Counting in French 1 to 100: Easy French Number Guide.

Counting in French 1 to 100. Is it hard? No! If you are learning French – all those words, pronunciations, phrases – you also NEED numbers so you can…

• Talk about your age in French
• Get the phone numbers
• Give out your own number
• and get rich in France

So, here’s how you count and master French numbers. If you want to just learn 1 to 10, don’t worry –  I break these down step-by-step so you’re not overloaded. You’ll learn how to count, read and say the numbers out loud in the following steps.

• Part 1: 0 to 10
• Part 2: 11 to 19
• Part 3: 20 to 60
• Part 4: 70 to 100
• And the end, you’ll be able to count from 1 to 100 in French

By the way..

Since you’re learning French…

You should also listen and hear real French. Try this Free Lesson from FrenchPod101.com (click here to visit) and learn a bit of French right now!

• Lesson #1 Easy Self-Introductions in French
  • Press play on the button below
  • You can get more awesome French lessons at the link above.

Part 1: 0-10

Let’s start with the basics.

One is “un.” Two is “deux.” Three is “trois.” Four is “quatre.” Conversationally, “quatre” can be pronounced like the English word “cat.” Five is “cinq,” which is pronounced similarly to the English word “sank.”

To help you remember these first five numbers, there is a little joke.

There are two cats racing to swim across the English Channel. The British cat is named One-Two-Three, and the French cat is named Un-Deux-Trois. Which cat wins the race? The British cat wins because the Un-Deux-Trois cat sank. This sounds like the first five French numbers: un, deux, trois, quatre (“cat”), cinq (“sank.”)

Six is easy because it has the same spelling in English, “six.”

Numbers are crucial for sharing information. All phone numbers in France begin with 0—“zéro” and the second number will be a number between one and six. A typical French phone number would look like this: 01.43.65.99.23

The first two numbers are either 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, or 06, depending on the regional code. When starting your number, you would say “zero-un,” “zero-deux,” etc. “Zéro-six” will be the start of all cell phone numbers.

Seven is “sept.” Eight is “huit.” Nine is “neuf.” Ten is “dix.”

The number seven, “sept,” is the beginning of the English month, September (as well as the French month, “septembre.”) There used to be only ten months in the calendar year which is why September starts with “sept”—at one time it was the seventh month. November is related to “neuf” as the former ninth month. December is related to “dix” since it used to be the tenth month.

Let’s continue your “counting in French 1 to 100” mission.

Part 2: 11-19

Numbers are important when expressing age.

Eleven is “onze.” Twelve is “douze.” “Douze” is similar to the English word dozen. Thirteen is “treize.”

I am 13 years old.

J’ai treize ans.

Fourteen is “quatorze.” Another random joke to help you remember: how did the fourteen cats row their boat? They used cat oars. (“Quatorze.”)

Fifteen is “quinze.” Picture fifteen cans of corn in the cabinet. How many cans are there? “Quinze” cans.

Sixteen is “seize.” Picture sixteen people playing Simon Says. How many people are playing? “Seize” are playing Simon says (“seize.”)

After the number sixteen, a bit of simple math is used. Seventeen is ten plus seven, or “dix-sept.” Eighteen is ten plus eight or “dix-huit.” Nineteen is ten plus nine or “dix-neuf.”

Part 3: 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 & in-betweens

• Twenty is “vingt.”
• Thirty is “trente.”
• Forty is “quarante.”
• Fifty is “cinquante.”
• Sixty is “soixante.”

So, here’s a chart for review.

How to do “in-between” numbers for 21 to 69.

You’ll need “in-between” numbers for counting in french 1 to 100.

When adding one to these numbers, the French use the word “et” which means “and.”

• Rule: Use “et”

So, for example:

• twenty-one is “vingt et un”
• thirty-one is “trente et un”
• Forty-one is “quarante et un”
• Fifty-one is “cinquante et un”
• Sixty-one is “soixante et un”

Remember, this only applies to the numbers ending with a one. Like 21 and 31. But what about in-between numbers like 23 and 56?

• For all other numbers, the tens digit is followed by a hyphen and then the ones digit.

For example, twenty-two is simply “vingt-deux.”

The pattern continues for all of the in-between numbers until number sixty-nine, which is “soixante-neuf.”

French Numbers are important for telling dates:

• My birthday is November 26.
• Mon anniversaire est le vingt-six novembre.

French Numbers are also crucial for telling time.

• The movie starts at 20:25.
• Le film commence à vingt heures vingt-cinq.

Notice that for official times, such as movies, train and bus timetables, and school schedules, the French use 24-hour time. The time 20:25 is the same as 8:25 in the evening.

Part 4: 70-100

Alright.

Let’s finish this counting in french 1 to 100 guide.

You’re almost there. You’re so close. Oh, man…

…watch out! Here comes a curveball!

These higher numbers – 70 to 100 – cause stress for French learners. Why?

There is a lot of math involved with numbers 70-100.

The French do not have a word specifically for seventy like they do for twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, and sixty.

The 70s in French

Instead, they take sixty and add ten: “soixante-dix” means seventy. For the rest of the seventies they just keep adding:  “soixante-et-onze” (60+11=71).

Seventy-one includes the “et” for “and” and everything gets hyphenated. The pattern continues without the “et”: “soixante-douze” (60+12=72), “soixante-treize” (60+13=73), “soixante-quatorze” (60+14=74), etc.

This continues until “soixante-dix-neuf” (60+10+9=79.)

Then, it gets even more mathematical. 

The 80s in French

Eighty also doesn’t have a word.

Once again, the French rely on math skills to create the number. The number eighty is “quatre-vingts” which means “four twenties” or mathematically 4 x 20=80.

To form eighty-one, the French say “quatre-vingt-un.” Mathematically this is 4 x 20 + 1=81. The pattern continues with “quatre-vingt-deux” (4 x 20 + 2=82), “quatre-vingt-trois” (4 x 20 + 3=83), etc.

The 90s in French

For ninety, the math is 4 X 20 +10, or “quatre-vingt-dix.” The pattern continues with “quatre-vingt-onze” (4 X 20 + 11=91), “quatre-vingt-douze” (4 X 20 + 12=92), etc. It ends at ninety-nine, or “quatre-vingt-dix-neuf” (4 x 20 +10 +9.) The math can be overwhelming at times.

Your “counting in french 1 to 100” mission ends here.

What’s 100 in French?

It is “cent.” “Cent” is a common stem in English words. The word percent literally means per cent or per 100. A century has 100 years. 100 cents make a dollar.

Alright, here’s a quick chart to help you review the French numbers 10 to 100.

If you want to do simple math in French, use the expressions “plus” for plus, “moins” for minus, and “font” for equals/makes.

• 2+2=4
  • Deux plus deux font quatre.
• 89-55=34
  • Quatre-vingt-neuf moins cinquante-cinq font trente-quatre

And that’s it.

Counting in french 1 to 100 is very doable.

Be sure to print this tutorial out for later review. It’s always good to review things again and again until they’re stuck in your head.

Did this help? If you want extra help, check this out too:

• 8+ Best French Textbooks for Beginners

Be sure to leave a comment!

– The Main Junkie

P.S. Want to speak French with an easy 3 minute lesson?

Then check out FrenchPod101. They have 3-10 minute audio/video lessons that get you speaking and understanding French. So, if you want to speak and learn this language…

Click here to get a Free Lifetime Account at FrenchPod101.com