How to Count in French

Counting is fundamental in any language. This page will help you learn how to count in French. The patterns found in the verbal construction of French numbers are similar to those found in English. For those individuals that have knowledge of Latin or another Romantic language the similarities will be even greater.

In learning to count in French one should look at how the numbers are structured and pronounced in three different segments. Segment one would be comprised of the numbers one through nineteen. Segment two would be comprised of the numbers twenty through sixty-nine. Segment three would be comprised of the numbers seventy and higher.

Counting from One to One Hundred in French

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How to count in French

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Learning to count in French begins by starting with single digit numbers and advancing to multiple digit numbers. In this video, the numbers one through ten, followed by the composition of the "base ten" numbers from twenty through one hundred are presented and pronounced in French.

Step 1: Numbers 1-19

The first sixteen numbers in French utilize individually structured words to represent each number. The numbers seventeen through nineteen utilize a compound structure for their construction

One - un

Two - deux

Three - trois

Four - quatre

Five - cinq

Six - six

Seven - sept

Eight - huit

Nine - neuf

Ten - dix

Eleven - onze

Twelve - douze

Thirteen treize

Fourteen - quatorze

Fifteen - quinze

Sixteen - seize

Seventeen - dix-sept

Eighteen - dix-huit

Nineteen. - dix-neuf

Step 2: Numbers 20-69

In French, the numbers twenty through sixty-nine are structured by using the base ten numbers in combination with the numbers one through nine.

Twenty - vingt

Thirty - trente

Forty - quarante

Fifty - cinquante

Sixty - soixante

To increment each base ten grouping simply add the corresponding single digit number.

Twenty-one would become vingt et un, thirty-one becomes trente et un, etc. Likewise, Forty-two becomes quarante -deux, fifty-five becomes cinquante-cinq, etc.

Step 3: Numbers 70-100

In French, the words for the numbers seventy, eighty and ninety are constructed by combining multiple words.

The number seventy is composed by the literal combination of the words sixty and ten, soixante-dix.

The number eighty is composed by literally combining the words four and twenties, quatre-vingts.

The number ninety is composed by combining the words four-twenty-ten quatre-vingt-dix.

Within each base ten grouping between seventy and ninety, the numbers are incremented by adding the single digit number, just as was the case in the the numbers twenty-one through sixty-nine.

The number one hundred translates to cent and can then be incremented by simply adding the corresponding number from one to ninety-nine following the base word cent.