French Numbers, Money & Shopping Phrases

The first time a market vendor in Aix told me a price and I just stared blankly, I realized numbers were the one part of French I hadn't bothered to learn. Greetings, sure. Directions, kind of. Numbers? I'd been nodding and handing over a card, hoping for the best.

That's the thing about French numbers: you don't need many of them, but the ones you need show up constantly. Prices, phone numbers, opening hours, market weights, hotel room numbers. And French counting has a genuine quirk that trips up almost every English speaker the first time they hear it.

This guide covers the numbers you'll actually use while traveling, how to ask for and understand prices, and the shopping phrases that make markets and boutiques feel a lot less intimidating.

How French Numbers Work for Travelers

French numbers follow a simple base-ten pattern from 1 to 69, then switch to a math-based system for 70, 80, and 90 that confuses most first-time visitors. Knowing just 0-20, the tens, and this one quirk covers roughly 95% of what you'll hear while shopping or traveling (FSI French Basic Course, 1985).

Here are the essentials, 0 to 20:

• 0 zéro
• 1 un
• 2 deux
• 3 trois
• 4 quatre
• 5 cinq
• 6 six
• 7 sept
• 8 huit
• 9 neuf
• 10 dix
• 11 onze
• 12 douze
• 13 treize
• 14 quatorze
• 15 quinze
• 16 seize
• 17 dix-sept
• 18 dix-huit
• 19 dix-neuf
• 20 vingt

From 21 onward, it's mostly additive: 21 is vingt et un, 22 is vingt-deux, and so on up to 69. Nothing unusual there. Then things get interesting.

Why is French counting so tricky at 70, 80, and 90?

France never adopted separate words for 70, 80, and 90, so the language builds them from smaller numbers instead: soixante-dix (sixty-ten) for 70, quatre-vingts (four-twenties) for 80, and quatre-vingt-dix (four-twenty-ten) for 90 (Institut Français, 2023). It's not a mistake. It's just how the system evolved historically, and Belgium and Switzerland actually use simpler alternatives.

Once you see the pattern, it stops being scary. Seventy through seventy-nine keeps counting up from soixante (sixty), just tacking onto dix, onze, douze, and so on:

• 70 soixante-dix (literally "sixty-ten")
• 71 soixante et onze ("sixty-eleven")
• 72 soixante-douze ("sixty-twelve")
• ...continuing through...
• 79 soixante-dix-neuf ("sixty-nineteen")

Eighty flips to multiplication, then adds back on:

• 80 quatre-vingts ("four twenties")
• 81 quatre-vingt-un
• 82 quatre-vingt-deux
• ...through...
• 89 quatre-vingt-neuf

Ninety combines both tricks:

• 90 quatre-vingt-dix ("four-twenty-ten")
• 91 quatre-vingt-onze
• 92 quatre-vingt-douze
• ...through...
• 99 quatre-vingt-dix-neuf

I found the fastest way to internalize this wasn't memorizing the list, it was practicing prices out loud in a hotel room the night before a market trip. Saying "quatre-vingt-quinze" (95) a few times until it stopped feeling clunky made a real difference the next morning.

At 100, things simplify again: cent. Then 101 is cent un, 200 is deux cents, and so on. If you're heading into the countryside or smaller towns after Paris, the essential French phrases for tourists guide covers the everyday greetings that pair naturally with these numbers.

What do you say to ask "how much" in French?

The single most useful phrase for shopping is "Combien ça coûte?" (how much does that cost?), or the shorter "C'est combien?" which works in almost any store or market stall. Both are understood everywhere, from a Paris boulangerie to a village Sunday market (Institut Français, 2023).

If you're pointing at something specific, you can simplify further. Just point and ask "Combien?" with a questioning look, and most vendors will happily tell you, often holding up fingers to confirm the number too. This visual backup is genuinely helpful when a number comes out too fast to catch.

A few price-related phrases worth memorizing:

• "C'est combien, le kilo?" - How much per kilo? (useful at produce and cheese stalls)
• "Vous avez la monnaie?" - Do you have change?
• "C'est trop cher" - That's too expensive (said with a smile, rarely aggressive)
• "Vous pouvez faire un prix?" - Can you offer a discount? (more common at markets than boutiques)

Most guides frame haggling as common in France, but in our experience it's really only accepted at flea markets (brocantes) and some open-air food markets toward closing time, not in regular shops. Trying it in a boutique tends to read as awkward rather than savvy.

