Un (uh) is 1. The same word is used for the French masculine article meaning “a,” as in “un café” (which would mean either “a coffee” or “one coffee”). Deux (duhr) is 2. You can remember this by thinking of the word “double. " Trois (twah) is 3. Remember this by thinking how similar this word is to “triple. " Quatre (katr) is 4. Remember this by thinking about the word “quarter,” which is one-fourth of something. Cinq (sank) is 5. Six (sees) is 6. It looks just like the English word “six,” but is pronounced differently. Sept (seht) is 7. Huit (weet) is 8. Neuf (nurf) is 9.
Dix (dees) is 10. Onze (ohnz) is 11. You can remember this by thinking of the English word “ones. " The number 11 is made up of two digits, both of them “ones. " Douze (dooz) is 12. Treize (trehz) is 13. Quatorze (kah-torz) is 14. Quinze (kanz) is 15. Seize (sehz) is 16. Dix-sept (dee-seht) is 17. Dix-huit (dees-weet) is 18. Dix-neuf (dees-nurf) is 19.
Vingt et un (vehnt ay uh) is 21. The literal translation would be “twenty and one. " Note that you pronounce the t when it comes before a vowel sound. It is silent if it comes before a consonant. Vingt-deux (vehn duhr) is 22. Vingt-trois (vehn twah) is 23. Vingt-quatre (vehn katr) is 24. Vingt-cinq (vehn sank) is 25. Vingt-six (vehn sees) is 26. Vingt-sept (vehn seht) is 27. Vingt-huit (vehn weet) is 28. Vingt-neuf (vehn nurf) is 29.
While the t at the end of vingt is silent, the t is pronounced in trente and other French number words when it is followed by an e. So, for example, you would say trahnt-katr for 24.
The word quarante is a good opportunity to practice your French r. Pull the sound from the back of your throat, as though you are gargling.
Cinquante has two vowels that are followed by an n, signaling a nasal pronunciation. This makes it a good word for you to practice making French nasal vowel sounds. Remember that 51 would be cinquante et un (sank-ohnt ay uh).
A is pronounced like the a in the English word “father. " The combination ai is pronounced like the ai in “bait,” and au like “oh. " An e without any accent marks is pronounced like the oo in the English word “good,” as is the combination eu. When coming before an f, it sounds more like ur, as in neuf (9). I is pronounced like the ee in “see. " You notice this in the number words six and dix. O is pronounced like “oh. " The combination ou sounds like the same vowel combination in the English word “soup. " U may be pronounced similar to the oo in the English word “food,” although the exact sound doesn’t exist in English. Since you won’t find this u sound in number words, feel free to skip it for now. Anytime a vowel is followed by an n, it is a nasal vowel. This will alter your basic pronunciation. For example, in the word un (1), the u sounds more like eh or uh.
When the letter h appears at the beginning of a word, it’s usually silent. For example, with the word huit (8), the w sound comes from the pronunciation of the vowel combination ui. The h at the beginning is silent. Whenever you see a q or qu in French, it is pronounced like an English k. You can see this in the number words quatre (4) and quatorze (14). This pronunciation is found occasionally in English words, such as etiquette, which are loanwords from French. The letter c is pronounced like an English s if it comes before an e or an i. This isn’t really different from English, which also has a soft c, as in the words “office” and “face. " In fact, most of the English words with soft c came from French.
The French r is guttural, but not as guttural as some sounds in other languages, such as German. Think in terms of the sound you would make when you were gargling, but not the sound you would make if you were clearing your throat. To find the correct place to make the French r sound, make a k sound with your mouth closed. You should feel it at the base of your tongue. Practice making an r sound from that spot. It can take some time to get it right, but until you do, take comfort knowing that you will still be understood if you use a regular English r or a slightly trilled r sound.
Generally speaking, if you see an ng in a word, it is a signal to pronounce the vowel nasally. Many English words with an ng, such as sang, are also said with a slight (or significant, depending on your regional accent) nasal twang.
For example, in the word vingt (20), the g and t are essentially silent (although the ng signals that this word should be pronounced nasally). The word quatre (4) is another French number word with silent letters – here, the r and the e are both silent.
