Numbers in French
When learning a new language, the first thing that most people memorize is the numbers. Numbers in French are relatively easy to work with once you learn the numbers from zero to nineteen. The following is a list of the French numbers between zero and ten with their pronunciations:
0 zéro (“ze-roh”)
1 un (“oon”)
2 deux (“duh”-sounds almost like “due”)
3 trois (“twah”)
4 quatre (“catra”-the second “a “sounds breathless and is very short)
5 cinq (“sank”)
6 six (“cease”)
7 sept (“set”)
8 huit (“weet”)
9 neuf (“noof” –sounds like “roof” with a shorter “f” sound)
10 dix (“dees”-sounds like “cease”)
The numbers in French for eleven through sixteen are a variation of the numbers one through six:
11 onze (“oonz”)
12 douze (“dooze”)
13 treize (“trez”-the e sounds like “set”)
14 quartorze (“cutroze”)
15 quinze (“canz”)
16 seize (“sez”-the word sounds like “says” with a “z”)
The numbers in French for seventeen to nineteen combine the French word for ten with the relative numbers:
17 dix-sept (“dees-set”)
18 dix-huit (“dees-weet”)
19 dix-neuf (“dees-noof”)
The rest of the numbers in French follow a pattern that is similar to English. For example, numbers twenty to twenty-three are:
20 vingt (“vent”)
21 vingt et un (“vent ay oon”)
22 vingt deux (“vent duh”)
23 vingt trois (“vent twah”)
When working with numbers in French from twenty to ninety, the “ones” always include the word “et” in between, while the rest do not. (Notice the number twenty-one above). The rest of the French numbers counting by ten to sixty are:
30 trente (“traunt”-sounds like “haunt”)
40 quarante (“cahaunt”-empahsis is on the second syllable)
50 cinquante (“sank-haunt”-emphasis is on the second syllable)
60 soixante (“swas-saunt”)
Again, these numbers are written with an “et” when dealing with “ones.” For example, “fifty-one” would be written “cinquante et un”. The numbers in French between seventy and ninety follow another pattern, as did the numbers seventeen to nineteen. The French numbers by tens for seventy to ninety are:
70 soixante-dix (“swas-saunt dees”)
80 quatre-vingts (“catra-van”)
90 quatre-vingt-dix (“catra-van dees”)
The numbers in French between these numbers and one hundred vary slightly as well. We will use the numbers in the seventies for an example:
71 soixante et onze (“swas-saunt ay oonz”)
72 soixante-douze (“swas-saunt dooze”)
73 soixante –treize (“swas-saunt trez”)
74 soixante-quartorze (‘swas-saunt cutroze”)
The pattern is the same for numbers in French between ninety and one hundred. The “teen” numbers are used in unison with the “ten” numbers in this range. The numbers between eighty and ninety return to the pattern that was used as in the “twenties.” For example, “eighty-two” appears as “quatre-vingt-deux.”
The French number for one hundred will probably look familiar to you:
100 cent (“saunt”)
The method in which you count by one hundreds in numbers in French are as follows:
200 deux cent (“duh saunt”)
300 trois cent (“twah saunt”)
400 quatre cent (“catra saunt”)
500 cinq cent (“sank saunt”)
600 six cent (“cease saunt”)
700 sept cent (“set saunt”)
800 huit cent (“weet saunt”)
900 neuf cent (“noof saunt”)
The “ones” when dealing with these larger numbers in French differ slightly as well. For example, “two hundred one” would be written as “deux cent un.”
Numbers in French are very easy to deal with once you have learned the basics. Again, you should first memorize the numbers from one to nineteen. All the other French numbers are variants of these.