Les nombres et le calcul

Learn the French numbers and how to count from 60 to 99.

French Numbers: 60-69

The numbers 60 to 69 follow the same rules as 20 to 59.

French Numbers: 70-79

Things start getting weird at 70 because standard French* doesn’t have a new “tens” word here; instead, soixante is kept and the “ones” just continue climbing into the teens:

Soixante-dix literally means “sixty-ten,” soixante et onze means "sixty and eleven," soixante-douze is "sixty-twelve," etc.

French Numbers: 80-89

Likewise, there’s no word for “eighty” in standard French.* The French say quatre-vingts, literally four-twenties.** So 81 is quatre-vingt-un (four-twenty-one), 82 is quatre-vingt-deux (four-twenty-two), etc.

French Numbers: 90-99

In keeping with the general weirdness at this end of the number scale, there’s no standard French word for ninety* either; it follows the same pattern as 70. That is, you continue using quatre-vingt and adding from ten. 90 is quatre-vingt-dix (four-twenty-ten), 91 is quatre-vingt-onze (four-twenty-eleven), etc.

Listening practice: 60-99 À noter

* In some French-speaking areas, such as Belgium and Switzerland, “seventy” is septante and "ninety" is nonante. As for 80, Belgium uses the standard quatre-vingts, while Switzerland uses huitante. There’s also an archaic word octante that you might hear in Switzerland or the South of France.

** Four-twenties isn’t as odd as it might seem at first glance. Ever heard "Four-score and seven years ago"?

French lesson plan

En español

In italiano

More French numbersShare / Tweet / Pin Me!