French Numbers from 1 to 100 – Focus on 70, 80, and 90

Goal: Understand the logic behind French numbers above 69 — and why they feel like math puzzles!

Are you just starting out? Learn numbers 1–69 first with our beginner article → French Numbers from 1 to 69

Numbers 1–69: Review

From 1 to 69, French numbers are regular and logical.
You just combine blocks like:

Then you build:

Nothing too strange here.

French doesn’t have simple new words for “seventy”, “eighty” or “ninety”.

Instead, French does math.

There’s no separate word for 70.
Instead, French says:
70 = 60 + 10 → soixante (60) + dix (10) = soixante-dix

And then:

🧠 Only 71 has “et” → just like 21, 31, 41…

Instead of inventing a word for 80, French reuses twenty (vingt):

4 × 20 = 80 → quatre-vingts

Then:

🧠 Details to note:

Now it gets spicy. 😅

90 = (4 × 20) + 10 → quatre-vingt-dix

And more:

It’s really a combination of math + memory but it follows a pattern.

How do you say these in French?

✅ Show answers

1. soixante-et-onze
2.quatre-vingt-cinq
3.quatre-vingt-dix-neuf
4.soixante-deux
5.quatre-vingt-un

French used an old counting system called vigesimal (based on 20s).
That’s why you get “four twenties” instead of eighty.

🧠 Fun fact:

Belgium and Switzerland use easier forms like septante (70) and nonante (90)
But in France: it’s math time!