In addition to using the same alphabet (see Chapter 1), French also uses the same numerical symbols. In English, these are known as Arabic numbers; in French, they are called chiffres arabes. Math, at least, looks the same in French. The spoken numbers are quite different, though, and you will have to memorize their pronunciation.

Table 2-2

Numbers from Zero to Nineteen

The numbers twenty through sixty-nine follow a consistent pattern, very similar to the English way of naming a group of tens — like “twenty” — and following it with another word, such as “one,” to form “twenty — one.” In written French, the numbers are combined with a hyphen, with the exception of et un, which contains two words and translates as “and one.” To form numbers between thirty and sixty-nine, simply add the appropriate number after the end of the word for the group of tens.

Table 2-3

Numbers from Twenty to Sixty

At seventy, a new pattern emerges. Instead of having a separate word for “seventy,” “sixty,” and “ten” are combined, to form soixante-dix. The numbers eleven through nineteen are used to designate numbers up to seventy-nine. Eighty doesn't have a separate word, either. Instead, it is designated as quatre-vingts (when alone; when combined with other numbers, the -s is dropped). Note that in written French, eighty-one becomes quatre-vingt-un, and does not use the et found in the earlier numbers. Ninety is very similar to seventy, combining the quatre-vingt of eighty with dix to form quatre-vingt-dix. The numbers then follow the same progression, up to ninety-nine.

Table 2-4

Numbers from Seventy to Ninety-Nine

At 100, everything starts all over again. The French word for hundred is cent; the other numbers are used after it to indicate the numbers between 101 and 199. One hundred and one is cent un. One hundred and ninety-nine is cent quatre-vingt-dix-neuf.

To indicate more than 100, the appropriate word is inserted before cent. When the number is an even hundred, cent is used in the plural — it has an unpronounced “s” on the end. For example, 400 is quatre cents, and 420 is quatre cent vingt.

One thousand follows the same pattern as one hundred, using the word mille. Dates also fall into this category, when referring to a year.

Table 2-5

Numbers from 1,000 to 2 million