Do we say the word cent after the "cents"

Question

In the sound files in this lesson it sounds like they are saying the word "cent" after the cents for currency. Is that correct?  I went back to the lesson on decimals and they don't pronounce it that way on that lesson or am I just hearing it wrong? Example Ça coûte 1,20 € le litre. They appear to say "un euro vingt cent". 
Thanks

Answer

Hi Kari

That's a great question. A euro is divided into 100 centimes. So, "1,20" here is being pronounced "un euro et vingt centimes". The english word is "cents' but it's "centimes" in French because "cent" means one hundred and that would be confusing, and of course that's also the origin of the word "centimes".

Hope that helps!

Answer

P.S. The French "franc", which was the currency that was used in France before the Euro was adopted, was divided into 100 "centimes", and so this word has stayed in the vocabulary. You'll hear people write and say both "cents" and "centimes".