20 in French
vingt
Spellings verified June 2026 · page updated 2 October 2026
The vigesimal base behind quatre-vingts
“Twenty in French” is vingt, the number 20. Hear it spoken below.
NUMERAL
20
FRENCH
vingt
IPA
/vɛ̃/
Ordinal form
Ranking things rather than counting them: 20 becomes vingtième, written 20e in figures.
MASCULINE
vingtième
20e
FEMININE
vingtième
20e (same word as the masculine)
French writes the abbreviation with a plain e, never ème: 20e. 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 20
Real sentence examples
“J'ai vingt ans.”
“Il reste vingt minutes avant le train.”
“Ce livre coûte vingt euros.”
Pronunciation and morphology notes
Standalone vingt is pronounced [vɛ̃] with a silent -gt, but the final t comes back from 21 to 29 (vingt-deux [vɛ̃t.dø]) and in liaison before a vowel (vingt ans, vingt euros). Vingt takes a plural -s only in quatre-vingts (80), where it is four twenties and nothing follows; the -s disappears again the moment another number is added (quatre-vingt-un). At 21 the number takes the "et" connector: vingt et un.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say twenty (20) in French?
Twenty in French is "vingt" (the number 20).
How is vingt (20) pronounced in French?
In the International Phonetic Alphabet, "vingt" is transcribed /vɛ̃/. Use the audio button on this page to hear the standard French pronunciation.
What is the ordinal form of 20 in French?
The ordinal for 20 is "vingtième", abbreviated 20e. The form is the same in the masculine and the feminine.
How is 20 used in a French sentence?
A natural example is: "J'ai vingt ans."
Related numbers
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