2026 in French
Deux Mille Vingt-Six

Why Mille and Not Mil?

Old French had two forms for one thousand: mille for ordinary counting (a thousand soldiers, a thousand euros) and mil for dates within the first millennium AD and from 1001 to 1999. The reasoning was etymological: mil derives from Latin mille in dative-genitive context, and the form survived in legal, notarial, and ecclesiastical Latin-influenced French for date formulas like l’an mil quatre cent quatre-vingt-quatre (the year 1484).

The Académie française long accepted both forms. The 8th edition of the Dictionnaire (1932-1935) listed mil as the date-only form. The 9th edition (1992-2026, ongoing) acknowledges that mille has become standard in all contexts, including dates, while noting that mil remains acceptable in legal and notarial style for years 1001-1999.

For years 2000 and above, mille is unambiguously the standard. Deux mil vingt-six for 2026 is rarely used; some legacy notarial templates still produce it, but modern French law no longer requires the legacy form. The OQLF Banque de dépannage linguistique guidance for Canadian French recommends mille for all year forms without exception.

Practical rule: use mille. Write deux mille vingt-six for 2026. If you ever encounter deux mil vingt-six in a legal document, recognise it as the legacy form, not an error.

Year Forms 2000 to 2100

Pattern: deux mille + the year-within-century. The year-within-century block follows the ordinary number rules (vigesimal forms appear at 70+: deux mille soixante-dix, deux mille quatre-vingts, deux mille quatre-vingt-dix-neuf for 2099). For Belgian and Swiss French, the same pattern holds but with septante / huitante / nonante in place of the vigesimal forms: deux mille septante-six in Brussels would be 2076, deux mille nonante-neuf in Lausanne would be 2099.

The Hundreds-Form for 1100 to 1999

Years between 1100 and 1999 have an alternative spoken form that mirrors the English “nineteen hundred” convention. The year 1789 can be said as mille sept cent quatre-vingt-neuf (millennial form) or as dix-sept cent quatre-vingt-neuf (hundreds form, “seventeen hundred eighty-nine”). Both are correct French. Both are documented in the dictionary entries for cent and mille. The hundreds form is older and was more common in 19th-century literary and historical writing; the millennial form is now standard in everyday usage.

For 1999 specifically, both forms are heard: mille neuf cent quatre-vingt-dix-neuf and dix-neuf cent quatre-vingt-dix-neuf. For 1900 itself: mille neuf cents or dix-neuf cents. After 2000, the hundreds form falls out of use because it would require vingt cents (twenty hundred) for 2000, which is not used. The cleanest rule: hundreds-form is acceptable for 1100-1999 only; from 2000 onward, only the millennial form is used.

Historical writers and biographers often vary between the two forms for stylistic effect. Reading older French novels you will encounter both. Knowing both lets you parse a date you hear in either form and produce either depending on register.

Decades, Centuries, and Eras

Decades. The 1990s in French is les années quatre-vingt-dix or in colloquial speech les années 90. The 1980s: les années quatre-vingts (note the plural-s on quatre-vingts here, because it stands alone). The 1970s: les années soixante-dix. The 2000s decade specifically: les années deux mille (plural, like English “the noughties” or “the two thousands”). The 2010s: les années deux mille dix. The 2020s: les années deux mille vingt.

Centuries. Centuries are expressed with ordinals and, traditionally, Roman numerals. The 21st century is le vingt et unième siècle, often written le XXIe siècle in formal text. The 20th century: le vingtième siècle or le XXe siècle. The 19th: le dix-neuvième siècle / le XIXe siècle. See the dedicated Roman numerals in French page for the full convention.

Historical eras. Specific named periods use cardinal years in long form: la Révolution française de mille sept cent quatre-vingt-neuf, la Première Guerre mondiale (1914-1918), les événements de mai mille neuf cent soixante-huit or simply mai 68. The form chosen depends on register: numerals in everyday speech, written-out forms in formal historical or literary prose.

Future and future-conditional. D’ici 2030 (by 2030), à l’horizon 2050 (looking towards 2050), en 2100 (in 2100). French does not require any special tense alignment when the year is far in the future; the present or future tense suffices.

Common Phrases with the Year 2026

Frequently Asked Questions