Numbers 21 to 100

Talking about Prices: 18 and 19

Let's review the late teens, dix-huit (18) and dix-neuf (19), which follow a simple addition rule (10 + 8 and 10 + 9), and introduce the currency of France: the euro (un euro).

Building the Tens: 20 to 69

The tens from 20 to 60 have their own words:

To build numbers between these tens:

• For numbers ending in 1 (21, 31, etc.): Add et un (and one). For example, 21 is vingt et un.
• For numbers ending in 2 through 9: Drop the et and use a hyphen. For example, 35 is trente-cinq.

The Seventies: 70 to 79

Standard French doesn't use a new word for 70. Instead, it continues adding onto 60. 70 is literally "sixty-ten" (soixante-dix).

To build the numbers from 71 to 79, keep 60 as the base and add the teen numbers (11 to 19):

• 71 = 60 + 11 (soixante et onze)
• 72 = 60 + 12 (soixante-douze)
• 75 = 60 + 15 (soixante-quinze)

The Eighties: 80 to 89

For 80, French uses multiplication: quatre-vingts literally translates to "four twenties" (4 x 20). Notice that vingts takes an -s at the end.

When you build 81 to 89, you drop the -s. Also, 81 is an exception to the "and one" rule—it uses a hyphen instead of et (quatre-vingt-un).

The Nineties: 90 to 99

The nineties combine the rules of the eighties and the seventies. 90 is "four twenties-ten" (quatre-vingt-dix).

Just like with the 70s, you build 91 to 99 by adding the teen numbers (11 to 19) to your base of 80:

• 91 = 80 + 11 (quatre-vingt-onze)
• 99 = 80 + 19 (quatre-vingt-dix-neuf)

One Hundred

Finally, 100 is cent.