Numbers In French: How To Count From 1 to 1 Million

Learning how to say the numbers in French is both easy and challenging.

It does help to know the basics first, then pay attention to certain rules and exceptions when you get to the higher/bigger numbers.

Numbers In French: How To Count From 1 to 1 Million

Here’s a handy guide that will help you master the numbers in French.

Numbers in French: Counting from 1 to 20 

This is possibly the most straightforward and easiest to learn of the French numbers.

Counting from 1 to 10 in French is similar to counting from 1 to 10 in many other languages where there is a specific word for each number. Say each number out loud or write the words down to help you memorize each one.

Once you know the numbers 1 to 10 in French, the next ones should be easier. 

0 – zéro

1 – un

2  – deux

3  – trois

4 – quatre

5 – cinq

6  – six

7 – sept

8  – huit

9  – neuf

10 – dix

After the first ten, let’s get to know the numbers 11 to 20. In English, the numbers 13 yo 19  have the suffix “teen. The French for this is the prefix dix-.

However, instead of adding dix- to 13 to 19, this prefix is only added starting at 17. Along with the French for 7 (sept), 17 becomes dix-sept. Remember to put a hyphen when a number is composed of two or more words. 

The numbers 11 to 16 meanwhile, have variations in spelling and pronunciation, all with a -ze at the end. 

11 – onze

12 – douze

13 – treize

14 – quatorze

15 – quinze

16 – seize

17 – dix-sept

18 – dix-huit

19 – dix-neuf

20 – vingt

Counting from 21 to 69 in French and a few rules to remember

Counting in French becomes easier after 20. Just like when you count in English, you simply have to add the following number. For example, 23 is vingt-trois, 25 is vingt-cinq and so on. 

An exception to this rule is when adding un (1) to a number that ends in zero, where you have to add the word et (and). For example: 31 becomes trente-et-un, 51 becomes cinquante-et-un and so on. 

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

30 – trente

31  – trente-et-un

32 –trente-deux…

39 – trente-neuf

40 – quarante

41 – quarante-et-un

42 – quarante-deux…

49 – quarante-neuf

50 – cinquante

51 – cinquante-et-un

52 – cinquante-deux…

59 – cinquante-neuf

60 – soixante

61 – soixante-et-un

62 – soixante-deux…

69 – soixante-neu

A bit of Math when counting in French from 70 to 99

The French equivalent of the numbers 70 to 79  has some Math involved. Instead of 70 becoming a variation of sept (7), 70 becomes soixante-dix. This term roughly translates to “60 and 10.”

Therefore, the numbers 11-19, not 1-9, are used along with soixante since you are adding a 10 to 60. 

70 to 79 in French: 

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

80 to 89 in French:

Like 70, the number 80 in French has a unique equivalent. Instead of 80 being derived from huit, it becomes “quatre-vingts” or “four twenties” (4 x 20).

After 80, the “s” at the end of “vingt” disappears. This makes sense when you consider that in 81, the “et” is not there anymore as 81 is said as quatre-vingt-un.

80 – quatre-vingts

81 –  quatre-vingt-un

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

90 to 99 in French:

A bit like the rules in soixante-dix (70), the number 90 in French is derived from quatre-vingt (80), then you add ten. Therefore, 90 becomes quatre-vingt-dix. 

Also like with  soixante-dix, the numbers 11-19, not 1-9, are used.  

Here’s 90-99 in French: 

90 – quatre-vingt-dix

91 – quatre-vingt-onze (there is no “et” here.)

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

The Hundreds:  French Counting from 100 to 999 

Cent is the French word for “hundred.” When counting by hundreds, you just add the number of hundreds before the word, just like in English.

However, as we’ve seen with several French numbers, the version that ends in “0” must be pluralized because it implies the number of sets of 100. For example, 300 is three cents and 500 is five cents.

100 – cent 

200 – deux cents 

300 – trois cents 

400 – quatre cents 

500 – cinq cents  

600 – six cents  

700 – sept cents 

800 – huit cents  

900 – neuf cents  

To add a one or ten, simply add the number after the cent. There is no need to use the word “et” with one. Adding a number also does not have to agree with the number of hundreds preceding it. Check out the following examples:

100 – cent

101 – cent-un

102- cent-deux

110 – cent-dix

115 – cent-quinze

130 – cent-trente

155 – cent-cinquante-cinq

170 – cent-soixante-dix

177 – cent-soixante-dix-sept

189 – cent-quatre-vingt-neuf

200 – deux-cents

201 – deux-cent-un

299 – deux-cent-quatre-vingt-dix-neuf

822 – huit-cent-vingt-deux

999 – neuf-cent-quatre-vingt-dix-neuf

The Thousands: Counting from 1,000 to 100,000 and up 

When you get to 1000, things get even easier because the French don’t pluralize mille when there are several thousands.

So 1000 equals mille, and 9000 equals neuf-mille. For example, 6000 is six mille in French. 

1.000 – mille

2,000 – deux-mille

3,000 – trois-mille

4,000 – quatre-mille

5,000 – cinq-mille

6,000 – six-mille

7,000 – sept-mille

8,000 – huit-mille

9,000 – neuf-mille

With the 10,000’s and 100,000’s, apply the same rule. The French word dix-mille is used to represent 10,000. 

Keeping these guidelines in mind, here are some more  examples of thousands, ten thousands, and hundred thousands in French:

1.001 – mille-un

1.010 – mille-dix

1.789 – mille-sept-cent-quatre-vingt-neuf

10.000 – dix-mille

12.000 – douze-mille

12.049 – douze-mille-quarante-neuf

37.115 – trente-sept-mille-cent-quinze

99.999 – quatre-vingt-dix-neuf-mille-neuf-cent-quatre-vingt-dix-neuf

100.000 – cent-mille

350.000 – trois-cent-cinquante-mille

350.001 – trois-cent-cinquante-mille-un

900,000 – neuf-cent-mille

999,999 – neuf cent quatre-vingt-dix-neuf mille neuf cent quatre-vingt-dix-neuf

One million and other big numbers 

The same guidelines apply to  bigger numbers in French. The only difference is that you now add un to a single unit. 

million – un million

billion – un milliard

trillion – un billion

Once you get the hang of these huge numbers, they become easier to learn. Keep in mind that each and every digit must be counted when you say them or write them down.

For example: 1,758,043 – un-million sept-cent  huit-mille quarante-trois

How to say Ordinal Numbers in French

The number that explains a noun’s position in a sequence is called an ordinal number (e.g. the first student to arrive in class; the fourth car on the left).

first – premier / première  

second – deuxième 

third – troisième 

fourth – quatrième 

fifth – cinquième 

sixth – sixième 

seventh – septiè 

eighth – huitième 

ninth – neuvième 

tenth – dixième

Note that ordinal numbers can be used for both masculine and feminine terms.

There is an exception, however, with the French for “first”. For feminine nouns, it is première, and for masculine nouns, it is premier.

Ordinal numbers in French also have the same word order as English, where the ordinal number appears before the word. 

Example: 

the second child – le deuxième enfant

the seventh month – le septième mois

Want to learn more French phrases? Check out our language guides below:

• Gender In French
• Body Parts in French
• Dates In French
• Colors In French
• Family In French Vocabulary
• Beautiful In French
• C’est La Vie – Meaning And How To Use It