In French, “phone number” is “le numéro de téléphone.” In France, phone numbers have ten digits, so we form 5 pairs of two digits that we read as a pair. However, if one of the pairs starts with a 0, the 0 and the other digit forming the pair, must be called separately. Same if your pair is 00.
For example:
06 70 30 11 20 → Zéro; six; soixante dix; trente; onze; vingt.
06 15 00 11 05 → Zéro; six; quinze; zéro; zéro; onze; zéro; cinq.
If you do not have a French phone number and you need to give it following the “French way”, but your telephone number has more or less than 10 digits, like in the UK for example, form as many pairs as you can. But avoid leaving a single digit on its own at the end of your telephone number. It is better to include that last digit in a bigger number.
For example:
07 92 73 00 345.
When you are giving your telephone number to someone who doesn’t live in your country, you need to include the country code. For the UK, it is “+44” and for France, it is “+33”. When you include the country code, you need to drop your first zero, and then you might be able to have only pairs in your telephone number.
For example:
+44 79 27 30 03 45.
“+” is “plus” in French, and the “s” is pronounced. If easier, you can say “zéro zéro” (00).
Usually, “address” is “l’adresse.” In France, the postcode is the same for a whole city, town, or village even if some big cities have more than one postcode. So, giving the house number and the name of the street is important. The postcode is used to send letters or parcels, for the satnav and if you must write your full address.
For example:
15 rue du jardin, 06000, Nice, France.
The two first digits are the code for the area, and the three last digits are the code for the city, the town, or the village. As a result, the two first digits must be read or said first as a pair, followed by a short pause, before reading or saying the three last digits as a big number.
For example:
83990 → quatre-vingt-trois / neuf cent quatre-vingt-dix.
83 → Le Var.
990 → Saint-Tropez.
If the first digit is a “0”, it must be read or said separately and then followed by the second digit, a short pause, and the three last digits read or said as a big number.
For example:
06800 → Zéro six / huit cents.
When the code of the city includes a “0” or two, you need to read it.
For example:
69009 → Soixante-neuf / zéro zéro neuf.
When the three last digits are three “0”, we read them as “mille”.
For example:
06000 → Zéro six / mille.
98000 → Quatre-vingt-dix-huit / mille.
In French, email address is “l’adresse email.” These signs can be found in an email address:
. → Point.
@ → Arobase.
! → Point d’exclamation.
- → Tiret du six.
_ → Tiret du bas.
For example:
marie-legrand_1@hotmail.com
“marie tiret du six legrand tiret du bas un arobase hotmail point com.”
“Hotmail” is pronounced “ot-mail” and “Gmail” is pronounced “jey-mail.”
“Com” and “co” are pronounced the same in French. But “uk” is pronounced by saying each letter of the French alphabet separately.
“Tiret du six” got its name from its location on French keyboards.
More in the books
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