How to write numbers in French

By Mary Smith. Updated: January 16, 2017

Counting in French is fairly easy, as the pronunciation of the numbers is not that complex as it might seem. However, what can be complicated is to actually write the numbers, because French spelling can be really difficult for beginners. There are actually many similarities between how the numbers are written in French and other romance languages, so if you speak any of those, you're in luck! For instance, the number 0 is the same as in Spanish.

If you're learning French and need some reference for spelling, don't worry. In this OneHowTo article we explain how to write numbers in French. Take note!

You may also be interested in: How to Write Dates in Words in English

How to count in French
How to spell bigger numbers
How to spell numbers beyond 100 in French

How to count in French

In this list we present the numbers 1 to 50 as they are written in French. We spell them in upper case because they start each item in the list, but remember that numbers in French are written in lower case.

0 - Zéro
1 - Un
2 - Deux
3 - Trois
4 - Quatre
5 - Cinq
6 - Six
7 - Sep
8 - Huit
9 - Neuf
10 - Dix

11 - Onze
12 - Douze
13 - Treize
14 - Quatorze
15 - Quinze
16 - Seize
17 - Dix-sept
18 - Dix-huit
19 - Dix-neuf
20 - Vingt

From here on, the numbers in French become easier. Just as in English you write "twenty" and then "two" for 22, in French you'll write "vingt-deux". You only have to learn every tenth number!

However, pay attention to numbers ending in 1, since you spell "et un", that is, "and 1" instead of simply "-un".

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

And so on.

How to spell bigger numbers

Now for every tenth number:

40 - Quarante
50 - Cinquante
60 - Soixante
70 - Soixante-dix

Careful! Since 70 is actually "sixty-ten", 71 will be spelled ad "sixty-eleven":

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

And now it gets even stranger. 80 is neither "eighty" nor "sixty-twenty", but actually "four-twenties". You have to know your maths to count in French. The spelling of numbers in French, however, is regular throughout. Small mercies!

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

Can you guess what comes now? Right. 90 in French is spelled as "four-twenty-ten".

90 - Quatre-vingt-dix
91 - Quatre-vingt-onze
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

Take a deep breath. 100, in French, is written...

100 - Cent

How to spell numbers beyond 100 in French

Now that you know how to write numbers up to 100, it's quite easy to go on.

101 - Cent un
102 - Cent deux
...

As you can see, there's no need to add an hyphen ("-") between the numbers, unless the number already has it:

117 - Cent dix-sept

The same goes for numbers beyond 199:

200 - Deux cent
201 - Deux cent un

And finally, you get to:

1000 - Mille
2000 - Deux mille

As you can see, "mille" does not become "milles" even when it's plural. However, "million" becomes "deux millions", and the same happens with "milliard" and "billion". The bigger numbers are:

1 000 000 - Un million
1 000 000 000 - Un milliard
1 000 000 000 000 - Un billion (careful, "un billion" is different than an American billion!)
1 000 000 000 000 000 - Un billiard
1 000 000 000 000 000 000 - Un trillion

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