Why is 70 soixante-dix in French?

France French counts 70 to 99 in twenties rather than tens. 70 is soixante-dix (60 + 10), 80 is quatre-vingts (4 x 20), and 90 is quatre-vingt-dix (4 x 20 + 10). Belgium and most of Switzerland use septante and nonante instead, and parts of Switzerland also use huitante.

When do you say et un instead of a hyphen?

21, 31, 41, 51, 61 and 71 use et with no hyphens: vingt et un, soixante et onze. 81 and 91 do not: quatre-vingt-un and quatre-vingt-onze. The 1990 spelling reform hyphenates all of them, so vingt-et-un is also correct.

Why does six sound different in six ans and six personnes?

The final consonant of six, dix, huit, neuf, vingt and cent depends on what follows. Alone, six is seess (/sis/). Before a consonant it is see (/si/), as in six personnes. Before a vowel the z moves onto the next word: six ans is see-zahn (/si.zɑ̃/).

Why is neuf ans pronounced with a v?

neuf is the only French number whose final -f becomes a v sound, and only before ans and heures. neuf ans is nuh-vahn (/nœ.vɑ̃/) and neuf heures is nuh-vuhr (/nœ.vœʁ/), but neuf euros keeps the f: nuh-fuh-roh (/nœ.fø.ʁo/).

When does quatre-vingts take an -s?

Only when nothing follows it. quatre-vingts and cent quatre-vingts keep the -s, but quatre-vingt-deux, quatre-vingt-dix and quatre-vingt mille drop it. cent works the same way: deux cents, but deux cent un. mille never takes an -s.

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French number pronunciation builder

Type any number from 0 to 999,999 and get its French spelling plus a plain English respelling you can read straight off the screen — six ans is see-zahn. No IPA needed, though it is there too. French numbers change their final sound depending on what follows them, so the builder also shows what happens before ans, heures, euros and ordinary consonants.

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On its ownCounting, a price read out, a room number… ansAge — j'ai 25 ans… heuresTime — à 8 heures… eurosPrice — 12 euros… personnesPeople — six personnes… minutesDuration — 20 minutes

26 in French

vingtsix

vant-seess

Read it like English. Stress the last syllable.

vantvɛ̃tseesssis

IPA: /vɛ̃t.sis/

The -t of vingt is pronounced here
In 22-29 you hear the t: vingt-deux is van-tuh-duh. In quatre-vingt-deux you do not: kah-truh-van-duh.

1990 spelling: vingt-six
Outside France: Same everywhere.

Tens
Unit
et
cent / mille
What follows

How to read the English spellingShow the key

The plain-English line under each number is written to be read exactly as it looks. It is an approximation on purpose: French nasal vowels and the French rhave no English equivalent, so it gets you close enough to be understood rather than perfectly accurate. The IPA below it is exact, if you read IPA.

ahn: Nasal a. The air goes through your nose and the n is never fully said.cent — sahn
an: Nasal e. Close to English “ang” with the g removed.vingt — van
ohn: Nasal o. Again, no hard n at the end.onze — ohnz
uhn: Nasal u, the vowel in un. Many speakers merge it with an.un — uhn
uh: The vowel in her, but with your lips pushed forward and rounded.deux — duh
ew: Say ee, then round your lips without moving your tongue.minutes — mee-newt
r: The French r, made at the back of the throat, not with the tongue tip.quatre — kahtr
ss: A hard s at the end, never a z sound.six — seess

The five rules the builder is applying

1. 70, 80 and 90 are arithmetic, not vocabulary

France French has no single word for seventy, eighty or ninety. 70 is soixante-dix (60 + 10), 80 is quatre-vingts (4 × 20), and 90 is quatre-vingt-dix (4 × 20 + 10). Everything between them continues the pattern: 75 is soixante-quinze, 95 is quatre-vingt-quinze.

2. et appears at 21 through 71, then stops

vingt et un, trente et un, quarante et un, cinquante et un, soixante et un and soixante et onze all take et with no hyphens. 81 and 91 break the pattern: quatre-vingt-un and quatre-vingt-onze, never quatre-vingt-et-un.

3. The -s of quatre-vingts and cents is positional

Both take an -s only when they end the number. quatre-vingts and deux cents keep it; quatre-vingt-deux and deux cent un drop it. mille never takes one, at any size. These are the traditional agreement rules documented by the Académie française.

