How to Learn and Use Numbers in French
- delwoda
- Dec 31, 2025
- 4 min read
Why numbers in French are (almost) always difficult
(and why it’s not your fault)
If there’s one topic that comes up again and again in my French classes, at all levels without exception, it’s this one: numbers.
Learners can talk about their job, tell a story about their weekend, give their opinion… and then suddenly a price, a date, a number appears, and everything stops. Silence.
Some give up immediately (“I can’t say numbers in French”), others try but give up halfway through. You can see them thinking. And you can see them panicking.
And yet… let me start by reassuring you:
This is not a lack of logic, effort, or motivation.
In my experience, numbers are one of the most difficult aspects of learning a foreign language.
And I’ll even make a confession: I, too, still count almost exclusively in French, even though I speak several languages, and even though I live in a country where the numbers of my daily life are in another language.
My brain made a choice.
A small (almost) scientific explanation
Numbers don’t work like the rest of vocabulary.
They are learned very early, in your mother tongue, and they quickly become automatic.
In the brain, they use “fast lanes”: you see a digit → you say it, without thinking.
As a result, even for bilingual or multilingual people, the language of numbers is often the first language they learned to count in.
It’s a neurological reflex, not a question of level.
In other words: if you feel that your brain always goes back to your native language when you count, that’s normal.
And no, you’re not “bad at numbers in French”.
An extra layer of difficulty: the French-speaking world
As if that weren’t enough, French decided to make things a little more complicated.
Because yes, depending on the country, numbers are not said the same way:
In France:
soixante-dix (70), quatre-vingts (80), quatre-vingt-dix (90)
In Belgium:
septante (70), quatre-vingts (80), nonante (90)
In Switzerland:
septante (70), huitante (80) (but quatre-vingts in Geneva 🤦🏼♀️), nonante (90)
Allow me to offer an official apology, on behalf of the French-speaking world, for the inconvenience.
The good news is: you don’t need to master everything.
You just need to know where you are, and which variant you’re using.
And in the worst case, in Belgium or Switzerland, people will think you’re French, which isn’t so bad.
What you don’t need to do
You don’t need to learn how to write complicated numbers.
In real life:
you probably won’t write checks in French
no one will ask you to write quatre-vingt-dix-sept without mistakes
your goal is to understand and say numbers
So focus your energy where it really matters: spoken French.
A good place to start is listening to Alexa and repeating after her:
Numbers from 1 to 20
Numbers from 1 to 100
Simple and effective strategies to memorize numbers
No magic method, just smart habits.
1. Say numbers everywhere, all the time
Every time you see a number in daily life:
a price at the supermarket
a bus number
a license plate
a waiting number
a time displayed on a screen
Say it in French. Out loud, quietly, or in your head.
Two minutes a day are enough to build an automatic reflex.
2. Count with your body
A surprisingly effective strategy: stairs.
Go up the steps and count, out loud or in your head.
Rhythm and movement greatly help memorization(yes, really, and in the worst case, you get a bit of exercise).
3. Work step by step
Instead of trying to say 542 on day one:
start with single digits (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
For example, instead of saying 542, say 5–4–2
Then:
tens (5–4–2 becomes 54–2 or 5–42)
And combine them (5–4–2 becomes 542)
and only then tackle the tricky zones (75, 84, 98…)
Trust me: it’s both reassuring and effective.
“Trap” pronunciations
We tend to think that numbers are only used to count: one, two, three…
But in real life, we almost always use them inside sentences.
We don’t just say “two”.
We say two euros, two hours, two people, two books.
And this is where things get interesting. Yes, really.
In French, numbers change their behavior depending on the word that follows
(I knew you’d love this).
No panic, there’s no need to memorize everything.
You just need to understand a few very regular mechanisms.
1 + vowel: a small, discreet “n”
When un is followed by a word that starts with a vowel (a, e, i, o, u, h, y), you hear an [n] sound:
un N euro
un N ami
un N appartement
It’s a natural pronunciation reflex, and actually easier to say this way.
And honestly, you probably already knew this rule.
2, 3, 6, 10 + vowel: the [z] sound
When deux (2), trois (3), six (6), dix (10) are followed by a vowel, you hear a [z]:
deux Z euros
trois Z heures
six Z assiettes
dix Z amis
And of course, this also works with larger numbers:
trente-deux Z euros
vingt-trois Z heures
quarante-six Z ans
cent dix Z habitants
Once again: this isn’t a strange exception.
It’s simply the natural music of French.
But be careful: it all depends on the next word
And now, something that may confuse you a little…
Some numbers are pronounced differently depending on context.
For six, huit, and dix:
when counting → you hear the s or t6 [siS], 8 [huiT], 10 [diS]
before a vowel → liaison
before a consonant → the s or t disappears
Concrete examples:
une table pour six [si] personnes
il y a huit [hui] parts
ça coûte dix [di] francs suisses
Before a vowel:
six [si] z amis
huit [hui] t heures
dix [di] z euros
These mechanisms allow numbers to truly live inside the language.
And as is often the case in French, everything happens in the link between words.
They’re small details, but they make a huge difference when speaking.
And once you notice them, you start hearing them everywhere.
In conclusion
If numbers seem difficult to you in French, it’s not a personal block and not a failure.
It’s a very common phenomenon, and one that’s perfectly explainable.
With a bit of daily practice, simple strategies, and above all kindness toward yourself, numbers will gradually start to feel more natural.
And I promise: you’re not alone sighing in front of “99”.
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