OffQc | Québécois French Guide

How do francophones in Québec say the address numbers in the image?

As a number on its own when counting, you probably already know how to say 7155 in French:

sept-mille-cent-cinquante-cinq*

But note that when francophones say four-digit numbers in an address, they often employ a shortcut:

soixante-et-onze cinquante-cinq

So, if someone lived in rue des Offcois, you’ll hear people say colloquially:

soixante-et-onze cinquante-cinq, rue des Offcois
soixante-et-onze cinquante-trois, rue des Offcois
soizante-et-onze cinquante-et-un, rue des Offcois
soixante-et-onze quarante-neuf, rue des Offcois

What about telephone numbers?

If someone’s telephone number were 514-555-6542, you might hear:

cinq-un-quatre,
cinq-cinq-cinq,
soixante-cinq quarante-deux

Other people might say:

cinq-cinq-cinq
soixante-cinq quarante-deux,
dans le cinq-un-quatre

My Spanish-speaking friends have a tendency of saying the code régional (area code) like this in French: cinq-cent-quatorze. Although you’d be understood, it’s not how francophones say it. The numbers that make up the area code are said individually: cinq-un-quatre.

It’s common to say the last four digits of a telephone number in pairs (soixante-cinq quarante-deux), but if you find it easier, you can of course also say six-cinq-quatre-deux.

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*This is the way you spell 7155 in words according to the orthographe rectifiée for numbers. Basically, you just put a hyphen between everything! You can download a PDF about French spelling changes here.