21 in French
vingt et un
Spellings verified June 2026 · page updated 2 October 2026
The et-un connector rule in action
“Twenty-one in French” is vingt et un, the number 21. Hear it spoken below.
NUMERAL
21
FRENCH
vingt et un
IPA
/vɛ̃.t.e.œ̃/
Breakdown
Ordinal form
Ranking things rather than counting them: 21 becomes vingt et unième, written 21e in figures.
MASCULINE
vingt et unième
21e
FEMININE
vingt et unième
21e (same word as the masculine)
French writes the abbreviation with a plain e, never ème: 21e. 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 21
Real sentence examples
“J'ai vingt et un ans.”
“Il y a vingt et un élèves dans la classe.”
“Le bus vingt et un dessert la gare.”
Pronunciation and morphology notes
Vingt et un uses the "et" connector (the et-un rule). The same pattern applies to 31, 41, 51, 61, and 71 (with et-onze). Note: 81 and 91 do NOT take "et" (quatre-vingt-un, quatre-vingt-onze).
Frequently asked questions
How do you say twenty-one (21) in French?
Twenty-one in French is "vingt et un" (the number 21). It is built as 20 + 1 = 21 (with "et" connector).
How is vingt et un (21) pronounced in French?
In the International Phonetic Alphabet, "vingt et un" is transcribed /vɛ̃.t.e.œ̃/. Use the audio button on this page to hear the standard French pronunciation.
What is the ordinal form of 21 in French?
The ordinal for 21 is "vingt et unième", abbreviated 21e. The form is the same in the masculine and the feminine.
How is 21 used in a French sentence?
A natural example is: "J'ai vingt et un ans."
Related numbers
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