Question 1

Why is 70 literally 'sixty-ten' (soixante-dix) instead of having its own word?

Accepted Answer

French uses a mix of base-10 and base-20 counting systems. For the 70s, you start with sixty (soixante) and just keep counting up. So 60 plus 10 is soixante-dix (70), 60 plus 11 is soixante et onze (71), and so on.

Question 2

Do I always need a hyphen between the words in soixante-dix?

Accepted Answer

Yes! When writing numbers in French, you use hyphens to connect the parts of any compound number less than 100. The only exception is when they are joined by the word et (and), like in vingt et un (21).

Question 3

How do I pronounce the 'x' in dix when it comes before euros?

Accepted Answer

The 'x' in dix connects to the vowel 'e' at the start of euros. This spoken connection is called a liaison, and it makes the 'x' sound like a 'z'. You pronounce the end of the sentence as 'soixante-diz-euros'.

Question 4

Why does the verb coûte have a little hat accent on the 'u'?

Accepted Answer

That accent is called a circumflex. It often shows that an 's' used to be there in older versions of French. You can actually see this history in the English translation, since coûte means cost! It does not change how the 'u' is pronounced here.

La chambre coûte soixante-dix euros.

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