Français — Fractions, percentages, decimals
French names common fractions with special words (un demi, un tiers, un quart), reads decimals with the comma (virgule) instead of a point, and marks percentages with pour cent.
How it works
The everyday fractions have set forms: un demi (½), un tiers (⅓), un quart (¼), trois quarts (¾). Beyond these, French uses ordinals (un cinquième, deux septièmes). Decimals are said with virgule: 3,5 = trois virgule cinq. A percentage is X pour cent: vingt pour cent (20 %). Simple arithmetic uses plus, moins and fois: deux plus trois font cinq; dix moins quatre font six; trois fois quatre font douze.
Examples
| Written / said | Meaning / value |
|---|---|
| un demi | one half (½) |
| un tiers | one third (⅓) |
| un quart | one quarter (¼) |
| trois quarts | three quarters (¾) |
| trois virgule cinq | 3.5 (decimal with comma) |
| vingt pour cent | 20 % (percentage) |
| deux plus trois font cinq | 2 + 3 = 5 |
| trois fois quatre font douze | 3 × 4 = 12 |
Good to know
Demi is invariable and hyphenated before a noun (une demi-heure), but agrees after et: deux heures et demie. In quart and quarts the final -t is silent. Watch the comma/point swap: English 3.5 becomes French 3,5 (trois virgule cinq), and the thousands separator is a space or point, not a comma.