While I drink my coffeeTap any word for a translation, collocations and examples. Underlined words can be saved in one tap.
Up to 69 everything is logical: vingt, trente, quarante, cinquante, soixante, with the units added on.
From 70 on, French arithmetic begins: 70 = 60 + 10 (soixante-dix), 80 = 4 × 20 (quatre-vingts), 90 = 4 × 20 + 10 (quatre-vingt-dix).
In 21, 31, 41, 51, 61 and 71 an et appears: vingt et un, soixante et onze. In 81 and 91 it doesn't: quatre-vingt-un.
Belgium and Switzerland keep it simple: they say septante (70) and nonante (90).
| FR | Sounds like | Means |
|---|---|---|
| un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq | uh(n), duh, trwa, katr, se(n)k | 1–5 |
| six, sept, huit, neuf, dix | sees, set, weet, nuhf, dees | 6–10 |
| onze, douze, treize, quatorze, quinze, seize | o(n)z, dooz, trez, ka-torz, ke(n)z, sez | 11–16 |
| vingt, trente, quarante, cinquante, soixante | ve(n), tra(n)t, ka-ra(n)t, se(n)-ka(n)t, swa-sa(n)t | 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 |
| soixante-dix | swa-sa(n)t-dees | 7060 + 10 |
| quatre-vingts | katr-ve(n) | 804 × 20 |
| quatre-vingt-dix | katr-ve(n)-dees | 904 × 20 + 10 |
| cent | sa(n) | 100 |
Every number from 70 to 99
70–79 is 60 + 10…19, 80–99 is 4 × 20 + 0…19. Read a few rows out loud and the pattern clicks.
- 70soixante-dix
- 71soixante et onze
- 72soixante-douze
- 73soixante-treize
- 74soixante-quatorze
- 75soixante-quinze
- 76soixante-seize
- 77soixante-dix-sept
- 78soixante-dix-huit
- 79soixante-dix-neuf
- 80quatre-vingts
- 81quatre-vingt-un
- 82quatre-vingt-deux
- 83quatre-vingt-trois
- 84quatre-vingt-quatre
- 85quatre-vingt-cinq
- 86quatre-vingt-six
- 87quatre-vingt-sept
- 88quatre-vingt-huit
- 89quatre-vingt-neuf
- 90quatre-vingt-dix
- 91quatre-vingt-onze
- 92quatre-vingt-douze
- 93quatre-vingt-treize
- 94quatre-vingt-quatorze
- 95quatre-vingt-quinze
- 96quatre-vingt-seize
- 97quatre-vingt-dix-sept
- 98quatre-vingt-dix-huit
- 99quatre-vingt-dix-neuf