Five problems you might have with numbers in France (not just 98)
The French language, famously, has some complicated ways of saying numbers (four twenties ten eight, anyone?) - but even once you have learned your numbers there are some weird numeric quirks of the language to be aware of.
Going beyond 69
France's number system itself can be challenging for non-natives. It might be smooth sailing until you get to sixty-nine, but then funny things start to happen because they don't have a separate word for seventy, or eighty, or even ninety for that matter.
Even the most proficient French speaker will relate to that all-too-familiar moment where you freeze as you jot down a phone number or have to scribble out few digits because what you thought was sixty something turned out to be 72. That is because in French, seventy translates to 'sixty-ten' (soixante-dix), and so on.
READ MORE: How did the French end up with their 'crazy' numbers?
With French, it isn’t just about being good at the language, in order to get to grips with these higher numbers it seems you need to be good at mental maths too… Take 77 for example, or rather, ‘sixty-ten-seven’ as it would be said in French. And it gets worse. Ninety-nine translates to 'four-twenty-ten-nine' or quatre-vingt-dix-neuf.
If you really can't cope, consider a move to Switzerland where they have come up with the radical notion of having different words for 70, 80 and 90.
Time and dates
French people typically use military time. If you offer to grab drinks with someone at sept heure (7 o'clock) then they might give you a funny look, thinking you mean to say 7am. Most people would instead say dix-neuf heure (written as 19h) to specify 7pm, and sept heure to specify 7am.
Occasionally, you will hear someone, likely from the older generation, use the 1-12 time system. In these cases, you can say "Il est trois heures et quart" (It is 3:15pm, or three and a quarter). However, you should be aware that adding in quart (a quarter), demie (half past), or moins le quart (quarter till) only works with the 1-12 system. For example, you cannot say dix-neuf heure et quart, you would have to say dix-neuf heure quinze.
For Americans, it can be confusing that dates appear 'backwards' in France. The date January 3rd, 2023 in French would be written in the European style as 3/1/2023 (date, month, year), in contrast to the American style 1/3/2023 (month, date, year).
And regarding the year - an English speaker might say twenty-twenty (2020), while a French speaker would say deux mille vingt (two thousand twenty). This can lead to some tricky translation issues.
Phone number in couplets
In English, you might be used to reading out your phone number by individual digit. So 12 34 56 78 91 would be "one two three four five six (...)". In contrast, in French you would read it out as "twelve, thirty-four, fifty-six ... (douze, trente quatre, cinquante six ...)".
This can be a challenge for non-native speakers, especially the first time you have to repeat a phone number over the phone. It might even make it tricky for you in the reverse - once you get used to the French way of reading out phone numbers, it might be hard to remember your French number in English.
Rounding up to whole numbers
The other difference in the way the French deal with their numbers is by rounding up to the whole number for brands or addresses. For example, if your address is 132 Rue The Local, in English you might say "one three two The Local street", whereas in French you would use the whole number "one hundred and thirty-two" instead. The French address would be read aloud "cent trente-deux Rue The Local".
The same rule applies for brands - for instance, the automobile brand "Peugeot 306" in English would be "Peugeot three oh six" whereas in French it would be "Peugeot trois cent six" (three hundred and six).
You might also notice this with regard to the emergency European number, 112 - which is cent douze in French - and if you're filling up your car you will need either sans plomb quatre-vingt-quinze (SP15) or sans plomb quatre-vingt-dix-huit (SP98) for unleaded petrol (gasoline) or premium unleaded.
Talking about French départements
Finally, you might be confused when hanging out with some French people who hail from different parts of the country. Randomly, they might begin referencing numbers - for example someone could say dans le quatre-vingt-treize (in the ninety-three).
They are not randomly referencing the number 93, they are actually referring to the département of Seine-Saint-Denis, whose postal code begins with 93. In the United States, an equivalent might be referring to an area based on the phone number's area code (ex. the "305" or three-oh-five for Miami, Florida).