4. The -t of vingt is pronounced in 22–29 and silent in 82–99

vingt-deux is van-tuh-duh (/vɛ̃t.dø/) with an audible t. quatre-vingt-deux is kah-truh-van-duh (/ka.tʁə.vɛ̃.dø/) without one. Same spelling, different behaviour, and one of the most common intermediate mistakes. The OQLF pronunciation guide to vingt documents the same context-dependent pattern.

5. The last consonant depends on the next word

This is the rule that only shows up when you speak. Read the table below out loud rather than scanning it. For the relevant cardinal-number liaison cases, compare the examples from the Académie française.

How French numbers change before a consonant and before a vowel
Number	On its own	Before a consonant	Before a vowel
un	uhn/œ̃/	un livreuhn/œ̃/	un anuhn-nahn/œ̃.nɑ̃/
deux	duh/dø/	deux joursduh/dø/	deux ansduh-zahn/dø.zɑ̃/
cinq	sank/sɛ̃k/	cinq minutessan/sɛ̃/	cinq anssan-kahn/sɛ̃.kɑ̃/
six	seess/sis/	six personnessee/si/	six anssee-zahn/si.zɑ̃/
sept	seht/sɛt/	sept joursseht/sɛt/	sept ansseh-tahn/sɛ.tɑ̃/
huit	weet/ɥit/	huit jourswee/ɥi/	huit heureswee-tuhr/ɥi.tœʁ/
neuf	nuhf/nœf/	neuf joursnuhf/nœf/	neuf ansnuh-vahn/nœ.vɑ̃/
dix	deess/dis/	dix minutesdee/di/	dix eurosdee-zuh-roh/di.zø.ʁo/
vingt	van/vɛ̃/	vingt joursvan/vɛ̃/	vingt ansvan-tahn/vɛ̃.tɑ̃/
cent	sahn/sɑ̃/	cent jourssahn/sɑ̃/	cent anssahn-tahn/sɑ̃.tɑ̃/

Every number from 0 to 100 in French

The full list, spelled in French, written out in English syllables, and transcribed in IPA. Each one links into the builder so you can see what changes when you put a noun after it.

