French numbers: quantities and simple prices

Start with one book, then two

You have a stack of books to count: J'ai means ‘I have’, un is ‘one’ and deux is ‘two’. Livre means ‘book’; in deux livres the written -s marks the plural but is silent here. Listen to the two familiar sentences, then change just the number; the fuller article and plural system comes in the lesson on describing one or more objects.

• J'ai un livre.🔊

  I have a book.

• J'ai deux livres.🔊

  I have two books.

The base: 0–20

Read these cards in order from 0 to 20, listening to a few at a time. Learn 0–16 as number names: unlike the English -teen family, French has separate names through seize (16). Then dix-sept = 10 + 7, dix-huit = 10 + 8 and dix-neuf = 10 + 9; vingt is 20. Try saying 4, 8, 12, 16 and 19, checking their cards each time: quatre, huit, douze, seize, dix-neuf. Your goal is to use the whole 0–20 base over repeated visits, not recite everything without help today.

• zéro🔊zero
• un🔊one
• deux🔊two
• trois🔊three
• quatre🔊four
• cinq🔊five
• six🔊six
• sept🔊seven
• huit🔊eight
• neuf🔊nine
• dix🔊ten
• onze🔊eleven
• douze🔊twelve
• treize🔊thirteen
• quatorze🔊fourteen
• quinze🔊fifteen
• seize🔊sixteen
• dix-sept🔊seventeen
• dix-huit🔊eighteen
• dix-neuf🔊nineteen
• vingt🔊twenty

Four more tens: 30, 40, 50, 60

You already have dix (10) and vingt (20); now add trente (30), quarante (40), cinquante (50) and soixante (60). Listen to each card, then point to a number and say its name. These are the building blocks for quantities up to 69.

• trente🔊thirty
• quarante🔊forty
• cinquante🔊fifty
• soixante🔊sixty

Build 21–69: a ten, then the unit

Between 21 and 69, put the ten first and the unit after it: vingt-deux (22), trente-trois (33), quarante-quatre (44), cinquante-cinq (55), soixante-neuf (69). Use et (‘and’) before un in 21, 31, 41, 51 and 61: vingt et un, trente et un, quarante et un, cinquante et un, soixante et un; unlike English twenty-one, French says that et aloud. These examples use livres: J'ai vingt et un livres means ‘I have twenty-one books’, and un stays un before this masculine noun. Listen to the five sentences and notice that J'ai and livres stay the same. The map uses traditional spelling with hyphens in vingt-deux and spaces around et in vingt et un; the reformed spelling vingt-et-un is also accepted.

J'ai … livres.

• J'ai trois livres.🔊

  I have three books.

• J'ai vingt et un livres.🔊

  I have twenty-one books.

• J'ai vingt-deux livres.🔊

  I have twenty-two books.

• J'ai trente et un livres.🔊

  I have thirty-one books.

• J'ai soixante-neuf livres.🔊

  I have sixty-nine books.

Reference map: 0–100

Each row lists its numbers in ascending order: the 20–29 row starts at 20 and ends at 29. Use 0–69 to check the number you want to say; 70–100 is a recognition reference, not a new production task. The table has no audio: the three long recordings below cover 70–79, 80–89 and 90–100 in that order. On a first pass, consult a row when you need it rather than memorize the whole map.

Regional names to recognize

Septante means 70 and nonante means 90 in Belgium and Switzerland. Huitante means 80 in parts of Switzerland; quatre-vingts is also used in Switzerland and is the usual form in Belgium. These are number names, not different amounts: the fourth recording below reads 70, 80 and 90 with these regional names. You only need to recognize them here.

Hear 70–100 with the map

For recognition, soixante-dix is 60 + 10 and soixante et onze is 60 + 11; the 70s continue by adding 12–19 to soixante. Quatre-vingts is 4 × 20, with a final written -s at 80 alone, while 81 is quatre-vingt-un without et or that -s. The 90s add 10–19 to quatre-vingt: quatre-vingt-dix (90), quatre-vingt-onze (91), up to quatre-vingt-dix-neuf (99); cent is 100. Play one sequence and follow its row, then use the fourth recording for septante, huitante, nonante (70, 80, 90). You may leave the other sequences for another visit; producing 70–99 in prices returns in the later lesson on buying familiar objects.

• Soixante-dix, soixante et onze, soixante-douze, soixante-treize, soixante-quatorze, soixante-quinze, soixante-seize, soixante-dix-sept, soixante-dix-huit, soixante-dix-neuf.🔊

  Seventy, seventy-one, seventy-two, seventy-three, seventy-four, seventy-five, seventy-six, seventy-seven, seventy-eight, seventy-nine.

• Quatre-vingts, quatre-vingt-un, quatre-vingt-deux, quatre-vingt-trois, quatre-vingt-quatre, quatre-vingt-cinq, quatre-vingt-six, quatre-vingt-sept, quatre-vingt-huit, quatre-vingt-neuf.🔊

  Eighty, eighty-one, eighty-two, eighty-three, eighty-four, eighty-five, eighty-six, eighty-seven, eighty-eight, eighty-nine.

• Quatre-vingt-dix, quatre-vingt-onze, quatre-vingt-douze, quatre-vingt-treize, quatre-vingt-quatorze, quatre-vingt-quinze, quatre-vingt-seize, quatre-vingt-dix-sept, quatre-vingt-dix-huit, quatre-vingt-dix-neuf, cent.🔊

  Ninety, ninety-one, ninety-two, ninety-three, ninety-four, ninety-five, ninety-six, ninety-seven, ninety-eight, ninety-nine, one hundred.

• Septante, huitante, nonante.🔊

  Seventy, eighty, ninety.

Read € as euro

The symbol € names the euro: un euro is one euro, deux euros is two euros. In these prices, put the amount before euro or euros, just as in English. French writes euros after an amount such as 12, 21 or 30; the final -s itself is silent.

• euro🔊euro

Your turn: quantities and price labels

The three recordings read the labels 12 €, 21 € and 30 €: douze euros, vingt et un euros, trente euros. Listen to how the number joins euros, especially the /z/ sound in douze euros and the /n/ link in vingt et un euros. Now cover the quantity examples and say how many books you have for 3, 21, 22, 31 and 69, using J'ai … livres, then check the five sentences above. Read the three price labels yourself before checking their recordings here. Keep this route: learn the 0–20 base and the tens, combine up to 69, and consult the map to recognize the rest; buying phrases will come later.

• Douze euros.🔊

  Twelve euros.

• Vingt et un euros.🔊

  Twenty-one euros.

• Trente euros.🔊

  Thirty euros.