Latest / Learn French with Fexingo / French Ordinal Numbers Basics - 1st to 10th
Transcript
- Lucas: Luna, ready for another French episode with Fexingo? Luna: Absolutely! I'm excited. What are we learning today? Lucas: Well, you already know numbers like un, deux, trois... Luna: Right, up to vingt. But what about when I want to say 'first' or 'second'? Lucas: Good question! Today we're diving into ordinal numbers. How to say first, second, third, and so on. Luna: Ohh, like in English we add -th. Let me guess... is 'first' just 'un' with something? Lucas: Almost. 'First' is 'premier'. For a feminine noun, it's 'première'. Let's start there. Repeat after me: premier. Luna: premier. Lucas: Perfect. Now, 'second' or 'second' is 'deuxième'. Try it. Luna: deuxième. Lucas: Great! And 'third' is 'troisième'. Luna: troisième. That's almost like 'trois' plus -ième! Lucas: You've got it. For most numbers, you take the cardinal number and add -ième. So 'fourth' is 'quatrième'. Luna: quatrième. And 'fifth'? Lucas: 'Fifth' is 'cinquième'. Notice we drop the 'e' from 'cinq' and add -ième. Luna: cinquième. So 'sixth' is 'sixième'? Lucas: Exactly! 'Sixième'. And 'seventh' is 'septième'. Luna: septième. That's easy! 'Eighth'? Lucas: 'Huitième'. And 'ninth' is 'neuvième' — we change 'neuf' to 'neuv' before adding -ième. Luna: neuvième. And 'tenth'? Lucas: 'Dixième'. Now, let's use them in a sentence. Imagine you're in an elevator. 'First floor' is 'le premier étage'. Luna: So 'second floor' is 'le deuxième étage'? Lucas: Yes! And 'third floor' is 'le troisième étage'. To say 'I am on the fifth floor', you'd say 'Je suis au cinquième étage'. Luna: Je suis au cinquième étage. That feels so practical. Lucas: Let's practice: say 'first place' in a race. Luna: première place? Because 'place' is feminine? Lucas: Correct! 'First place' is 'la première place'. And 'second place' is 'la deuxième place'. Luna: So for masculine, it's 'premier', and feminine 'première'? Lucas: Exactly. Only 'premier' changes gender. All others stay the same: 'deuxième', 'troisième', etc. Luna: That's nice! So I can say 'my first French lesson' — 'mon premier cours de français'? Lucas: Perfect! 'Mon premier cours de français'. Or if it's a feminine noun: 'ma première leçon'. Luna: ma première leçon. Got it. Lucas: Now, let's do a quick review. I'll say the English, you say the French: first. Luna: premier. Lucas: Second. Luna: deuxième. Lucas: Third. Luna: troisième. Lucas: Fourth. Luna: quatrième. Lucas: Fifth. Luna: cinquième. Lucas: Sixth. Luna: sixième. Lucas: Seventh. Luna: septième. Lucas: Eighth. Luna: huitième. Lucas: Ninth. Luna: neuvième. Lucas: Tenth. Luna: dixième. Lucas: Excellent! You've got them all. Luna: Thanks! These will be so useful. Like, 'my first coffee of the day' — 'mon premier café'. Lucas: Exactly! Or 'the third time's the charm' — 'la troisième fois est la bonne'. Luna: Oh, that's good. I'll remember that. Lucas: You know, if Fexingo has been helping you make actual progress with French, consider supporting the show. It keeps us ad-free and focused on teaching. Luna: Yeah, listeners like you are why we can do this. A small contribution at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo makes a big difference. Lucas: And now, back to our numbers. Can you say 'the ninth month of the year'? Luna: Le neuvième mois de l'année? Lucas: Perfect! And 'the tenth of May'? Luna: Le dix mai? Or do I need ordinal? Lucas: Good catch. For dates, we usually use cardinal numbers, not ordinal, except for the first. So 'May first' is 'le premier mai', but 'May tenth' is 'le dix mai'. Luna: Ah, so premier is special. Got it. Lucas: Let's do one more example: 'He finished in fourth place'. Luna: Il a fini à la quatrième place. Lucas: Wonderful! You used 'quatrième' correctly. Luna: This was a great lesson. I feel ready to use ordinals in everyday talk. Lucas: That's the goal. Practice these, and next time we'll build on them. Thanks for learning with Fexingo! Luna: See you next time, everyone!