How to Count in French

Posted on August 16th, 2009 by Marck

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French is among the many languages used in diplomacy and international trade. Like all languages, counting is an essential part of speaking and writing in the French language. Here are some reminders to help you count in French.

Counting from Zero to Ten

Like English, the French language counts numbers in base ten. You can think of zero to ten as the building blocks that form larger numbers expressed in words. Here are the French equivalents of the numbers zero to ten:

0: zero
1: une
2: deux
3: trois
4: quattre
5: cinque
6: six
7: sept
8: huit
9: neuve
10: dix

Counting from Eleven to Nineteen

Counting from eleven to nineteen in French follows the same conventions (and to some extent, even pronunciations) as languages like Spanish. Once you have memorized these numbers, you can move on to higher-order numbers that get a bit tricky as you go higher and higher up:

11: onze
12: douze
13: treize
14: quatorze
15: quinze
16: seize
17: dix-sept
18: dix-huit
19: dix-neuf

Counting from Twentieth to Sixtieth Cardinal

The rules and conventions for counting numbers in French from 20 to 69 are quite simple to memorize:

20: vingt
23: vingt-trois
30: trente
39: trente-neuve
40: quarante
46: quarante-six
50: cinquante
54: cinquante-quattre
60: soixante
67: soixante-sept

Seventieth, Eightieth, and Ninetieth Cardinal

There are some conventions for the seventieth, eightieth, and ninetieth cardinal in the French language that make the patterns completely different from English. For the seventieth cardinal, soixante is retained, but the ones place for the number now starts from 11:

70: soixante-dix
78: soixante-dix-huit

For the eightieth cardinal, French considers the number as four twenties combined, and is denoted by the modifier quatre-vingt. The ones-place is retained because the eightieth cardinal is counted based on the twentieth cardinal:

85: quatre-vingt-cinque
88: quatre-vingt-huit

For the ninetieth cardinal, the modifier quatre-vingt is retained, but the places are now counted from 11:

90: quatre-vingt-dix
94: quatre-vingt-quatorze

Hundredths and Above

Very large numbers also have expressions in French:

100: cent
153: cent cinquante-trois
297: deux cent quatre-vingt-dix-sept

For numbers larger than a thousand, the French write the numerals without comma separators; the numbers are instead spaced out at the proper place:

1 000: mille
3 000: treize mille
7 324: sept mille treize cent vingt-quattre
1 000 000: un million
One billion: un milliard

Learning how to write and speak numbers in French is all about following rules, conventions, and patterns. With these tips, you can be able to count and write numbers in French if the situation requires it. After learning counting in french, time for you to go to Paris, France which is rated no.2 on the list of Top ten tourist hotspots and as an addition why don’t you learn how to give yourself a french manicure when you’re there already.