cent
/sɑ̃/
The French phrase for one hundred is cent.
cent is the standard term for the number that is ten times ten. In slang contexts involving currency, you may hear the phrase cent balles to mean one hundred bucks.
Which one should you use?
cent is the cardinal number for one hundred, while centième is the ordinal form used to mean hundredth.
How does it change in a sentence?
When used as a multiplier in numbers, such as in deux cents, cent is invariable if it is followed by another number.
How do you pronounce it?
/sɑ̃/
Did you know?
- If you see the word cent used to describe a coin in a modern French context, it is actually a loanword from English rather than the native French number.
- In historical French literature, cent was sometimes used as a poetic synonym for 'a great many' regardless of the actual count.
- When writing numbers, a French speaker might use a space instead of a comma to separate thousands, which is the opposite of many English-speaking systems.
Examples in context
- La somme est de cent.The total is one hundred.This sentence is useful for expressing a total.Tatoeba #12425292 by zogwarg, translation #241306 by CK
- 100 cents font un dollar.One hundred cents makes one dollar.This sentence is useful for discussing currency denominations.Tatoeba #9965 by Sbgodin, translation #73493 by yifen238
- Cent est aussi un nombre.One hundred is also a number.This sentence is useful for defining the term as a number.Tatoeba #12145243 by Rovo, translation #12878305 by rul
- Il y a cent personnes dans la salle.There are one hundred people in the room.
- Le billet coûte cent euros.The ticket costs one hundred euros.
- Elle a reçu une note parfaite de cent sur cent.She received a perfect score of one hundred out of one hundred.
- Le bâtiment que nous cherchons est le centième sur la gauche.The building we are looking for is the hundredth on the left.
- Ronald fait partie du centième régiment.Ronald is part of the hundredth regiment.
- La fraction équivaut à un centième du tout.The fraction is equivalent to one hundredth of the whole.
- J'ai dépensé cent balles hier soir au bar.I spent one hundred bucks at the bar last night.
- 66 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Emma and Lucas are at a bakery.
- EmmaCombien coûte ce gâteau, Lucas ?How much is this cake, Lucas?
- LucasIl coûte cent euros, Emma.It costs one hundred euros, Emma.
- EmmaC'est un peu cher pour moi.That is a bit expensive for me.
- LucasD'accord, choisissons autre chose.Okay, let's choose something else.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry cent, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries cent, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
