Writing Numbers in French
Writing numbers in French follows precise rules that help ensure clarity and understanding. Here is a simplification of these rules to facilitate their learning.
Numbers from 0 to 16
These numbers are considered as base units and are written in a single word: zéro, un, deux, trois, etc., up to seize. Here is the complete list:
- 0 : zéro
- 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
Compound Numbers
From 17 to 99, numbers are compound (with the exception of vingt, trente, quarante, cinquante, soixante, soixante-dix, quatre-vingts, and quatre-vingt-dix):
- From 17 to 19: dix-sept, dix-huit, dix-neuf.
- From 21 to 69: numbers are formed by adding -et- (for 21, 31, 41, 51, and 61) or - between tens and units (vingt-deux, trente-trois, etc.).
- For 71 to 79, soixante is followed numbers 11 to 19 (soixante-et-onze, soixante-douze, etc.).
- For 81 to 99, quatre-vingt is followed numbers 1 to 19 (quatre-vingt-un, quatre-vingt-deux, etc.).
Hundreds, Thousands, and Beyond
Numbers such as cent, mille, million, milliard, etc., are written by separating the classes with spaces:
- 100: cent (no s unless it is multiplied and not followed by another number).
- 1,000: mille (never milles).
- 1,000,000: un million (with s for the plural).
More Examples
- 20 : vingt
- 22 : vingt-deux
- 27 : vingt-sept
- 30 : trente
- 31 : trente-et-un
- 33 : trente-trois
- 38 : trente-huit
- 41 : quarante-et-un
- 42 : quarante-deux
- 57 : cinquante-sept
- 64 : soixante-quatre
- 70 : soixante-dix
- 41 : soixante-et-onze
- 75 : soixante-quinze
- 82 : quatre-vingt-deux
- 90 : quatre-vingt-dix
- 97 : quatre-vingt-dix-sept
- 100 : cent
- 101 : cent-un
- 150 : cent-cinquante
- 200 : deux-cents
- 321 : trois-cent-vingt-et-un
- 589 : cinq-cent-quatre-vingt-neuf
- 1000 : mille
- 2000 : deux-mille