French Numbers Vocabulary: Complete Guide to Counting
Learning French vocabulary numbers is one of the first and most essential steps in mastering the language. Whether you're shopping, telling time, or giving your phone number, numbers appear in virtually every conversation. This guide will help you learn French numbers from the basics to more advanced usage.
Essential Numbers Vocabulary
These core French words for numbers form the foundation of counting in French. Master these first before moving on to larger numbers.
| Word | Pronunciation | English | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| zéro | zay-roh | zero | Le score est zéro à zéro. (The score is zero to zero.) |
| un / une | uhn / ewn | one | J'ai un frère et une sœur. (I have one brother and one sister.) |
| deux | duh | two | Il y a deux chats dans le jardin. (There are two cats in the garden.) |
| trois | twah | three | Elle a trois enfants. (She has three children.) |
| quatre | katr | four | Le rendez-vous est à quatre heures. (The appointment is at four o'clock.) |
| cinq | sank | five | J'ai cinq euros dans ma poche. (I have five euros in my pocket.) |
| six | sees | six | Nous sommes six à table. (There are six of us at the table.) |
| sept | set | seven | Il y a sept jours dans une semaine. (There are seven days in a week.) |
| huit | weet | eight | Le cours commence à huit heures. (The class starts at eight o'clock.) |
| neuf | nuhf | nine | J'ai neuf ans d'expérience. (I have nine years of experience.) |
| dix | dees | ten | Comptez jusqu'à dix. (Count to ten.) |
| vingt | van | twenty | Elle a vingt ans. (She is twenty years old.) |
| cinquante | san-kahnt | fifty | Ça coûte cinquante euros. (That costs fifty euros.) |
| cent | sahn | one hundred | Il y a cent personnes ici. (There are one hundred people here.) |
| mille | meel | one thousand | La ville compte mille habitants. (The town has one thousand inhabitants.) |
| premier / première | pruh-myay / pruh-myair | first | C'est ma première visite. (It's my first visit.) |
| deuxième | duh-zyem | second | Il habite au deuxième étage. (He lives on the second floor.) |
Common Phrases
This French lesson numbers section covers practical phrases you'll use in everyday situations. These expressions will help you handle transactions, appointments, and casual conversations.
- Quel est votre numéro de téléphone? (Kel ay votr new-may-roh duh tay-lay-fohn?) — What is your phone number?
- Ça fait combien? (Sah fay kohm-byan?) — How much does that cost?
- J'en voudrais deux, s'il vous plaît. (Zhahn voo-dray duh, seel voo play.) — I would like two, please.
- Quelle heure est-il? (Kel uhr ay-teel?) — What time is it?
- Il est trois heures et demie. (Eel ay twah zuhr ay duh-mee.) — It is three thirty.
- Nous sommes le quinze mai. (Noo som luh kanz may.) — Today is May 15th.
- J'ai trente ans. (Zhay trahnt ahn.) — I am thirty years old.
- C'est la troisième fois. (Say lah twah-zyem fwah.) — It's the third time.
Usage Notes
When you learn French numbers, there are several important grammatical and cultural points to keep in mind:
- Gender agreement: The number un changes to une before feminine nouns. For example: un livre (one book) but une table (one table).
- The French 70s and 90s: Unlike English, French uses a mathematical approach for 70-79 (soixante-dix = 60+10) and 90-99 (quatre-vingt-dix = 4×20+10). This reflects the historical vigesimal (base-20) counting system.
- Belgian and Swiss French: In Belgium and Switzerland, you'll hear septante (70), octante/huitante (80), and nonante (90) instead.
- Liaison rules: Numbers change pronunciation before vowels. Deux sounds like "duh" alone but "duhz" in deux amis (two friends).
- Writing large numbers: French uses spaces or periods as thousand separators (1 000 or 1.000) and commas for decimals (3,50 €).
- Cent and vingt: These take an -s when multiplied and not followed by another number: deux cents (200) but deux cent trois (203).
Practice Sentences
Use these sentences to practice your French vocabulary numbers in context. Try reading them aloud to improve your pronunciation.
- Mon numéro de téléphone est le zéro six, vingt-trois, quarante-cinq, soixante-sept, quatre-vingt-neuf. — My phone number is 06 23 45 67 89.
- L'addition, s'il vous plaît. Ça fait trente-deux euros cinquante. — The bill, please. That's thirty-two euros fifty.
- Je suis né le premier janvier mille neuf cent quatre-vingt-dix. — I was born on January 1st, 1990.
- Il y a vingt-quatre heures dans une journée et douze mois dans une année. — There are twenty-four hours in a day and twelve months in a year.
- Prenez la deuxième rue à gauche, puis la troisième à droite. — Take the second street on the left, then the third on the right.
- Nous avons réservé une table pour huit personnes à dix-neuf heures. — We reserved a table for eight people at 7 PM.
- Cette maison a été construite en dix-huit cent soixante-quinze. — This house was built in 1875.
- Le train part dans quinze minutes du quai numéro quatre. — The train leaves in fifteen minutes from platform number four.