Numbers 21–100

By the end of this lesson you'll be able to count from 21 to 100, say the numbers French builds in an unusual way, and recognize the words used for them in Belgium and Switzerland.

The tens

You already know everything up to twenty from the first numbers lesson. From here, you only need a few new words.

21 to 69: a simple pattern

From 21 to 69, put the ten first and then the unit, joined with a hyphen, just as English does: vingt-deux, quarante-sept, soixante-huit.

There's one exception. 21, 31, 41, 51 and 61 use et (and) with no hyphens: vingt et un, trente et un, cinquante et un, soixante et un. 71 does the same, as you'll see below. The rule stops there: 81 and 91 are hyphenated, with no et.

The t of vingt is pronounced all through the 20s: vingt-deux, vingt et un. It's silent in the 80s and 90s.

70 to 79: sixty and ten

Standard French doesn't have its own word for 70. It says sixty-ten, and carries on counting: sixty-eleven, sixty-twelve, up to sixty-nineteen.

So after soixante-neuf comes soixante-dix. The pattern carries on with the numbers from 11 to 19 that you already know: soixante et onze, soixante-douze, soixante-treize, soixante-quatorze, soixante-quinze, soixante-seize, soixante-dix-sept, soixante-dix-huit, soixante-dix-neuf.

Notice that 71 still uses et.

80 to 99: four twenties

Now French goes one step further. 80 is four twenties, and the 90s are four-twenties-ten and onwards.

Three things to look out for:

• Quatre-vingts takes an -s when it's exactly 80. Once another number follows, the -s is dropped: quatre-vingt-trois.
• The t of vingt is silent throughout the 80s and 90s, unlike in vingt-deux.
• There's no et in 81 or 91: quatre-vingt-un, quatre-vingt-onze.

Then come the last numbers before you reach 100: quatre-vingt-dix-huit, quatre-vingt-dix-neuf, cent. The 90s use the numbers from 11 to 19 again.

French phone numbers, which are read in pairs, are good practice for all these. 06 37 72 81 99 is zéro six, trente-sept, soixante-douze, quatre-vingt-un, quatre-vingt-dix-neuf.

Belgium and Switzerland

Belgium and Switzerland both say septante (70) and nonante (90).

For 80, Belgium says quatre-vingts, like France. Huitante (80) is used only in some Swiss areas. If you're learning for France, you only need to recognize these words.

Putting it together

To read any number up to 100, split it into the part you know and the part that's added: 67 is soixante and sept, 74 is soixante and quatorze, and 96 is quatre-vingt and seize.

What's next

Next, the lesson on days, months and dates uses these numbers for dates and birthdays, and the lesson on telling the time uses them for the clock. If you'd like more practice giving ages, go back to the lesson on avoir and try some sentences about the older people in your life.