French Phrase
Ça fait vingt dollars.
Meaning
Literally “That makes twenty dollars.” It is the most common way to state the total price of something in everyday French, especially in informal or spoken contexts.
When to use
Use this phrase when you want to tell someone how much something costs after adding up items, at a cash register, or when negotiating a price. It works well in cafés, markets, or when you’re simply quoting a price to a friend.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Çafaitvingtdollars
Ça (demonstrative pronoun)
Informal way to say “that/it”. In spoken French it replaces “cela” and is used before verbs like *faire* to talk about a situation.
fait (faire, 3rd pers. sing.)
Here *faire* is idiomatic: *ça fait* = “it makes / it costs”. It does NOT mean “to do” in this context.
vingt (cardinal number)
The number 20. In French numbers from 17‑69 are spoken as a single word.
dollars (currency)
The word *dollar* stays unchanged in the plural in French; the article is omitted when the amount is given directly.
🗨In Conversation
Combien ça coûte ?
How much does it cost?
Ça fait vingt dollars.
That makes twenty dollars.
✕Common Mistakes
C'est vingt dollars.
Use *c’est* for identity (e.g., *c’est un livre*), not for stating a price.
Faire vingt dollars.
The verb *faire* needs the pronoun *ça* to form the idiomatic price expression.
↔Alternatives
Ça coûte vingt dollars.
It costs twenty dollars.
Le total est de vingt dollars.
The total is twenty dollars.
Le prix est de vingt dollars.
The price is twenty dollars.
Cultural Tip
In France the official currency is the euro, so you’ll more often hear *ça fait vingt euros*. The structure *ça fait* is colloquial and very common in Quebec, where dollars refer to Canadian dollars. When speaking formally (e.g., in a written receipt) you might use *le montant total est de…* instead.