85 in French
quatre-vingt-cinq
Spellings verified June 2026 · page updated 2 October 2026
Four-twenties-five, or huitante-cinq in Romandy
“Eighty-five in French” is quatre-vingt-cinq, the number 85. Hear it spoken below.
NUMERAL
85
FRENCH
quatre-vingt-cinq
IPA
/katʁ.vɛ̃.sɛ̃k/
Breakdown
Regional variants
FR France
quatre-vingt-cinq
CH Switzerland
huitante-cinq
Vaud, Valais, Fribourg
Ordinal form
Ranking things rather than counting them: 85 becomes quatre-vingt-cinquième, written 85e in figures.
MASCULINE
quatre-vingt-cinquième
85e
FEMININE
quatre-vingt-cinquième
85e (same word as the masculine)
SWITZERLAND
huitante-cinquième
Vaud, Valais, Fribourg
French writes the abbreviation with a plain e, never ème: 85e. The Académie française allows two irregular pairs: premier and première abbreviate 1er and 1re, and second and seconde abbreviate 2d and 2de. Full rules on the ordinal numbers reference.
Counting around 85
Real sentence examples
“Le disque est sorti en mille neuf cent quatre-vingt-cinq.”
“Il roule à quatre-vingt-cinq kilomètres à l'heure.”
Pronunciation and morphology notes
Quatre-vingt-cinq drops the plural -s from quatre-vingt because cinq follows. As with all the 80s, Belgium keeps the French quatre-vingt-cinq while the Swiss cantons of Vaud, Valais and Fribourg use huitante-cinq.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say eighty-five (85) in French?
Eighty-five in French is "quatre-vingt-cinq" (the number 85). It is built as 4 x 20 + 5 = 85.
How is quatre-vingt-cinq (85) pronounced in French?
In the International Phonetic Alphabet, "quatre-vingt-cinq" is transcribed /katʁ.vɛ̃.sɛ̃k/. Use the audio button on this page to hear the standard French pronunciation.
Is 85 said differently in Belgian or Swiss French?
Yes. In Metropolitan France 85 is "quatre-vingt-cinq", but in Swiss French it is "huitante-cinq" (Vaud, Valais, Fribourg).
What is the ordinal form of 85 in French?
The ordinal for 85 is "quatre-vingt-cinquième", abbreviated 85e. The form is the same in the masculine and the feminine. In Switzerland it is "huitante-cinquième".
How is 85 used in a French sentence?
A natural example is: "Le disque est sorti en mille neuf cent quatre-vingt-cinq."
Related numbers
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