How do prices actually sound when spoken aloud?

French prices combine numbers with "euros" and "centimes," and the format sounds different from written prices because vendors often drop the word "euros" entirely once you're mid-transaction. A price of €12,50 is spoken as "douze euros cinquante," not "douze virgule cinquante" (Collins French Dictionary, 2023).

A few examples to get your ear tuned:

• €3,50 - trois euros cinquante
• €15,90 - quinze euros quatre-vingt-dix (yes, the tricky 90 shows up in prices too)
• €47 - quarante-sept euros
• €120 - cent vingt euros

Note that French uses a comma where English uses a decimal point, so a price tag reading "12,50 €" means twelve euros fifty, not twelve thousand five hundred. Menus and market signs almost always place the euro symbol after the number rather than before it.

If cards, cash logistics, and tipping norms are what you're really trying to sort out (rather than the vocabulary), the dedicated guide on cash, cards, and tipping in France covers that ground in more depth. This post stays focused on the language you need at the counter.

What phrases actually help at markets and shops?

Markets move fast, so a handful of short, functional phrases matter more than full sentences: greeting the vendor, stating a quantity, and confirming the total covers most interactions (Institut Français, 2023). French market culture also expects a greeting before you dive into a request, which locals notice and appreciate.

A typical market exchange might go:

• "Bonjour" (always start here, it's not optional in French shopping culture)
• "Je voudrais trois pommes, s'il vous plaît" - I'd like three apples, please
• "Un peu plus, s'il vous plaît" - A little more, please (for loose items sold by eye)
• "Ça suffit, merci" - That's enough, thanks
• "Ça fait combien?" - How much does that come to?
• "Voilà" - Here you go (said when handing over payment)
• "Merci, au revoir" - Thanks, goodbye

For clothes shopping specifically, a few more phrases go a long way:

• "Je peux essayer?" - Can I try it on?
• "Vous avez une taille plus grande/petite?" - Do you have a bigger/smaller size?
• "Où sont les cabines d'essayage?" - Where are the fitting rooms?

How do French clothing sizes compare to US and UK sizing?

French clothing sizes run on a different numbering system entirely, so a US size 8 women's dress typically corresponds to a French size 38, not 8. Getting this wrong is the most common shopping frustration for American and British travelers.

Rough conversions worth keeping in your notes app:

• Women's dresses: US 4 = French 36, US 8 = French 38, US 12 = French 42
• Men's shirts: US S = French 38, US M = French 40, US L = French 42
• Shoes: US women's 8 = French 38-39, US men's 9 = French 42

Sizing varies by brand, so treat these as starting points rather than guarantees. Asking "Vous avez une taille plus grande?" (do you have a bigger size?) is genuinely more reliable than trusting the tag.

Paying and Asking for a Receipt in French

Once you've settled on a price, "Je peux payer par carte?" confirms card payment is accepted, and "Un reçu, s'il vous plaît" gets you a receipt, both phrases that work identically in markets, shops, and cafés across France (Institut Français, 2023). Not every market stall runs card payments, so having this phrase ready avoids an awkward standoff at checkout.

Useful payment phrases:

• "Je peux payer par carte?" - Can I pay by card?
• "Vous avez le sans contact?" - Do you take contactless?
• "Un reçu, s'il vous plaît" - A receipt, please
• "Gardez la monnaie" - Keep the change (rare, but polite in a taxi)

For the deeper mechanics of paying, dynamic currency conversion traps, and how much cash to actually carry day-to-day, the cash, cards, and tipping guide covers those logistics in full. Numbers get you through the conversation; that guide gets your wallet through the trip.

FAQ

Before you go

French numbers look intimidating on paper, but in practice you'll lean on maybe 30 words for an entire trip. The 70/80/90 pattern is the only real hurdle, and it clicks faster than expected once you've said it out loud a few times at an actual counter.

Pair this with the pillar guide to learning French before your trip for a fuller study plan, and the phrases for asking directions for the other everyday scenario travelers hit constantly. Between numbers, directions, and basic greetings, you'll cover almost every real conversation a short trip actually requires.