France is home to a total of 101 départements - 96 are on the mainland, and the other five are France's overseas territories.
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Going beyond 69
France's number system itself can be challenging for non-natives. It might be smooth sailing until you get to sixty-nine, but then funny things start to happen because they don't have a separate word for seventy, or eighty, or even ninety for that matter.
Even the most proficient French speaker will relate to that all-too-familiar moment where you freeze as you jot down a phone number or have to scribble out few digits because what you thought was sixty something turned out to be 72. That is because in French, seventy translates to 'sixty-ten' (soixante-dix), and so on.
READ MORE: How did the French end up with their 'crazy' numbers?
With French, it isn’t just about being good at the language, in order to get to grips with these higher numbers it seems you need to be good at mental maths too… Take 77 for example, or rather, ‘sixty-ten-seven’ as it would be said in French. And it gets worse. Ninety-nine translates to 'four-twenty-ten-nine' or quatre-vingt-dix-neuf.
If you really can't cope, consider a move to Switzerland where they have come up with the radical notion of having different words for 70, 80 and 90.
Time and dates
French people typically use military time. If you offer to grab drinks with someone at sept heure (7 o'clock) then they might give you a funny look, thinking you mean to say 7am. Most people would instead say dix-neuf heure (written as 19h) to specify 7pm, and sept heure to specify 7am.
Occasionally, you will hear someone, likely from the older generation, use the 1-12 time system. In these cases, you can say "Il est trois heures et quart" (It is 3:15pm, or three and a quarter). However, you should be aware that adding in quart (a quarter), demie (half past), or moins le quart (quarter till) only works with the 1-12 system. For example, you cannot say dix-neuf heure et quart, you would have to say dix-neuf heure quinze.
For Americans, it can be confusing that dates appear 'backwards' in France. The date January 3rd, 2023 in French would be written in the European style as 3/1/2023 (date, month, year), in contrast to the American style 1/3/2023 (month, date, year).
And regarding the year - an English speaker might say twenty-twenty (2020), while a French speaker would say deux mille vingt (two thousand twenty). This can lead to some tricky translation issues.
Phone number in couplets
In English, you might be used to reading out your phone number by individual digit. So 12 34 56 78 91 would be "one two three four five six (...)". In contrast, in French you would read it out as "twelve, thirty-four, fifty-six ... (douze, trente quatre, cinquante six ...)".
This can be a challenge for non-native speakers, especially the first time you have to repeat a phone number over the phone. It might even make it tricky for you in the reverse - once you get used to the French way of reading out phone numbers, it might be hard to remember your French number in English.
Rounding up to whole numbers
The other difference in the way the French deal with their numbers is by rounding up to the whole number for brands or addresses. For example, if your address is 132 Rue The Local, in English you might say "one three two The Local street", whereas in French you would use the whole number "one hundred and thirty-two" instead. The French address would be read aloud "cent trente-deux Rue The Local".
The same rule applies for brands - for instance, the automobile brand "Peugeot 306" in English would be "Peugeot three oh six" whereas in French it would be "Peugeot trois cent six" (three hundred and six).
You might also notice this with regard to the emergency European number, 112 - which is cent douze in French - and if you're filling up your car you will need either sans plomb quatre-vingt-quinze (SP15) or sans plomb quatre-vingt-dix-huit (SP98) for unleaded petrol (gasoline) or premium unleaded.
Talking about French départements
Finally, you might be confused when hanging out with some French people who hail from different parts of the country. Randomly, they might begin referencing numbers - for example someone could say dans le quatre-vingt-treize (in the ninety-three).
They are not randomly referencing the number 93, they are actually referring to the département of Seine-Saint-Denis, whose postal code begins with 93. In the United States, an equivalent might be referring to an area based on the phone number's area code (ex. the "305" or three-oh-five for Miami, Florida).
France is home to a total of 101 départements - 96 are on the mainland, and the other five are France's overseas territories.
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