French numbers 0 to 100, written out in English syllables and in IPA
#	French	Say it like	IPA
0	zéro	zay-roh	/ze.ʁo/
1	un	uhn	/œ̃/
2	deux	duh	/dø/
3	trois	trwah	/tʁwɑ/
4	quatre	kahtr	/katʁ/
5	cinq	sank	/sɛ̃k/
6	six	seess	/sis/
7	sept	seht	/sɛt/
8	huit	weet	/ɥit/
9	neuf	nuhf	/nœf/
10	dix	deess	/dis/
11	onze	ohnz	/ɔ̃z/
12	douze	dooz	/duz/
13	treize	trehz	/tʁɛz/
14	quatorze	kah-tohrz	/ka.tɔʁz/
15	quinze	kanz	/kɛ̃z/
16	seize	sehz	/sɛz/
17	dix-sept	deess-seht	/dis.sɛt/
18	dix-huit	dee-zweet	/di.zɥit/
19	dix-neuf	deez-nuhf	/diz.nœf/
20	vingt	van	/vɛ̃/
21	vingt et un	van tay uhn	/vɛ̃.te.œ̃/
22	vingt-deux	vant-duh	/vɛ̃t.dø/
23	vingt-trois	vant-trwah	/vɛ̃t.tʁwɑ/
24	vingt-quatre	vant-kahtr	/vɛ̃t.katʁ/
25	vingt-cinq	vant-sank	/vɛ̃t.sɛ̃k/
26	vingt-six	vant-seess	/vɛ̃t.sis/
27	vingt-sept	vant-seht	/vɛ̃t.sɛt/
28	vingt-huit	vant-weet	/vɛ̃t.ɥit/
29	vingt-neuf	vant-nuhf	/vɛ̃t.nœf/
30	trente	trahnt	/tʁɑ̃t/
31	trente et un	trahn tay uhn	/tʁɑ̃.te.œ̃/
32	trente-deux	trahnt-duh	/tʁɑ̃t.dø/
33	trente-trois	trahnt-trwah	/tʁɑ̃t.tʁwɑ/
34	trente-quatre	trahnt-kahtr	/tʁɑ̃t.katʁ/
35	trente-cinq	trahnt-sank	/tʁɑ̃t.sɛ̃k/
36	trente-six	trahnt-seess	/tʁɑ̃t.sis/
37	trente-sept	trahnt-seht	/tʁɑ̃t.sɛt/
38	trente-huit	trahnt-weet	/tʁɑ̃t.ɥit/
39	trente-neuf	trahnt-nuhf	/tʁɑ̃t.nœf/
40	quarante	kah-rahnt	/ka.ʁɑ̃t/
41	quarante et un	kah-rahn tay uhn	/ka.ʁɑ̃.te.œ̃/
42	quarante-deux	kah-rahnt-duh	/ka.ʁɑ̃t.dø/
43	quarante-trois	kah-rahnt-trwah	/ka.ʁɑ̃t.tʁwɑ/
44	quarante-quatre	kah-rahnt-kahtr	/ka.ʁɑ̃t.katʁ/
45	quarante-cinq	kah-rahnt-sank	/ka.ʁɑ̃t.sɛ̃k/
46	quarante-six	kah-rahnt-seess	/ka.ʁɑ̃t.sis/
47	quarante-sept	kah-rahnt-seht	/ka.ʁɑ̃t.sɛt/
48	quarante-huit	kah-rahnt-weet	/ka.ʁɑ̃t.ɥit/
49	quarante-neuf	kah-rahnt-nuhf	/ka.ʁɑ̃t.nœf/
50	cinquante	san-kahnt	/sɛ̃.kɑ̃t/
51	cinquante et un	san-kahn tay uhn	/sɛ̃.kɑ̃.te.œ̃/
52	cinquante-deux	san-kahnt-duh	/sɛ̃.kɑ̃t.dø/
53	cinquante-trois	san-kahnt-trwah	/sɛ̃.kɑ̃t.tʁwɑ/
54	cinquante-quatre	san-kahnt-kahtr	/sɛ̃.kɑ̃t.katʁ/
55	cinquante-cinq	san-kahnt-sank	/sɛ̃.kɑ̃t.sɛ̃k/
56	cinquante-six	san-kahnt-seess	/sɛ̃.kɑ̃t.sis/
57	cinquante-sept	san-kahnt-seht	/sɛ̃.kɑ̃t.sɛt/
58	cinquante-huit	san-kahnt-weet	/sɛ̃.kɑ̃t.ɥit/
59	cinquante-neuf	san-kahnt-nuhf	/sɛ̃.kɑ̃t.nœf/
60	soixante	swah-sahnt	/swa.sɑ̃t/
61	soixante et un	swah-sahn tay uhn	/swa.sɑ̃.te.œ̃/
62	soixante-deux	swah-sahnt-duh	/swa.sɑ̃t.dø/
63	soixante-trois	swah-sahnt-trwah	/swa.sɑ̃t.tʁwɑ/
64	soixante-quatre	swah-sahnt-kahtr	/swa.sɑ̃t.katʁ/
65	soixante-cinq	swah-sahnt-sank	/swa.sɑ̃t.sɛ̃k/
66	soixante-six	swah-sahnt-seess	/swa.sɑ̃t.sis/
67	soixante-sept	swah-sahnt-seht	/swa.sɑ̃t.sɛt/
68	soixante-huit	swah-sahnt-weet	/swa.sɑ̃t.ɥit/
69	soixante-neuf	swah-sahnt-nuhf	/swa.sɑ̃t.nœf/
70	soixante-dix	swah-sahnt-deess	/swa.sɑ̃t.dis/
71	soixante et onze	swah-sahn tay ohnz	/swa.sɑ̃.te.ɔ̃z/
72	soixante-douze	swah-sahnt-dooz	/swa.sɑ̃t.duz/
73	soixante-treize	swah-sahnt-trehz	/swa.sɑ̃t.tʁɛz/
74	soixante-quatorze	swah-sahnt-kah-tohrz	/swa.sɑ̃t.ka.tɔʁz/
75	soixante-quinze	swah-sahnt-kanz	/swa.sɑ̃t.kɛ̃z/
76	soixante-seize	swah-sahnt-sehz	/swa.sɑ̃t.sɛz/
77	soixante-dix-sept	swah-sahnt-deess-seht	/swa.sɑ̃t.dis.sɛt/
78	soixante-dix-huit	swah-sahnt-dee-zweet	/swa.sɑ̃t.di.zɥit/
79	soixante-dix-neuf	swah-sahnt-deez-nuhf	/swa.sɑ̃t.diz.nœf/
80	quatre-vingts	kah-truh-van	/ka.tʁə.vɛ̃/
81	quatre-vingt-un	kah-truh-van-uhn	/ka.tʁə.vɛ̃.œ̃/
82	quatre-vingt-deux	kah-truh-van-duh	/ka.tʁə.vɛ̃.dø/
83	quatre-vingt-trois	kah-truh-van-trwah	/ka.tʁə.vɛ̃.tʁwɑ/
84	quatre-vingt-quatre	kah-truh-van-kahtr	/ka.tʁə.vɛ̃.katʁ/
85	quatre-vingt-cinq	kah-truh-van-sank	/ka.tʁə.vɛ̃.sɛ̃k/
86	quatre-vingt-six	kah-truh-van-seess	/ka.tʁə.vɛ̃.sis/
87	quatre-vingt-sept	kah-truh-van-seht	/ka.tʁə.vɛ̃.sɛt/
88	quatre-vingt-huit	kah-truh-van-weet	/ka.tʁə.vɛ̃.ɥit/
89	quatre-vingt-neuf	kah-truh-van-nuhf	/ka.tʁə.vɛ̃.nœf/
90	quatre-vingt-dix	kah-truh-van-deess	/ka.tʁə.vɛ̃.dis/
91	quatre-vingt-onze	kah-truh-van-ohnz	/ka.tʁə.vɛ̃.ɔ̃z/
92	quatre-vingt-douze	kah-truh-van-dooz	/ka.tʁə.vɛ̃.duz/
93	quatre-vingt-treize	kah-truh-van-trehz	/ka.tʁə.vɛ̃.tʁɛz/
94	quatre-vingt-quatorze	kah-truh-van-kah-tohrz	/ka.tʁə.vɛ̃.ka.tɔʁz/
95	quatre-vingt-quinze	kah-truh-van-kanz	/ka.tʁə.vɛ̃.kɛ̃z/
96	quatre-vingt-seize	kah-truh-van-sehz	/ka.tʁə.vɛ̃.sɛz/
97	quatre-vingt-dix-sept	kah-truh-van-deess-seht	/ka.tʁə.vɛ̃.dis.sɛt/
98	quatre-vingt-dix-huit	kah-truh-van-dee-zweet	/ka.tʁə.vɛ̃.di.zɥit/
99	quatre-vingt-dix-neuf	kah-truh-van-deez-nuhf	/ka.tʁə.vɛ̃.diz.nœf/
100	cent	sahn	/sɑ̃/

