97 in French
quatre-vingt-dix-sept
Spellings verified June 2026 · page updated 2 October 2026
Four-twenty-ten-seven. The textbook hard number.
“Ninety-seven in French” is quatre-vingt-dix-sept, the number 97. Hear it spoken below.
NUMERAL
97
FRENCH
quatre-vingt-dix-sept
IPA
/katʁ.vɛ̃.dis.sɛt/
Breakdown
Regional variants
FR France
quatre-vingt-dix-sept
BE Belgium
nonante-sept
CH Switzerland
nonante-sept
Ordinal form
Ranking things rather than counting them: 97 becomes quatre-vingt-dix-septième, written 97e in figures.
MASCULINE
quatre-vingt-dix-septième
97e
FEMININE
quatre-vingt-dix-septième
97e (same word as the masculine)
BELGIUM
nonante-septième
SWITZERLAND
nonante-septième
French writes the abbreviation with a plain e, never ème: 97e. 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 97
Real sentence examples
“La page quatre-vingt-dix-sept du livre.”
“Il habite au quatre-vingt-dix-sept rue de la République.”
“Quatre-vingt-dix-sept pour cent des candidats ont réussi.”
Pronunciation and morphology notes
The classic "hardest French number" because the speaker computes 4 x 20 = 80, then adds 17, then breaks 17 into 10 + 7. In Belgian / Swiss-cantonal-Geneva French, "nonante-sept" is far simpler (90 + 7 directly).
Frequently asked questions
How do you say ninety-seven (97) in French?
Ninety-seven in French is "quatre-vingt-dix-sept" (the number 97). It is built as 4 x 20 + 17 = 97 (4 x 20 + 10 + 7).
How is quatre-vingt-dix-sept (97) pronounced in French?
In the International Phonetic Alphabet, "quatre-vingt-dix-sept" is transcribed /katʁ.vɛ̃.dis.sɛt/. Use the audio button on this page to hear the standard French pronunciation.
Is 97 said differently in Belgian or Swiss French?
Yes. In Metropolitan France 97 is "quatre-vingt-dix-sept", but in Belgian French it is "nonante-sept", and in Swiss French it is "nonante-sept".
What is the ordinal form of 97 in French?
The ordinal for 97 is "quatre-vingt-dix-septième", abbreviated 97e. The form is the same in the masculine and the feminine. In Belgium it is "nonante-septième", and in Switzerland it is "nonante-septième".
How is 97 used in a French sentence?
A natural example is: "La page quatre-vingt-dix-sept du livre."
Related numbers
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