+3 |
| 84 | quatre-vingt-quatre | ka-truh-vahn-cat | 4x20+4 |
| 85 | quatre-vingt-cinq | ka-truh-vahn-sank | 4x20+5 |
| 86 | quatre-vingt-six | ka-truh-vahn-seese | 4x20+6 |
| 87 | quatre-vingt-sept | ka-truh-vahn-set | 4x20+7 |
| 88 | quatre-vingt-huit | ka-truh-vahn-wheat | 4x20+8 |
| 89 | quatre-vingt-neuf | ka-truh-vahn-nuhf | 4x20+9 |
| 90 | quatre-vingt-dix | ka-truh-vahn-deese | And we keep adding…. 4x20+10 |
| 91 | quatre-vingt-onze | ka-truh-vahn-ohnz | 4x20+11= 91 |
| 92 | quatre-vingt-douze | ka-truh-vahn-dooz | 4x20+12 |
| 93 | quatre-vingt-treize | ka-truh-vahn-trehz | 4x20+13 |
| 94 | quatre-vingt-quatorze | ka-truh-vahn-kah-tohrz | 4x20+14 |
| 95 | quatre-vingt-quinze | ka-truh-vahn-cans | 4x20+15 |
| 96 | quatre-vingt-seize | ka-truh-vahn-says | 4x20+16 |
| 97 | quatre-vingt-dix-sept | ka-truh-vahn-deese-set | 4x20+17 |
| 98 | quatre-vingt-dix-huit | ka-truh-vahn-deese-wheat | 4x20+18 |
| 99 | quatre-vingt-dix-neuf | ka-truh-vahn-deese-nuhf | 4x20+19 |
| 100 | cent | sawnt | You DO NOT pronounce the « T » BUT when followed by another word starting with a vowel you must pronounce it because of the “liaison” (link) Ex: cent ans /sawn tohn/ |
| 1000 | mille | meel | |
| 1,000,000 | un million | uhn meel-ee-ohn |
Notes
1. Generally in French you do not pronounce the last letter of a word if it is a consonant, but for the following numbers you should – un, cinq, six, sept, huit, neuf and dix.
However when six, huit or dix are followed by another word starting with a consonant, you don’t pronounce the last consonant!
When the last consonant of the number IS pronounced:
- Huit – pronounced wheat because its not followed by any word
- Huit années – pronounced whea tannay. The t is pronounced because of the “liaison”
When the last consonant of the number is NOT pronounced:
- Huit mois – pronounced whea mwa because it is followed by a word starting with a consonant
2. Six and dix, when not followed by any other word, are pronounced seese and deese. The “s” is pronounced like the “s” in “snake”, not like a Z.
But when followed by a word starting with a vowel, the “s” is pronounced like “z”
Examples:
- Dix années – pronounced deezanay
- Six amis – pronounced seezamee
