Numbers
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Understanding numbers in French is important for everyday conversation, shopping, telling the time, amongst many other things. Practice their pronunciation and writing until you feel confident.
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The numbers from 1 to 10 in French are: un (1), deux (2), trois (3), quatre (4), cinq (5), six (6), sept (7), huit (8), neuf (9), dix (10).
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The numbers from 11 to 19 are: onze (11), douze (12), treize (13), quatorze (14), quinze (15), seize (16), dix-sept (17), dix-huit (18), dix-neuf (19). Notice how 17, 18 and 19 are formed by combining ‘dix’ (10) with 7, 8 and 9.
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In the twenties: vingt (20), vingt et un (21), vingt-deux (22) and so on till vingt-neuf (29). Similarly, the numbers from 30 onwards are formed by combining the tens with ones e.g. trente-un (31), quarante-deux (42), cinquante-trois (53), and so forth.
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Practice saying numbers in the hundreds and thousands - cent (100), deux cents (200), mille (1000), deux mille (2000) and so on.
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Remember that the French use a space instead of a comma to separate thousands — so “1,000” in English is “1 000” in French.
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Take note of these number-related words: ‘nombre’ (number), ‘premier’ (first), ‘dernier’ (last), ‘fois’ (times, when talking about multiplication), and ‘moitié’ (half).
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When it comes to saying fractions and decimal numbers, ‘ et ‘ is used to signify the decimal point (for instance, 2.5 in French would be ‘deux et demi’).
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When saying dates, French people say the day number first, then the month, then the year. For example, February 14, 2020 is ‘le quatorze février deux mille vingt’.
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Try to practise by listening to numbers in French – this could be in songs, on the radio or TV.
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Make sure to practise your listening skills as well: numbers can often sound different when spoken quickly or in a native accent. It’s beneficial to familiarise yourself with these variations.
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Regularly test your number vocabulary. Write the numbers out in full in French and try to say larger numbers out loud.