98 in French
quatre-vingt-dix-huit
Spellings verified June 2026 · page updated 2 October 2026
Four-twenties-ten-eight, or nonante-huit
“Ninety-eight in French” is quatre-vingt-dix-huit, the number 98. Hear it spoken below.
NUMERAL
98
FRENCH
quatre-vingt-dix-huit
IPA
/katʁ.vɛ̃.di.zɥit/
Breakdown
Regional variants
FR France
quatre-vingt-dix-huit
BE Belgium
nonante-huit
CH Switzerland
nonante-huit
Ordinal form
Ranking things rather than counting them: 98 becomes quatre-vingt-dix-huitième, written 98e in figures.
MASCULINE
quatre-vingt-dix-huitième
98e
FEMININE
quatre-vingt-dix-huitième
98e (same word as the masculine)
BELGIUM
nonante-huitième
SWITZERLAND
nonante-huitième
French writes the abbreviation with a plain e, never ème: 98e. 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 98
Real sentence examples
“La France a gagné la Coupe du monde en mille neuf cent quatre-vingt-dix-huit.”
“Il a fêté ses quatre-vingt-dix-huit ans entouré de sa famille.”
Pronunciation and morphology notes
For 97-99 France chains three parts: quatre-vingt + dix + the unit, so 98 is quatre-vingt-dix-huit ("four-twenties-ten-eight"). In liaison dix-huit is pronounced /di.zɥit/. Belgium and Switzerland collapse it to nonante-huit.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say ninety-eight (98) in French?
Ninety-eight in French is "quatre-vingt-dix-huit" (the number 98). It is built as 4 x 20 + 18 = 98 (4 x 20 + 10 + 8).
How is quatre-vingt-dix-huit (98) pronounced in French?
In the International Phonetic Alphabet, "quatre-vingt-dix-huit" is transcribed /katʁ.vɛ̃.di.zɥit/. Use the audio button on this page to hear the standard French pronunciation.
Is 98 said differently in Belgian or Swiss French?
Yes. In Metropolitan France 98 is "quatre-vingt-dix-huit", but in Belgian French it is "nonante-huit", and in Swiss French it is "nonante-huit".
What is the ordinal form of 98 in French?
The ordinal for 98 is "quatre-vingt-dix-huitième", abbreviated 98e. The form is the same in the masculine and the feminine. In Belgium it is "nonante-huitième", and in Switzerland it is "nonante-huitième".
How is 98 used in a French sentence?
A natural example is: "La France a gagné la Coupe du monde en mille neuf cent quatre-vingt-dix-huit."
Related numbers
Want to convert another number, or hear it spoken in Belgium / Swiss French?