Free French Numbers to Words Converter
This French numbers to words converter works in both directions. Type a number in digits and see it written out in French words, or type the French words and get the digits back. Each result shows the traditional spelling and the 1990 spelling, the forms you need before a noun, the amount as money and the ordinal, and for 70 to 99 you can switch between the words used in France, Belgium and Switzerland. A practice quiz on the same page tests you both ways, with ranges from 0 to 20 up to 1,000,000 and the years 1900 to 2099. It's free, needs no signup and works on a phone.
Type a number like 97 to see it in French words, or French words like quatre-vingt-dix-sept to get the digits.
Practice French numbers
How the French numbers to words converter works
There is one box, and it works both ways. Type a number in digits, such as 243 or 1,250,000, and it appears written out in French words: 243 is deux cent quarante-trois. Negatives and decimals work too, so -7 becomes moins sept and 3,14 becomes trois virgule quatorze. Zeros straight after the comma are read one at a time, so 0,05 is zéro virgule zéro cinq. Whole numbers go up to 24 digits, which takes you into the trilliards.
French writes the decimal mark as a comma, and that makes one case ambiguous. This page is in English, so 1,500 on its own is read as fifteen hundred and 1.500 as one and a half. When that happens, the converter says so and tells you how to type the other reading.
Each result sits on its own row with a Copy button. The first row, In French words, uses the traditional spelling. When the 1990 spelling differs, the next row shows it with hyphens throughout. If the number ends on million or milliard, a row shows it before a noun (un million de livres, deux millions d'euros), and if it ends in un, a row shows it before a feminine noun (vingt et une pages, une page). For 1,100 to 1,999 the words row also gives the year form, so 1987 is mille neuf cent quatre-vingt-sept, or dix-neuf cent quatre-vingt-sept as a year. From 1 to 1,000,000 you also get the ordinal: premier or première (1er, 1re), deuxième or second, vingt et unième, quatre-vingtième, millième, and abbreviations such as 2e and 21e.
The money row writes the number out in euros, Swiss francs or Canadian dollars. It's labeled “the amount in words, as on a cheque,” because in France a cheque carries the amount in words as well as in figures. So 21 euros and 50 cents becomes vingt et un euros et cinquante centimes, and a million euros is un million d'euros. Canadian dollars use cents instead of centimes.
The converter also reads French back into digits. Type quatre-vingt-dix-sept and you get 97, whichever region or spelling you use. It takes un or une, and years such as dix-neuf cent quatre-vingt-sept. Slips get a note. Quatre vingts needs its hyphen (quatre-vingts), quatre-vingt on its own needs its s (quatre-vingts), deux cents mille loses the s (deux cent mille), and soixante onze needs its et (soixante et onze). Zero written without the accent on zéro gets a note too. Type an ordinal such as troisième and it asks you to type the cardinal number instead.
How to write French numbers from 1 to 100
The numbers from 0 to 16 each have their own word, from zéro, un and deux up to quinze and seize. Then 17, 18 and 19 are built on ten: dix-sept, dix-huit, dix-neuf. From 20 to 69 the pattern is regular. The tens are vingt, trente, quarante, cinquante and soixante, and the units join them with a hyphen: vingt-deux, trente-cinq, soixante-huit. The exception is 1, which takes et and no hyphen: vingt et un, trente et un, quarante et un, cinquante et un, soixante et un.
At 70, French stops counting in tens. Seventy is soixante-dix, sixty-ten, and the 70s carry on with the teens: soixante et onze, soixante-douze, up to soixante-dix-neuf. Eighty is quatre-vingts, four twenties. From 81 the s goes and there's no et either: quatre-vingt-un, quatre-vingt-deux. The 90s add the teens again: quatre-vingt-dix, quatre-vingt-onze, up to quatre-vingt-dix-neuf. Then 100 is cent, never un cent, and 101 is cent un, with no et. With those rules you can write all the French numbers from 1 to 100 in words. The stretch from 70 to 99 is where most learners slip, which is why it's the quiz's default range.
Septante, huitante and nonante
Belgium and Switzerland kept shorter words for some of these. In Belgium 70 is septante and 90 is nonante, while 80 stays quatre-vingts as in France. So 75 is septante-cinq and 92 is nonante-deux. Parts of French-speaking Switzerland go one step further. In Vaud, Valais and Fribourg, 80 is huitante, though Geneva and other areas say quatre-vingts. All of these are correct French.
When a number contains 70 to 99, a toggle switches the result between France, Belgium and Switzerland. The Switzerland setting uses huitante, so if you're writing for Geneva, the Belgium setting gives you septante and nonante with quatre-vingts. In the other direction the converter reads all three, so soixante-quinze and septante-cinq both give 75.
Hundreds, thousands and millions in French
Vingt and cent follow the same rule. They take an s when they're multiplied and nothing comes after them: quatre-vingts, deux cents, trois cents. Add anything and the s goes, so it's quatre-vingt-trois and deux cent un. Before mille the s also drops, so 200,000 is deux cent mille and 80,000 is quatre-vingt mille, because mille is an adjective. Before million and milliard it stays (deux cents millions, quatre-vingts millions), because those are nouns.
