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French grammar

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French Numbers in Daily Life: Prices, Phone Numbers and Age

By Michael McGettrickUpdated 11 October 2026

French numbers do the same jobs as English ones, but each everyday use has its own shape: the euro sits in the middle of a price, the decimal point is a comma, phone numbers come in pairs and age takes . The numbers themselves are on French numbers.

Quick check

Three quick questions on what you have just read. The full practice is further down.

Pick the right one

0/3

Tap how a French speaker says it.

  1. €2.50

  2. €36.75

  3. 3.5 (a measurement)

The whole system on one screen

where French differsavoirnot êtreWhat do the colours mean?
UseFrenchEnglish
price €2.50
decimal virgule 3.5
phone number , 06 12...
age I'm twenty
address -at number 47
time it's nine o'clock

Prices: the euro sits in the middle

English puts the currency sign first and the point in the middle. French says the euros, then the word , then the cents:

On the tagSaidEnglish
2,50 € two fifty
15,90 € fifteen ninety
36,75 €- -thirty-six seventy-five
0,80 € eighty cents

The word is usually dropped once the euros have been said; you hear it on its own when there are no euros. is not wrong, just formal.

  • ? - How much is it?
  • . - That's four euros twenty.
  • . - Tomatoes cost two euros a kilo.

Writing numbers: comma and space

French swaps the English punctuation. The decimal point is a comma, and thousands are split by a space.

EnglishFrenchSaid
3.53,5 virgule
10,00010 000
1,250,0001 250 000
  • virgule . - It's three point five degrees.

Phone numbers: in pairs

A French phone number has ten digits, normally read as five pairs rather than digit by digit. That is the real test of 70 to 99: a stranger reading their number at speed.

Pair 1
Pair 2
Pair 3
Pair 4
Pair 5
06
12
34
56
78
-
-
-
  • , , , -, -, -. - My number is 06 12 34 56 78.

In mainland France, mobile numbers start 06 or 07. Ask with ? - Have you got a mobile number?

Age: avoir, and never drop ans

In French you have an age; you are not it. The verb is , and the word (years) is compulsory.

RightWrongEnglish
. .I'm twenty.
. .He's sixteen.
  • ? - How old are you? (to a friend)
  • ? - How old are you? (polite)
  • -- . - My grandfather is eighty-two.

The same appears in (I'm hungry): see the big four verbs.

Addresses and floors

The house number comes first, with in front when you say where you live:

  • -, . - I live at 47 .

Floors use ordinals, and the ground floor is not the first: rez--chaussée is the ground floor, so is the British first floor (one up; an American's second floor).

  • . - I live on the third floor.

Time: il est + heures

The time is , the number, then , which is never dropped on the hour. The 24-hour clock is common in speech as well as on timetables, and with minutes speakers often drop : - .

  • . - It's nine o'clock.
  • . - It's half past nine.
  • . - It's a quarter to ten.
  • - . - The train leaves at 6.30 pm.

More on with the time: impersonal verbs.

Mistakes English speakers make

WrongRightWhy
. .Age takes
. . is compulsory
The sits in the middle
virgule The decimal is a comma
. . stays on the hour

What to do next

  1. Read every price you see aloud, euro in the middle.
  2. Say your phone number in pairs until - comes without a pause.
  3. Then the rules behind the numbers: French numbers.

Practise: test yourself

Pick the right one

0/5

Tap how a French speaker says it.

  1. €2.50

  2. €36.75

  3. 3.5 (a measurement)

  4. I'm twenty.

  5. the phone number 06 12 ...

Put the words in order

0/3

Put the words in order.

  1. That's €4.20.

    Your sentence is empty.

  2. I'm thirty-one.

    Your sentence is empty.

  3. It is nine o'clock.

    Your sentence is empty.

Spot the mistake

0/3

Tap the mistake.

Pick the right one

0/4

What is it in figures?

  1. deux euros cinquante

  2. quinze euros quatre-vingt-dix

  3. trois virgule cinq

  4. dix-huit heures trente

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Frequently asked questions

How do you say prices in French?
Say the euros, then the word euros, then the cents: 2,50 € is euros , and 36,75 € is - euros -. The word is usually left out once the euros have been said. To ask the price, say ? or ? (how much is it?).
How do French people say phone numbers?
In pairs, not digit by digit. A French number has ten digits in five pairs, so 06 12 34 56 78 is , , -, -, -. That makes 70 to 99 unavoidable: you have to catch - at speed.
How do you say your age in French?
With and the word : , I'm twenty. is wrong, and so is dropping ( ). To ask, say ? or, to someone you call , ?
Why do the French write 3,5 instead of 3.5?
French uses a comma as the decimal point and a space between thousands, the reverse of English. 3,5 is said virgule (three point five), and 10 000 is . On a price tag, 2,50 € means two euros fifty.
How do you say the time in French with numbers?
, then the number, then heures: , it is nine o'clock. The 24-hour clock is common in speech, so a friend may suggest meeting à - , at 7 pm. On the hour, heures is never dropped; with minutes it often is: à - , at 6.30 pm.