🇫🇷 French Numbers: Your Counting Adventure!
Imagine numbers are like LEGO blocks. In French, you stack them together to build bigger numbers—just like building a tower!
🎯 What You’ll Learn
By the end of this adventure, you’ll count like a French kid, tell your age, order croissants by the dozen, and even talk about fractions like a math wizard!
🔢 Cardinal Numbers 0-100: The Building Blocks
Think of French numbers like a puzzle. Once you know the pieces, you can build ANY number!
The First Ten: Your Foundation
| Number | French | Say It Like… |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | zéro | “zay-roh” |
| 1 | un | “uh” (like “uh-oh!”) |
| 2 | deux | “duh” |
| 3 | trois | “twah” |
| 4 | quatre | “katr” |
| 5 | cinq | “sank” |
| 6 | six | “sees” |
| 7 | sept | “set” |
| 8 | huit | “weet” |
| 9 | neuf | “nuhf” |
| 10 | dix | “dees” |
11-16: The Unique Teenagers
These numbers are special—they have their own names!
| Number | French | Memory Trick |
|---|---|---|
| 11 | onze | “owns” (you OWN 11 toys!) |
| 12 | douze | “dooz” (dozen!) |
| 13 | treize | “trehz” |
| 14 | quatorze | “kah-torz” |
| 15 | quinze | “kanz” |
| 16 | seize | “sez” |
17-19: The Combo Teenagers
Now it gets fun! French combines “ten” + the small number:
- 17 = dix-sept (10 + 7) → “dees-set”
- 18 = dix-huit (10 + 8) → “dees-weet”
- 19 = dix-neuf (10 + 9) → “dees-nuhf”
The Tens: Your Big Blocks
| Number | French | Say It Like… |
|---|---|---|
| 20 | vingt | “van” |
| 30 | trente | “tront” |
| 40 | quarante | “kah-ront” |
| 50 | cinquante | “san-kont” |
| 60 | soixante | “swah-sont” |
🧩 Building Numbers 21-69
Simple pattern: tens + units (connected with a hyphen)
- 21 = vingt-et-un (20 and 1) — Note: “et” only for 1!
- 22 = vingt-deux (20-2)
- 35 = trente-cinq (30-5)
- 47 = quarante-sept (40-7)
- 63 = soixante-trois (60-3)
🎮 70-79: The Math Game Begins!
Here’s where French gets creative! There’s no word for 70—instead, French says “sixty-ten”!
- 70 = soixante-dix (60 + 10)
- 71 = soixante-et-onze (60 + 11)
- 72 = soixante-douze (60 + 12)
- 79 = soixante-dix-neuf (60 + 19)
🏰 80: Four Twenties!
80 = quatre-vingts (4 × 20) → “katr-van”
Imagine 4 groups of 20 knights in a castle!
- 81 = quatre-vingt-un (no “s” when followed by another number!)
- 85 = quatre-vingt-cinq
- 89 = quatre-vingt-neuf
🚀 90-99: The Ultimate Combo!
90 = quatre-vingt-dix (4 × 20 + 10)
- 91 = quatre-vingt-onze (80 + 11)
- 95 = quatre-vingt-quinze (80 + 15)
- 99 = quatre-vingt-dix-neuf (80 + 19)
💯 The Big One!
100 = cent → “son”
🏔️ Cardinal Numbers Above 100: Building Skyscrapers
Now you’re building TALL towers!
The Pattern
| Number | French | How It’s Built |
|---|---|---|
| 101 | cent un | 100 + 1 |
| 150 | cent cinquante | 100 + 50 |
| 200 | deux cents | 2 × 100 (note the “s”!) |
| 201 | deux cent un | no “s” when more follows |
| 500 | cinq cents | 5 × 100 |
| 999 | neuf cent quatre-vingt-dix-neuf | 900 + 99 |
Thousands and Beyond
| Number | French |
|---|---|
| 1,000 | mille |
| 2,000 | deux mille (never “milles”!) |
| 10,000 | dix mille |
| 100,000 | cent mille |
| 1,000,000 | un million |
| 1,000,000,000 | un milliard |
Example: 2,345 = deux mille trois cent quarante-cinq
🏆 Ordinal Numbers: First, Second, Third…
Ordinal numbers tell you the ORDER of things—like who finished first in a race!
The Magic Suffix: -ième
Just add -ième to most numbers:
| Cardinal | Ordinal | English |
|---|---|---|
| deux (2) | deuxième | second |
| trois (3) | troisième | third |
| quatre (4) | quatrième | fourth |
| cinq (5) | cinquième | fifth |
| dix (10) | dixième | tenth |
| vingt (20) | vingtième | twentieth |
The Special One: FIRST
Premier/Première (not “unième”!)
