Mission: understand a price and a phone number
Numbers from 0 to 100, including the tricky seventies, eighties and nineties.
FrenchA1 · Numbers and pricesAbout 5 min: 2 reading, 3 practiceUpdated
- Say and recognise numbers from 0 to 100
- Build 70–99 from their parts
- Understand prices and phone numbers
Everyday life: lesson 1 of 5
- A1 · Numbers and prices
- Mission: understand a price and a phone number 5 min
- A1 · Everyday life
- Mission: read the opening hours and plan your swim 6 min
- Mission: find out about a new club member 4 min
- Mission: make weekend plans with your neighbour 6 min
- Mission: find the tourist office 5 min
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Level Level A1 (around the DELF A1 exam). Real French: catching a price at the till and a phone number.
What it is
Your mission: you are buying a book in a shop in Lille. The assistant, Nadia, says the total, then reads out the shop's phone number so you can call about a book on order. Write down both correctly, even though they contain 70s, 80s and 90s.
Up to 69, French numbers work much like English: vingt (20), vingt et un (21), vingt-deux (22) … soixante (60), soixante-neuf (69).
From 70, France counts in a different way:
| Number | French | Built as |
|---|---|---|
| 70 | soixante-dix | 60 + 10 |
| 71 | soixante et onze | 60 + 11 |
| 75 | soixante-quinze | 60 + 15 |
| 80 | quatre-vingts | 4 × 20 |
| 81 | quatre-vingt-un | 4 × 20 + 1 |
| 90 | quatre-vingt-dix | 4 × 20 + 10 |
| 99 | quatre-vingt-dix-neuf | 4 × 20 + 19 |
| 100 | cent |
In Belgium and Switzerland you will also hear septante (70) and nonante (90), and in parts of Switzerland huitante (80).
Quick check
Tap an answer to check it.
What is quatre-vingts?
- Added 4 + 20; the parts multiply: 4 × 20
- Wrote the parts side by side
Show answer
80. quatre-vingts = 4 × 20 = 80.
Why it matters
Numbers come up everywhere in daily life: prices, times, phone numbers, ages, room and bus numbers. Mishear one and you pay the wrong price or call the wrong number.
Worked example
Nadia at the till:
- A price: 4,50 € → quatre euros cinquante. French writes a comma where English uses a decimal point.
- A phone number in France is read in pairs: 06 12 45 78 93 → zéro six, douze, quarante-cinq, soixante-dix-huit, quatre-vingt-treize.
- 97 → quatre-vingt-dix-sept: 4 × 20 + 10 + 7.
Real French: at a till people often leave out the word euros: 4,50 € is just quatre cinquante, and 12,30 € is douze trente. Listen for the two numbers.
Common mistake
Writing down each part you hear: hearing quatre-vingt-dix-sept and writing "4 20 10 7". Listen for the whole number, then build it: 4 × 20 = 80, + 17 = 97.
More detail: et, hyphens and the s
Et appears in 21, 31, 41, 51, 61 and 71 (vingt et un, soixante et onze), but not in 81 or 91 (quatre-vingt-un, quatre-vingt-onze). Quatre-vingts loses its s when another number follows: quatre-vingts euros, but 83 quatre-vingt-trois. Since the 1990 spelling reform, hyphens everywhere (vingt-et-un) are also accepted.
Key terms
- soixante-dix
- 70 (60 + 10)
- quatre-vingts
- 80 (4 × 20)
- quatre-vingt-dix
- 90 (4 × 20 + 10)
- cent
- 100
- euro
- the currency; 4,50 € is quatre euros cinquante
Practise the key terms
Tap a card to turn it over. 5 cards.
| Front | Back |
|---|---|
| soixante-dix | 70 (60 + 10) |
| quatre-vingts | 80 (4 × 20) |
| quatre-vingt-dix | 90 (4 × 20 + 10) |
| cent | 100 |
| euro | the currency; 4,50 € is quatre euros cinquante |
Practice
Recognition drill
Pick the right answer, as fast as you can.
All pairs
Tap a card to turn it over. 8 cards.
| Front | Back |
|---|---|
| soixante-dix | 70 |
| soixante et onze | 71 |
| soixante-dix-huit | 78 |
| quatre-vingts | 80 |
| quatre-vingt-un | 81 |
| quatre-vingt-dix | 90 |
| quatre-vingt-quinze | 95 |
| quatre-vingt-dix-neuf | 99 |
Quick quiz
Tap an answer to check it.
You hear « soixante-seize ». Which number is it?
- Heard soixante and stopped; listen to the end
- 80 starts with quatre-vingt
Show answer
76. soixante-seize = 60 + 16 = 76.
A price tag says 12,30 €. How is it read?
- The word euros comes after the whole euros, before the cents
- The comma separates euros and cents
Show answer
douze euros trente. Euros first, then the cents: douze euros trente.
Which is 91?
- Not a French number; 81 is quatre-vingt-un, with no et
- That is 71
Show answer
quatre-vingt-onze. 91 = 4 × 20 + 11.
Practise speaking
Studyfern has no voice tools of its own. To practise out loud, copy this prompt into a voice-capable AI assistant and talk with it.
Mission role-play. You are Nadia, a friendly shop assistant in Lille, at level A1. Speak slowly and clearly. Use only these words and phrases, plus very simple everyday words: the numbers 0 to 100, euro. Tell me a price under 100 euros (some in the 70s, 80s and 90s), and I will say it back. Then I will say prices and you write down what you heard. Do 8 prices. Then read me the shop's phone number in pairs (for example 03 20 45 67 89) and I will say it back. After each answer, tell me what kind of mistake I made, if any, and let me try again, then tell me one thing to improve. When I have got all 8 prices and the phone number right, say « Mission accomplie ! » and give me one tip. Keep every reply under 2 sentences. If I need a name or a town, I will make one up. Explain corrections in English.
Listen too. Listen to native speakers before and after: see the free listening and shadowing links.
Good to know. AI feedback on pronunciation is hit and miss, so check yourself against native recordings. Many assistants turn your speech into text first, so a vowel or liaison you got wrong may be silently “heard” as the right word. Don't share personal details: use a made-up name and town.
New to this? Read Practising speaking with an AI.
In short
- Up to 69, numbers work much like English.
- 70 = 60 + 10, 80 = 4 × 20, 90 = 4 × 20 + 10.
- Listen to the whole number before writing it down.
- Prices: euros, then cents; the comma is the decimal mark.
- Belgium and Switzerland also say septante and nonante.
Mastery check
Answer without looking back. Score 80% or more and the lesson is marked done. Your result is kept only in this browser.
Check yourself
Answer in your head first, then open the answer. Nothing is saved.
How do you say 85?
Show answer
quatre-vingt-cinq.
What number is « soixante-dix-sept »?
Show answer
77.
How do you read 3,20 €?
Show answer
trois euros vingt.
Further reading
- RFI, Journal en français facile: listen for dates, prices and figures in the news, and write down the numbers you catch.
- TV5MONDE, Apprendre le français, free A1 listening exercises.
Finished? Mark it done to fill in your leaf on the French map.