How do you say 96 in French?

96 is quatre-vingt-seize: four twenties (80) plus sixteen. In Canada and France there’s no shortcut word like the Belgian and Swiss nonante, so 90 to 99 are always built on quatre-vingt.

Why are French numbers from 70 to 99 so hard to understand?

Because they’re sums: 70 is soixante-dix (60 + 10) and 97 is quatre-vingt-dix-sept (4 × 20 + 17). You only know the number at the end, so practise waiting for the last word.

How do you say years like 1987 in French?

As one number: mille neuf cent quatre-vingt-sept. For 2000 onwards it’s deux mille plus the rest, as in deux mille dix-sept. In Québec you may also hear dix-neuf cent quatre-vingt-sept.

How do you say big numbers like 96 500 in French?

In two blocks: what comes before mille, then the rest. 96 500 is quatre-vingt-seize mille cinq cents. Mille never takes an s, and French writes a space between the thousands: 96 500, not 96,500.

Does the bowling game need sound?

Yes, it uses your device’s French voice, which most phones and computers have. If yours doesn’t, the game shows each number in French words so you can still practise reading them.

Is Bowling free to play?

Yes. The first 6 levels are free with no sign-up, and levels 7 to 12 are free with an account, which also saves your stars on every device. Levels 13 to 30 come with Premium, together with every 3D game’s later levels and all the mock tests.

French numbers listening practice: hear the number, bowl the pin

Le bowling

French numbers listening practice that feels like a night at the bowling alley. You hear a number in French, ten pins carry look-alikes (76, 66, 96, 16…), and you roll the ball into the right one. Thirty levels take you from 0 to 69 through soixante-seize and quatre-vingt-seize, prices, years and six-figure salaries, until the voice is at exam pace and you get one replay.

3 min a round
30 levels
First 6 levels free, no sign-up
Listening

Turn your sound on: this game speaks French.

Loading the 3D game…

30 levels, 5 worlds

From the basics to exam speed

Each level is one round of about 3 minutes. Win a star to open the next level, and replay for three stars. The first 6 levels are free with no sign-up, levels 7–12 with a free account, and Premium opens all 30.

World 1 · levels 1–6
The base: 0 to 69
Les bases
Units, tens and the teens that sound like tens: quinze or cinquante, treize or trente?
· Free, no sign-up
World 2 · levels 7–12
70 to 99
Soixante-dix et compagnie
Numbers built as sums: soixante-seize (76), quatre-vingt-quatre (84), quatre-vingt-seize (96).
· Free account
World 3 · levels 13–18
Hundreds and thousands
Cents et milliers
Prices and addresses: trois cent quatre-vingt-dix, deux mille trois cent cinquante. Pins swap the digits.
· Premium
World 4 · levels 19–24
Years
Les années
Dates as one number: mille neuf cent quatre-vingt-sept, deux mille dix-sept. Two replays a frame.
· Premium
World 5 · levels 25–30
Big numbers
Les grands nombres
Salaries and distances: quatre-vingt-seize mille cinq cents. One replay, at exam pace.
· Premium

How to play

1Listen to the number: replay it, or slow it down, as often as you need.
2Tap the pin with that number (or drag to aim) and the ball hooks into it.
3Two right in a row light the ball: the next right roll is a strike.

What it trains

Hearing French numbers at natural speed, and slowed down when you need it: the teens and tens that sound alike (quinze / cinquante), 70 to 99 (soixante-dix-sept, quatre-vingt-dix-sept), hundreds and thousands (deux mille trois cent cinquante), years (mille neuf cent quatre-vingt-sept) and big numbers (quatre-vingt-seize mille).

Why it matters for TCF and TEF Canada

Numbers carry the answer in many TCF Canada and TEF Canada listening questions: a price, a time, a date, an address, a phone number. You hear each recording once, so the number has to land straight away. Quick, sure ears for numbers help you reach the listening level you need, whether that’s NCLC 7 for Express Entry or NCLC 4 for citizenship.

Practise listening in the real format: TCF Canada listening practice · TEF Canada listening practice

Learn while you play

Rules and tips to remember

70 to 79: soixante + a teen
soixante-dix (70), soixante et onze (71), soixante-seize (76). If a teen follows soixante, you’re in the seventies.
80 to 99: four twenties
quatre-vingts (80), quatre-vingt-quatre (84), quatre-vingt-seize (96). Wait for the end before you decide.
-ze is a teen, -ante is a ten
quinze is 15 and cinquante is 50; seize is 16 and soixante is 60. The ending tells them apart.
Use the slow replay, then wean yourself off it
Slow it down in the first worlds until you hear every part. From world 4 the replays are counted, and in world 5 you get one: that’s how the exam plays a recording.

From the blog

Go deeper on the blog

Free French Learning Games for TCF and TEF Canada
44 free French learning games, 23 in 3D with 30 levels each, sorted by skill: vocabulary, grammar, listening and speaking. For TCF and TEF Canada.
11 min read

FAQ