Vittoria
, December 11, 2022

French Numbers And Counting: Easily Count From 1 To 100

Would you like to know more about French numbers and counting? Leaning the numbers in French can be challenging because of the variation and the different rules that have to be memorized.

Fortunately, there is a pattern that can be followed with most numbers. Numbers are essential in daily life since they are needed to buy food, tell the time, and the date, pay for the food at a restaurant, and many other things.

This article goes over how to learn counting in French easily.

Basics Rules For The French Numbers And Counting

In French, you have to memorize the numbers 1 to 20; after that, there is a repetitive pattern that can help you to remember how to tell the numbers from 21 to 99.

You have to remember how to say 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, etc., and add one of the numbers from 1 to 9, as needed (see the examples and sections below).

Basic Numbers Pronunciation Rules

There are specific rules to follow in pronouncing certain numbers. In specific cases, the pronunciation might change depending on the word that follows the numbers, particularly if they start with a vowel or consonant.

The most crucial pronunciation rules concern the numbers six, eight, and ten (“six,” “huit,” and “dix”)

There are three possible outcomes:

Six, eight, and ten are the last numbers of a sentence
Six, eight, and ten are followed by a word starting with a consonant
Six, eight, and ten are followed by a word beginning with a vowel

As a general rule, if there is a word starting with a consonant following one of these numbers, the last letter of the number is not pronounced.

For example:

j’ai six voitures (I have six cars)

In this case, six is pronounced “see” without reading the last letter of the number. The same is for ten and eight, which are pronounced:

Huit voitures (eight cars) – wee
Dix voitures (ten cars)- dee

In case the following word starts with a vowel, then the numbers “six” and “dix” are pronounced with a “z” at the end.

For example:

Je veux six oeufs (I want six eggs) – seez
Je veux dix oeuf (I want ten eggs) – deez

In case six, eight, and ten are the last word in a sentence, here is how you pronounce them:

Six (seese)
Huit (weet)
Dix (deese)

Numbers From One To Twenty In French

Here is how to tell the numbers from one to twenty in French:

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

Numbers From 21 To 99 In French

When counting from 20 to 69, you must use the tens word, for example, twenty, thirty, forty, and fifty (in French), and add the numbers from one to ten after the hyphen.

However, to make the words 21, 31, 41, and 51, you have to use “et” instead of the hyphen.

Numbers From 21 To 29

Here are the numbers from 21 to 29:

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 From 30 To 39

Here are the numbers from 30 to 39 in French:

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

Numbers From 40 To 49

Here are the numbers from 40 to 49:

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

Numbers From 50 To 59

Here are the numbers from 50 to 59:

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

Numbers From 60 To 69

Here are the numbers from 60 to 69:

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

Numbers From 70 To 79

Here are the numbers from 70 to 79:

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

Numbers From 80 To 89

There is a slight change in the composition of the word; in fact, to say 80, you should literally say ” four times twenty” ( quatre-vingts) and add the numbers from one to 9 to make the number you want.

Here are the numbers from 80 to 89.

80 quatre-vingts
81 quatre-vingt-un (it’s just vingt-un without the “et”)
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

Numbers From 90 To 99

Similarly to the numbers from 80 to 89, the numbers from 90 to 99 are composed by literally saying ” four times twenty plus ten” ( quatre-vingt-dix) or the numbers from 11 to 19 to make the number you need.

Here are the numbers from 90 to 99:

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

Finally, the word hundred is cent.

Ordinal Numbers In French

Ordinal numbers are used when there is a sequence or an order, such as in which position someone is compared to others.

Here are the French ordinal numbers from one to ten:

Premier/première – First
Deuxième – Second
Troisième – Third
Quatrième – Fourth
Cinquième – Fifth
Sixième – Sixth
Septième – Seventh
Huitième – Eighth
Neuvième – Ninth
Dixième – Tenth

Would you like to learn more about the French language?

Learn French With Ling App

Learning French is easier with a tool that can guide you efficiently through a specific path. The Ling App can help you.

With this learning tool, you can learn grammar, pronunciation, verbs, sentence structure, and many things about French culture. In addition, if you are curious about other languages, you can choose between 60+ other options and start learning two or more languages simultaneously.

Meanwhile, you can learn more about French culture and language by reading how to say Happy Birthday In French and Ask How Are You In French.