The hundreds are simple if you remember the rule on cent: pluralise only when nothing follows. The jump table covers every round hundred, the worked examples show the s appearing and disappearing.
Updated May 2026
Per-hundred jumps
N
French
Audio
100
cent
200
deux cents
300
trois cents
400
quatre cents
500
cinq cents
600
six cents
700
sept cents
800
huit cents
900
neuf cents
1000
mille
Worked examples
N
French
Rule applied
101
cent un
cent without s, then un. Same for 102 to 199.
200
deux cents
cents with s; deux cents ends the number.
201
deux cent un
s drops the moment a unit follows.
250
deux cent cinquante
s still drops on cinquante (a tens word counts as unit).
300
trois cents
trois cents with s.
380
trois cent quatre-vingts
s drops before quatre-vingts (and quatre-vingts itself keeps its s because it ends the number).
500
cinq cents
cinq cents with s.
799
sept cent quatre-vingt-dix-neuf
s drops before quatre-vingt-dix-neuf.
1000
mille
mille. Invariable. No article (you do not say un mille).
Cent. Pronounced /sɑ̃/. No article in front (cent personnes, not un cent personnes). The Academie francaise treats it as the first multiplier-noun without article in the hundred series.
When does cent take an s?
Only when it is multiplied (deux, trois, quatre ...) AND nothing else follows. Deux cents (200), trois cents (300). The moment a unit follows the s drops: deux cent un (201), deux cent cinquante (250). The rule is from the Academie francaise dictionary and Larousse.
How do you say 500 in French?
Cinq cents, with the plural s on cents (no other number follows). 501 is cinq cent un, without the s. 550 is cinq cent cinquante, also without the s.
Why is it deux cents but deux cent un?
Plural agreement on cent triggers only when nothing modifies what cent stands for. As soon as a unit or tens follows (un, deux, dix, vingt, soixante-dix ...) the s drops. The same rule applies to vingt in quatre-vingts (80) versus quatre-vingt-un (81). The Academie francaise documents both with the same phrasing.
How do you say 999 in French?
Neuf cent quatre-vingt-dix-neuf. Breaks down as neuf (9) + cent (100) + quatre-vingt-dix-neuf (99). Cent loses its s because the vigesimal compound follows.
Sources: Academie francaise (dictionnaire), Larousse, Le Robert.