Silent Letters in French Numbers

Almost every French number carries a written letter that does not sound. The pattern is mostly predictable: x and s drop at the end, t drops on vingt and cent, the h on huit is fully silent. Liaison brings some of these letters back as voiced consonants before vowel-initial words.

Updated May 2026

N	French	Silent letter	Notes
1	un	n softened to nasal	No fully silent letter; the n nasalises the u: /oe~/.
2	deux	x	X silent in isolation: /doe/. Voiced /z/ in liaison: deux amis = /doe.z‿a.mi/.
3	trois	s	S silent: /tʁwa/. Voiced /z/ in liaison: trois ans = /tʁwa.z‿ɑ̃/.
4	quatre	e (nearly)	Final e barely voiced; some speakers drop it entirely. R is voiced.
5	cinq	q (context)	Q voiced alone /sɛ̃k/. Drops before consonant: cinq livres = /sɛ̃ livʁ/.
6	six	x (context)	X voiced /s/ alone, drops before consonant, voiced /z/ before vowel.
7	sept	p	P silent. T voiced. /sɛt/ stable across contexts.
8	huit	h, t (context)	H silent (h-aspire blocks elision). T drops before consonant: huit livres = /ɥi livʁ/.
9	neuf	f -> v shift	F voiced normally. Before ans and heures only: f shifts to /v/.
10	dix	x (context)	Same three-way behaviour as six: /dis/, /di/, /diz/.
20	vingt	t	T silent alone: /vɛ̃/. Voiced in compounds and liaison: vingt et un = /vɛ̃.t‿e.oe~/.
21	vingt et un	no new	The t of vingt voices into the liaison; un keeps its nasal vowel.
80	quatre-vingts	s	Final s is silent: /katʁ.vɛ̃/. Same in quatre-vingt-un (no s written but identical sound).
100	cent	t	T silent alone: /sɑ̃/. Voiced in liaison: cent ans = /sɑ̃.t‿ɑ̃/.
200	deux cents	s, t	S of cents silent. T of cent silent. Liaison: deux cents euros = /doe.sɑ̃.z‿oe.ʁo/ (z voiced from cents).
1000	mille	e	Final e barely voiced. /mil/.

Frequently asked

Which French numbers have silent letters?

Most of them. Deux, trois, quatre, cinq, six, sept, huit, dix, vingt, cent, and quatre-vingts all carry written letters that are silent in isolation or in specific contexts. The full map is in the table above. The pattern is broadly: x and s are silent at the end, t is silent at the end of vingt and cent, h is silent at the start, p is silent in sept, and finals on cinq, six, huit, dix vary by what follows.

Is the s in trois pronounced?

In isolation no. The s is silent: /tʁwa/. Before a vowel-initial word it becomes /z/ via liaison: trois ans = /tʁwa.z‿ɑ̃/. Before a consonant-initial word it stays silent: trois livres = /tʁwa livʁ/.

Why is the p in sept silent?

Historical spelling. Sept comes from Latin septem; the p disappeared from the spoken form centuries ago but the spelling preserved the Latin etymology. Modern French keeps /sɛt/. The same orthographic conservation explains the silent p in compte (account, /kɔ̃t/) and similar words.

Does cent have a silent t?

Alone yes: /sɑ̃/. Before a vowel-initial word the t voices in liaison: cent ans = /sɑ̃.t‿ɑ̃/, cent euros = /sɑ̃.t‿oe.ʁo/. Before a consonant the t stays silent: cent livres = /sɑ̃ livʁ/.

Sources: Wiktionnaire francophone, Larousse, CNRTL.

Silent Letters in French Numbers

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