FRENCH NUMBERS - PART 1 / LES NOMBRES FRANÇAIS - PARTIE 1

Welcome on this first lesson about French on apprendsetparle! :) 

In this short lesson, I will talk about numbers. French numbers. 
How to count in French? Actually, this is pretty easy.  In French, we only have one way to count, no matter the situation or the context. Let's start with the basic numbers before heading to something more difficult.


How to count:

1 = Un 
2 = Deux
3 = Trois 
4 = Quatre 
5 = Cinq 
6 = Six
7 = Sept 
8 = Huit
9 = Neuf 
10 = Dix 
11 = Onze
12 = Douze
13 = Treize
14 = Quatorze
15 = Quinze
16 = Seize
17 = Dix-sept     
18 = Dix-huit
19 = Dix-neuf
20 = Vingt
30 = Trente
40 = Quarante
50 = Cinquante
60 = Soixante
70 = Soixante-dix
80 = Quatre-vingt
90 = Quatre-vingt-dix
100 = Cent


Now, let's take a look to the combinations we find in numbers:

21 will be a combination of 20 and 1, right? Then, remember how to say it: "Vingt et un" (literally, it's "twenty and one").
22 will be a combination of 20 and 2, so "Vingt-deux" 
and so on... 

23 = Vingt-trois (20 vingt + 3 trois)
24 = Vingt-quatre (20 vingt + 4 quatre)
25 = Vingt-cinq (20 vingt + 5 cinq)
26 = Vingt-six (20 vingt + 6 six)
27 = Vingt-sept (20 vingt + 7 sept)
28 = Vingt-huit (20 vingt + 8 huit)
29 = Vingt-neuf (20 vingt + 9 neuf)

And you just have to do the same thing with 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80 and 90! But remember that for every 21, 31, 41, 51, 61, 71, 81, 91, 101, etc, you always need to put the word "et" ("and"), in order to be correct:

21 = Vingt et un (correct)
21 =  Vingt un (incorrect)

31 = Trente et un (30 trente + 1 un) 
32 = Trente deux (30 trente + 2 deux)
and so on with the rest of the numbers (33, 34...)

41 = Quarante et un (40 quarante + 1 un)
42 = Quarante deux (40 quarante + 2 deux)

51 = Cinquante et un (50 cinquante + 1 un)
52 = Cinquante deux (50 + 2 deux)

61 = Soixante et un (60 soixante + 1 un)
62 = Soixante deux (60 soixante + 2 deux)



Things get a big complicated with 70:

71 = Soixante et onze (when you pronounce it, you see it's the combination of 60 soixante + 11 onze) 
72 = Soixante douze (same here, this is not "soixante deux" like 62, but 60 soixante + 12 douze) 
73 = Soixante treize (60 soixante + 13 treize)
74 = Soixante quatorze (60 soixante + 14 quatorze)
75 = Soixante quinze (60 soixante + 15 quinze)
76 = Soixante seize (60 soixante + 16 seize)
77 = Soixante dix sept (60 soixante + 10 dix + 7 sept)
78 = Soixante dix huit (60 soixante + 10 dix + 8 huit)
79 = Soixante dix neuf (60 soixante + 10 dix + 9 neuf)


You can forget the "et" when it comes to 80:

80 = Quatre vingt (think of it as 4 quatre + 20 vingt or simply as the result of 4x20)
81 = Quatre vingt un (thing as the vocal combination of 4 "quatre" + 20 "vingt" + 1 "un")
82 = Quatre vingt deux 
83 = Quatre vingt trois 
84 = Quatre vingt quatre 
85 = Quatre vingt cinq 
86 = Quatre vingt six
87 = Quatre vingt sept
88 = Quatre vingt huit
89 = Quatre vingt neuf

When it comes to 90, it can seem a bit longer to pronounce to you, but basically, think about some numbers combination (vocally speaking, not mathematically of course) to easily remember them if you have to write them or to read them.

90 = Quatre vingt dix (4 "quatre" + 20 "vingt" + 10 "dix" or 80 "quatre vingt" + 10 "dix")
91 = Quatre vingt onze (yes, "onze"as in 11, and not "one" as in 1 like 31 trente et un, 41 quarante et un, 61 soixante et un...! - 80 quatre vingt + 11 onze)
92 = Quatre vingt douze (80 quatre vingt + 12 douze)
93 = Quatre vingt treize (80 quatre vingt + 13 treize)
94 = Quatre vingt quatorze (80 quatre vingt + 14 quatorze)
95 = Quatre vingt quinze (8 quatre vingt + 15 quinze)
96 = Quatre vingt six (80 quatre vingt + 6 six)
97 = Quatre vingt sept (80 quatre vingt + 7 sept)
98 = Quatre vingt dix huit (80 quatre vingt + 18 dix huit)
99 = Quatre vingt dix neuf (90 quatre vingt dix + 9 neuf or 80 quatre vingt + 10 dix + 9 neuf)


Let's talk about pronounciation here. In French, some words can be written a way and pronounced another, which can sometimes be pretty confusing for foreigners who try to read what they see just like they see it.

● 20 Vingt, will be pronounced like the number 1 = Un. Think of it as "vUN", when you pronounce it. But, when it is followed by another number, like 21 (vingt et un), you make the link between vingt and the following number, using the "t". So basically, it will be pronounced "vUNt-et-un". 

● Et : in this word, you don't pronounce the "t". It would be like the [hey] sound in english. Et/Hey without any trace of the letter "t". And the rule is like this for all the context including the word "et". The "t" is NEVER pronounced in this word.

● Soixante : the "x" in this word is never pronounced like an actual "x", but more like "s". Think about a snake. "soiSante". And "oi" is like the sound [whoa], in English. So when you pronounce it, think of "S[whoa]-[s]an-te". 

● - : the dash. In french, it's called a "tiret". It's used in numbers when you write them (21 vingt-et-un), to show that when you pronounce it, you need to link the words without hesitation or without taking any break. It's three words reunited, but it's actually pronounced like one word together thanks to the "-" who is placed here to show how to properly say it: "vingt-et-un". 

● 2 Deux : the x here is silent. Always.

● 3 Trois : same for the s here. Never pronounced. 

● 5 Cinq : the q is pronounced.

● 6 Six : like 60 (soixante), it's pronounced but like an s. Think about the word's contraction "sis" (sister in english). That's how you pronounced the 6 in French. 

● 7 Sept : the p here is silent. It's actually pronounced like the number 3 in Korean ("set"). Or like the English word "set".

● 8 Huit and 9 Neuf : the t and the f are pronounced.

● 10 Dix : like 6 (six), think about an s at the end. Replace the "s" in "sis" by a "d" and you obtain the correct French pronounciation for the number 10 (dix = [dis])



This lesson was the first part of the "French numbers" lesson. In the part 2, we will speak about 100 and the rest of the numbers, and how to use the several numbers into examples and basic sentences in French. 

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