You've come so far in Unit 2! This final lesson unlocks numbers from 21 to 100 — which means you can now give prices, ages, phone numbers, and addresses in French. Be warned: the French number system has some genuinely unusual counting logic between 60 and 99. It is not random, though — there is a mathematical pattern, and once you see it, it will stick. Camille and Lucas are planning a birthday party for Camille's grandmother, which gives plenty of natural context for bigger numbers.
Learning tips
- Numbers 21–69 are straightforward: vingt et un, vingt-deux... trente, trente et un... cinquante-neuf. The pattern is consistent.
- The number 70 (soixante-dix) literally means 'sixty-ten'. So 71 is soixante et onze (sixty and eleven), 72 is soixante-douze (sixty-twelve), and so on up to 79.
- 80 (quatre-vingts) literally means 'four-twenties'. Crucially, the -s on vingts disappears when followed by another number: quatre-vingts BUT quatre-vingt-un, quatre-vingt-deux.
- 90 (quatre-vingt-dix) means 'four-twenty-ten'. So 91 is quatre-vingt-onze, 92 is quatre-vingt-douze, etc.
- Use 'et' (and) only in 21, 31, 41, 51, 61, and 71 — NOT in 81 or 91.
Warm-up & Active Recall
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| gentil | kind / nice (masc.) |
| gentille | kind / nice (fem.) |
| intelligent | intelligent (masc.) |
| intelligente | intelligent (fem.) |
| sympa | nice / cool (informal) |
| drôle | funny / amusing |
| sérieux | serious (masc.) |
| timide | shy / timid |
| courageux | brave / courageous (masc.) |
| aimable | pleasant / kind |
Dialog
Camille's grandmother is turning 70 and they are planning a birthday party! Numbers come up naturally as they discuss the guest count, gift prices, and the party address. This is an ideal real-world context for the numbers 20–100.
Vocabulary
Active words
| Word | IPA | Translation | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| vingt | /vɛ̃/ | twenty | The t at the end of vingt is silent: /vɛ̃/. |
| trente | /tʁɑ̃t/ | thirty | Trente /tʁɑ̃t/ — note the nasal vowel an. |
| quarante | /ka.ʁɑ̃t/ | forty | Quarante /ka.ʁɑ̃t/ — the qu is pronounced /k/, not /kw/. |
| cinquante | /sɛ̃.kɑ̃t/ | fifty | Cinquante /sɛ̃.kɑ̃t/ — two nasal vowels in one word. |
| soixante | /swa.sɑ̃t/ | sixty | Soixante /swa.sɑ̃t/ — note the oi diphthong at the start. |
| soixante-dix | /swa.sɑ̃t.dis/ | seventy | Literally 'sixty-ten'. The pattern continues: 71 = soixante et onze, 72 = soixante-douze. |
| quatre-vingts | /ka.tʁə.vɛ̃/ | eighty | Literally 'four-twenties'. The -s on vingts disappears when another number follows: quatre-vingt-un. |
| quatre-vingt-dix | /ka.tʁə.vɛ̃.dis/ | ninety | Literally 'four-twenty-ten'. The pattern continues: 91 = quatre-vingt-onze. |
| cent | /sɑ̃/ | one hundred | The t in cent is silent. Cent euros = one hundred euros. |
| et | /e/ | and (used in compound numbers) | Et is used between tens and the digit 1 in 21, 31, 41, 51, 61, 71 — but NOT in 81 or 91. |
Passive words
| Word | IPA | Translation | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| le cadeau | /lə ka.do/ | ||
| l' l'anniversaire | /la.ni.vɛʁ.sɛʁ/ | ||
| la fête | /la fɛt/ | ||
| combien | /kɔ̃.bjɛ̃/ | ||
| coûter | /ku.te/ | ||
| l' l'adresse | /la.dʁɛs/ |
Useful chunks
| Word | Translation |
|---|---|
| ça fait combien | how much is that? / what does that come to? |
| ça coûte combien | how much does it cost? |
| il y a | there is / there are |
Grammar: French number system 21–100: unique counting patterns
| Nombre | Français | Structure |
|---|---|---|
| 21 | vingt et un | 20 + et + 1 |
| 22 | vingt-deux | 20 + 2 |
| 30 | trente | — |
| 31 | trente et un | 30 + et + 1 |
| 40 | quarante | — |
| 50 | cinquante | — |
| 60 | soixante | — |
| 70 | soixante-dix | 60 + 10 |
| 71 | soixante et onze | 60 + et + 11 |
| 72 | soixante-douze | 60 + 12 |
| 80 | quatre-vingts | 4 × 20 |
| 81 | quatre-vingt-un | 4 × 20 + 1 (pas de « et ») |
| 90 | quatre-vingt-dix | 4 × 20 + 10 |
| 91 | quatre-vingt-onze | 4 × 20 + 11 |
| 100 | cent | — |
French numbers from 21 to 69 follow a simple pattern: say the tens word, then add a hyphen, then the unit. For 21, 31, 41, 51, and 61 — and also 71 — you insert 'et' between the ten and the one: vingt et un, trente et un, soixante et un, soixante et onze. For all other compound numbers in this range, no 'et' is used: vingt-deux, trente-cinq. The number system becomes unusual at 70. Instead of a unique word like English 'seventy', French uses soixante-dix — literally 'sixty-ten'. The numbers 71–79 then continue the pattern: soixante et onze (60+11), soixante-douze (60+12), soixante-treize (60+13), and so on to soixante-dix-neuf (60+19). At 80, French switches to a multiplicative system: quatre-vingts means 'four-twenties' (4×20). When quatre-vingts is followed by another digit, the -s is dropped: quatre-vingt-un (not quatre-vingts-un). This no-et rule also applies: never say quatre-vingt et un. The 90s follow the same logic: quatre-vingt-dix (4×20+10), quatre-vingt-onze (4×20+11), and so on to quatre-vingt-dix-neuf (99). Then cent (100) stands alone. A useful practice technique is to count money: prices in French give you a natural context to produce these numbers repeatedly.
Exercises
Fill in the Blanks
Complete each sentence by writing the number in French words.
- Ma grand-mère a ans. (70)(70 = 60 + 10 in French)
- Le cadeau coûte euros. (50)(50 = a straightforward tens word)
- Il y a personnes à la fête. (30)(30 = a straightforward tens word)
- L'adresse, c'est le , rue Victor Hugo. (90)(90 = 4×20+10 in French)
- et vingt, ça fait soixante. (40)(40 = a straightforward tens word; ça fait = 'that makes')
Grammar Application
Write each number in French words.
- Écrivez en lettres : 21 → (21: use et between 20 and 1)
- Écrivez en lettres : 71 → (71: 60 + et + 11)
- Écrivez en lettres : 80 → (80: four-twenties — remember the s on vingts)
- Écrivez en lettres : 91 → (91: 4×20+11 — no et here)
- Écrivez en lettres : 100 → (100 is a single simple word)
Translate into French
Translate each English sentence into French.
- The gift costs forty euros.
- There are seventy people.
- My grandfather is eighty years old.
- The address is 100, rue de la Paix.
- It costs thirty-one euros.
Build Your Own Sentence
Write 4–5 French sentences using numbers from 21 to 100. Include at least one number from the 70s or higher.
Takeaway
French counts 70–79 as 'sixty-something' (soixante-dix, soixante et onze...) and 80–99 as 'four-twenties' (quatre-vingts, quatre-vingt-un...) — unusual but logical once you see the pattern.