vingtcinq

Vingtcinq is the French word for the cardinal number twenty-five. It is written as vingt-cinq with a hyphen and is used in counting, amounts, ages, dates, and other expressions of quantity.

The form is a combination of two roots: vingt, meaning twenty, and cinq, meaning five. In standard French orthography, numbers from 21 to 99 are typically hyphenated, with certain exceptions for the use of et before un (for example, vingt et un for 21, vingt et un is specific to certain contexts). Vingtcinq follows the general rule of hyphenation in compound numbers.

In ordinary usage, vingt-cinq appears in contexts such as stating ages (il a vingt-cinq ans), prices (le billet coûte vingt-cinq euros), or dates when written in full on the day of the month (le vingt-cinq octobre). It can also occur in lists, measurements, and scores, where a precise quantity of 25 is intended.

Phonetically, the word is pronounced with nasal vowels typical of French numbers, and the syllables are spoken as two clearly connected parts: vingt and cinq, linked by the hyphen in written form. The term remains purely cardinal, and its ordinal form for “25th” is typically rendered as vingt-cinqième in standard French.

See also: French numerals, numbers in French, French orthography.