Mille never takes an s and is never un mille. So 1,000 is mille, 2,000 is deux mille and the year 1987 is mille neuf cent quatre-vingt-sept. With that you can write any of the French numbers from 1 to 1,000 in words, and well beyond. Million and milliard work differently, because they're nouns. They have plurals, and they take de, or d' before a vowel, when the noun follows straight after: un million d'euros, deux millions de livres. Once more digits follow, the de drops out, so 2,500,000 euros is deux millions cinq cent mille euros.
Big numbers in French use the long scale, so the words don't match English. Un milliard is 10 to the power of 9, which English calls a billion. A French billion is 10 to the power of 12, an English trillion. So a French report of un billion de dollars means a trillion dollars, and an English billion dollars is un milliard de dollars in French. If you translate figures for work, check this one twice.
Traditional and 1990 spelling
Both spellings are correct, and the converter shows both. The traditional rule puts hyphens only between tens and units below 100, and never next to et: vingt et un, deux cent trente-quatre, mille deux cents. The 1990 spelling reform, the rectifications orthographiques, hyphenates all the number words: vingt-et-un, deux-cent-trente-quatre, mille-deux-cents. It stops at million and milliard, so 2,500,000 is deux millions cinq-cent-mille. The 1990 spelling has been taught in French schools since 2016, but you'll still see the traditional one in plenty of print. If you're writing for a class, use the one your teacher expects. The quiz accepts either.
French numbers practice
Below the converter is a practice mode that works as a French numbers quiz. Pick a range: 0 to 20, 0 to 100, 70 to 99, 100 to 1,000, 1,000 to 1,000,000, or the years 1900 to 2099. It starts on 70 to 99, the classic hard part. Then pick a direction. You either see the digits and type the French words, or read the French words and type the digits. Each answer is marked at once, and a running count of right and wrong, with your percentage, stays on screen. Any region and either spelling is accepted, and so are un and une. A slip in the hyphens or spaces gets the note “Almost: check the hyphens and spaces.” A wrong plural s is marked wrong, with a note on the vingt and cent rule, so quatre-vingt for 80 doesn't pass. When the 1990 spelling differs, the answer shows it too. Press Stop to see your score and the numbers you missed, then “Practice my mistakes” goes through just those. There's no audio, so the quiz won't help with French numbers pronunciation.
If you're working on verbs as well, the French verb conjugation worksheets print conjugation exercises for 600 common verbs in 13 tenses, and every form of each verb is in the French verb conjugation tables.
Number converters in seven other languages
Each of these works both ways, from digits to words and from words back to digits. Each one also has money, ordinals and a practice quiz, and they're all free.
Frequently asked questions
Is this French number converter free?
Yes. There is no account or email address, and it works in the browser on a computer or a phone. Nothing you type is sent to a server, because it all runs in your browser. We count page opens, copies and quiz starts, never what you type.
Can it convert French words back into numbers?
Yes. Type French number words, such as quatre-vingt-dix-sept, and you get 97 back. It reads the words from France, Belgium and Switzerland, both spellings, un or une, and years such as dix-neuf cent quatre-vingt-sept. Slips get a note: soixante onze needs et (soixante et onze), and deux cents mille is deux cent mille.
How do I write the numbers 1 to 100 in French?
From 0 to 16 each number has its own word, and 17 to 19 are dix-sept, dix-huit and dix-neuf. From 20 to 69 the tens and units are hyphenated, except 1, which takes et: vingt-deux but vingt et un. Then 70 is soixante-dix, 80 is quatre-vingts, 90 is quatre-vingt-dix and 100 is cent.
Is it soixante-dix or septante?
Both are correct. France says soixante-dix and quatre-vingt-dix, and Belgium and Switzerland say septante and nonante. For 80, Belgium says quatre-vingts like France. Parts of French-speaking Switzerland (Vaud, Valais, Fribourg) say huitante, while Geneva says quatre-vingts. The converter has a toggle for all three countries.
When do vingt and cent take an s?
When they're multiplied and nothing follows: quatre-vingts, deux cents. Add anything after and the s goes: quatre-vingt-trois, deux cent un. It also goes before mille (deux cent mille) but stays before million and milliard (deux cents millions).
Is it vingt et un or vingt-et-un?
Both are correct. Vingt et un is the traditional spelling. Vingt-et-un is the 1990 spelling, which hyphenates every number word and has been taught in French schools since 2016. The converter shows both, and the quiz accepts both.
Can it write a cheque amount in words?
Yes. In France the amount on a cheque goes in words as well as in figures, and the money row writes it out in euros, Swiss francs or Canadian dollars: vingt et un euros et cinquante centimes, or un million d'euros. Canadian dollars use cents.
Is a French billion the same as a billion?
No. French uses the long scale. An English billion (1,000,000,000) is un milliard. Un billion is 10 to the power of 12, an English trillion.