90 in French
quatre-vingt-dix
Spellings verified June 2026 · page updated 2 October 2026
Four-twenties-ten. The number that defines "hard French".
“Ninety in French” is quatre-vingt-dix, the number 90. Hear it spoken below.
NUMERAL
90
FRENCH
quatre-vingt-dix
IPA
/katʁ.vɛ̃.dis/
Breakdown
Regional variants
FR France
quatre-vingt-dix
BE Belgium
nonante
CH Switzerland
nonante
Ordinal form
Ranking things rather than counting them: 90 becomes quatre-vingt-dixième, written 90e in figures.
MASCULINE
quatre-vingt-dixième
90e
FEMININE
quatre-vingt-dixième
90e (same word as the masculine)
BELGIUM
nonantième
SWITZERLAND
nonantième
French writes the abbreviation with a plain e, never ème: 90e. 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 90
Real sentence examples
“Ma grand-mère a quatre-vingt-dix ans.”
“Le film dure quatre-vingt-dix minutes.”
“En Belgique et en Suisse romande, on dit nonante au lieu de quatre-vingt-dix.”
Pronunciation and morphology notes
Quatre-vingt-dix means "four-twenties-ten" (4 x 20 + 10 = 90). It is the number most often cited as proof that French counting is hard: the speaker multiplies 4 x 20, then adds 10, with no single word for ninety. Belgium and all of French-speaking Switzerland replace the whole construction with the Latin-derived nonante (from nonaginta), which is simply 90. Note that while some Swiss cantons say huitante for 80, every French-speaking region that diverges from France still uses nonante for 90; there is no "huitante-dix".
Frequently asked questions
How do you say ninety (90) in French?
Ninety in French is "quatre-vingt-dix" (the number 90). It is built as 4 x 20 + 10 = 90.
How is quatre-vingt-dix (90) pronounced in French?
In the International Phonetic Alphabet, "quatre-vingt-dix" is transcribed /katʁ.vɛ̃.dis/. Use the audio button on this page to hear the standard French pronunciation.
Is 90 said differently in Belgian or Swiss French?
Yes. In Metropolitan France 90 is "quatre-vingt-dix", but in Belgian French it is "nonante", and in Swiss French it is "nonante".
What is the ordinal form of 90 in French?
The ordinal for 90 is "quatre-vingt-dixième", abbreviated 90e. The form is the same in the masculine and the feminine. In Belgium it is "nonantième", and in Switzerland it is "nonantième".
How is 90 used in a French sentence?
A natural example is: "Ma grand-mère a quatre-vingt-dix ans."
Related numbers
Want to convert another number, or hear it spoken in Belgium / Swiss French?