- Le premier garçon (the first boy)
- La première fille (the first girl)
Spelling Tweaks
- cinq → cinquième (add an “i”)
- neuf → neuvième (f becomes v)
- Numbers ending in e drop it: quatre → quatrième
🌊 Approximate Numbers: “About” and “Around”
Sometimes you don’t need exact numbers—just a rough idea!
The -aine Family
Add -aine to create “about X” (only works with some numbers):
| French | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| une dizaine | about 10 | une dizaine de pommes (about 10 apples) |
| une douzaine | a dozen (12) | une douzaine d’œufs (a dozen eggs) |
| une quinzaine | about 15 | une quinzaine de jours (about 2 weeks) |
| une vingtaine | about 20 | une vingtaine de personnes |
| une trentaine | about 30 | Il a une trentaine d’années (He’s about 30) |
| une centaine | about 100 | une centaine d’étudiants |
| un millier | about 1,000 | des milliers de gens (thousands of people) |
Other Approximate Words
- environ = approximately → Environ cinquante (about 50)
- à peu près = roughly → À peu près cent (roughly 100)
- plus ou moins = more or less → Plus ou moins vingt (more or less 20)
🍰 Fractions and Percentages: Slicing the Pie
Common Fractions
Think of pizza slices!
| Fraction | French | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ½ | un demi / une moitié | la moitié du gâteau (half the cake) |
| ⅓ | un tiers | un tiers de la classe |
| ¼ | un quart | un quart d’heure (15 minutes!) |
| ⅕ | un cinquième | un cinquième du budget |
| ¾ | trois quarts | trois quarts des étudiants |
The Pattern
Numerator + ordinal denominator:
- 2/5 = deux cinquièmes
- 3/8 = trois huitièmes
- 5/6 = cinq sixièmes
Percentages: Pour Cent
Pour cent = percent (literally “for hundred”)
- 50% = cinquante pour cent
- 25% = vingt-cinq pour cent
- 100% = cent pour cent
Example: Quatre-vingts pour cent des Français aiment le fromage! (80% of French people love cheese!)
📏 Quantities and Measurements
Weight
| French | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| un gramme | a gram | 500 grammes de farine |
| un kilogramme (kilo) | a kilogram | deux kilos de pommes |
| une livre | a pound (~500g) | une livre de beurre |
Volume
| French | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| un litre | a liter | un litre de lait |
| un demi-litre | half a liter | un demi-litre d’eau |
Length & Distance
| French | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| un mètre | a meter | deux mètres de tissu |
| un centimètre | a centimeter | dix centimètres |
| un kilomètre | a kilometer | cinq kilomètres |
Common Quantity Words
- beaucoup de = a lot of → beaucoup d’argent (a lot of money)
- peu de = a little of → peu de temps (little time)
- assez de = enough → assez de pain (enough bread)
- trop de = too much → trop de sucre (too much sugar)
🎂 Age Expressions: How Old Are You?
In French, you don’t “are” an age—you “HAVE” years!
The Magic Formula
Avoir + number + ans
| English | French |
|---|---|
| I am 10 years old | J’ai dix ans |
| You are 15 | Tu as quinze ans |
| She is 25 | Elle a vingt-cinq ans |
| We are 30 | Nous avons trente ans |
Asking Someone’s Age
- Quel âge as-tu? (informal) = How old are you?
- Quel âge avez-vous? (formal) = How old are you?
- Quel âge a-t-il/elle? = How old is he/she?
Approximate Ages
Remember the -aine words?
- Elle a la vingtaine = She’s in her twenties
- Il a la trentaine = He’s in his thirties
- Ils ont la quarantaine = They’re in their forties
Birthday Talk
- J’ai eu dix ans hier = I turned 10 yesterday
- Il va avoir vingt ans = He’s going to be 20
- Bon anniversaire! = Happy birthday!
🎯 Quick Reference Flow
graph TD A["Numbers 0-16"] --> B["Unique Names"] A --> C["17-19: dix + unit"] D["Tens 20-60"] --> E["Add unit after"] F["70s"] --> G["60 + 10-19"] H["80s"] --> I["4 × 20 + unit"] J["90s"] --> K["4 × 20 + 10-19"] L["100+"] --> M["cent + rest"]
💡 Remember This!
- 70 = 60 + 10 (soixante-dix)
- 80 = 4 × 20 (quatre-vingts)
- 90 = 80 + 10 (quatre-vingt-dix)
- You HAVE age in French, not ARE!
- Add -ième to make ordinals (except “premier”)
- Use -aine for approximate quantities
Now you’re ready to count croissants, tell your age, and shop at a French market like a pro! 🥐