Landmarks above 100

100 — cent — sahn
101 — cent un — sahn uhn
180 — cent quatre-vingts — sahn kah-truh-van
200 — deux cents — duh sahn
201 — deux cent un — duh sahn uhn
500 — cinq cents — sank sahn
1,000 — mille — meel
1,001 — mille un — meel uhn
1,999 — mille neuf cent quatre-vingt-dix-neuf — meel nuhf sahn kah-truh-van-deez-nuhf
2,026 — deux mille vingt-six — duh meel vant-seess
10,000 — dix mille — deess meel
100,000 — cent mille — sahn meel

Common questions

Why is 70 soixante-dix in French?: France French counts 70 to 99 in twenties rather than tens. 70 is soixante-dix (60 + 10), 80 is quatre-vingts (4 x 20), and 90 is quatre-vingt-dix (4 x 20 + 10). Belgium and most of Switzerland use septante and nonante instead, and parts of Switzerland also use huitante.
When do you say et un instead of a hyphen?: 21, 31, 41, 51, 61 and 71 use et with no hyphens: vingt et un, soixante et onze. 81 and 91 do not: quatre-vingt-un and quatre-vingt-onze. The 1990 spelling reform hyphenates all of them, so vingt-et-un is also correct.
Why does six sound different in six ans and six personnes?: The final consonant of six, dix, huit, neuf, vingt and cent depends on what follows. Alone, six is seess (/sis/). Before a consonant it is see (/si/), as in six personnes. Before a vowel the z moves onto the next word: six ans is see-zahn (/si.zɑ̃/).
Why is neuf ans pronounced with a v?: neuf is the only French number whose final -f becomes a v sound, and only before ans and heures. neuf ans is nuh-vahn (/nœ.vɑ̃/) and neuf heures is nuh-vuhr (/nœ.vœʁ/), but neuf euros keeps the f: nuh-fuh-roh (/nœ.fø.ʁo/).
When does quatre-vingts take an -s?: Only when nothing follows it. quatre-vingts and cent quatre-vingts keep the -s, but quatre-vingt-deux, quatre-vingt-dix and quatre-vingt mille drop it. cent works the same way: deux cents, but deux cent un. mille never takes an -s.

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