French Numbers 1-100
Master French numbers 1-100, including the special rules for 70, 80, and 90
The place learners trip up most on French numbers is always 70, 80, 90 — French has no dedicated word for "seventy / eighty / ninety" and builds them by arithmetic instead: 70 is "sixty plus ten," 80 is "four times twenty," and 90 is "four times twenty plus ten." Miss these three and the phone numbers, prices, and years in a listening test all fall apart.
Basic numbers (0-20)
| Number | French | Number | French |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | zéro | 11 | onze |
| 1 | un / une | 12 | douze |
| 2 | deux | 13 | treize |
| 3 | trois | 14 | quatorze |
| 4 | quatre | 15 | quinze |
| 5 | cinq | 16 | seize |
| 6 | six | 17 | dix-sept |
| 7 | sept | 18 | dix-huit |
| 8 | huit | 19 | dix-neuf |
| 10 | dix |
Memory tip: 11-16 have their own word forms; 17-19 go back to the regular pattern (dix + units digit).
The tens (20-60)
| Number | French | Formation |
|---|---|---|
| 20 | vingt | — |
| 30 | trente | — |
| 40 | quarante | — |
| 50 | cinquante | — |
| 60 | soixante | — |
Combination rule: ten + units digit; use et un for 1, a hyphen for the rest.
- 21 = vingt et un (the only one with et)
- 22 = vingt-deux
- 35 = trente-cinq
Special rule: 70, 80, 90
This is the hardest part of French numbers, and a frequent TCF question.
💡 Grab the intuition: read the number as a sum. 70 = soixante-dix (60+10), 80 = quatre-vingts (4×20), 90 = quatre-vingt-dix (4×20+10). Just anchor on "vingt = 20" and 80 and 90 both click into place.
70-79: the soixante-dix series
Rule: 60 + a teens number (soixante + dix/onze/douze...)
| Number | French | Breakdown |
|---|---|---|
| 70 | soixante-dix | 60 + 10 |
| 71 | soixante et onze | 60 + 11 |
| 72 | soixante-douze | 60 + 12 |
| 73 | soixante-treize | 60 + 13 |
| 79 | soixante-dix-neuf | 60 + 19 |
80-89: the quatre-vingts series
Rule: 4 × 20 (quatre-vingts). Note that 80 takes an s, but 81-89 do not.
| Number | French | Breakdown |
|---|---|---|
| 80 | quatre-vingts | 4 × 20 |
| 81 | quatre-vingt-un | 4 × 20 + 1 |
| 82 | quatre-vingt-deux | 4 × 20 + 2 |
| 89 | quatre-vingt-neuf | 4 × 20 + 9 |
90-99: the quatre-vingt-dix series
Rule: 4 × 20 + a teens number (quatre-vingt + dix/onze/douze...)
| Number | French | Breakdown |
|---|---|---|
| 90 | quatre-vingt-dix | 4 × 20 + 10 |
| 91 | quatre-vingt-onze | 4 × 20 + 11 |
| 92 | quatre-vingt-douze | 4 × 20 + 12 |
| 99 | quatre-vingt-dix-neuf | 4 × 20 + 19 |
| 100 | cent | — |
⚠️ The trickiest point: when do vingt and cent take an s
The spelling of 80 and 200 instantly gives away your level: vingt and cent take an s only when they are "multiplied" AND nothing follows them; the moment another digit comes after, the s drops. mille, meanwhile, never changes.
| Number | Correct spelling | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 80 | quatre-vingts | vingt multiplied by 4, nothing after → add s |
| 81 | quatre-vingt-un | un follows → drop s |
| 200 | deux cents | cent multiplied by 2, nothing after → add s |
| 201 | deux cent un | un follows → drop s |
| 2000 | deux mille | mille never changes → never takes s |
🔑 vingt / cent: add s only when multiplied + at the end; a digit follows → drop it. mille never changes.
Quick memory rules
- 70 = 60 + 10 (soixante-dix)
- 80 = 4 × 20 (quatre-vingts, with s)
- 90 = 4 × 20 + 10 (quatre-vingt-dix, no s)
- 21, 31, 41, 51, 61, 71 use et un / et onze
- everything else uses a hyphen (trait d'union)
Ordinal Numbers
One-line rule: cardinal + -ième = ordinal. Only exception: premier / première for "first" (not unième — except in compounds).
Cardinals vs ordinals (1-20)
| # | Cardinal | Ordinal | Spelling trap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | un / une | premier / première | ⚡ standalone form |
| 2 | deux | deuxième | — |
| 3 | trois | troisième | — |
| 4 | quatre | quatrième | drop final e |
| 5 | cinq | cinquième | ⚡ add u before -ième |
| 6 | six | sixième | — |
| 7 | sept | septième | — |
| 8 | huit | huitième | — |
| 9 | neuf | neuvième | ⚡ f → v |
| 10 | dix | dixième | — |
| 11–16 | onze, douze, treize, quatorze, quinze, seize | onzième … seizième | drop final e |
| 17–19 | dix-sept, dix-huit, dix-neuf | dix-septième, dix-huitième, dix-neuvième | — |
| 20 | vingt | vingtième | — |
Formation rules
- Cardinal ends in a consonant → just add -ième.
- Cardinal ends in -e → drop the -e first (quatre → quatrième).
- cinq → cinquième (insert u).
- neuf → neuvième (f → v).
- un → premier / première standalone, but unième in compounds.
Higher milestones
| # | Cardinal | Ordinal |
|---|---|---|
| 21 | vingt et un | vingt et unième ⚡ |
| 22 | vingt-deux | vingt-deuxième |
| 30 / 40 / 100 / 1000 | trente / quarante / cent / mille | trentième / quarantième / centième / millième |
21 trap: in compounds, "1" becomes unième, not premier.
Abbreviations
1ᵉʳ, 1ʳᵉ, 2ᵉ, 3ᵉ, … , nᵉ.
When to use ordinal vs cardinal
- Kings/popes: first = ordinal, all others = cardinal. François Iᵉʳ, Louis XIV (read quatorze).
- Floors: ordinal. le premier étage.
- Dates: ordinal for "1st" only (le 1ᵉʳ janvier), cardinal otherwise (le 2 mars).
- Centuries: ordinal. le XXIᵉ siècle.
- Chapters/lessons: cardinal. chapitre 3, leçon 5.