French Ordinal Numbers Made Easy: Part 1

Bonjour, mes amis! 🇫🇷🇯🇲

If you've been following along with Learn French with a Jamaican, you've already learned how to count in French from 1 to 100. You've learned numbers like un, deux, trois, and dix, vingt, cinquante and beyond.

But did you know that there are different types of numbers, such as cardinal numbers and ordinal numbers?

Don't worry if you've never heard the terms cardinal numbers or ordinal numbers before. We'll break them down in the simplest way possible.

By the end of this lesson, you'll understand the difference between one and first, two and second, three and third, and you'll know how to use ordinal numbers in everyday French.

On commence! 🇫🇷

Let's get started! 🇬🇧

🔢 First, What Are Cardinal Numbers?

Let's start with something you already know.

When you learned to count in French:

un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq...

you were learning cardinal numbers.

Cardinal numbers tell us how many.

They are the numbers we use when we're counting people, objects, money, years, quantities, and more.

In French, they are called les nombres cardinaux.

For example:

un — one
deux — two
trois — three
quatre — four
cinq — five

Let's put them into sentences.

J'ai trois livres.

English Pronunciation: Jay trwah leevr.

English Meaning: I have three books.

We are using "trois" because we're telling someone how many books we have.

Another example:

J'ai deux frères.

English Pronunciation: Jay duh frehr.

English Meaning: I have two brothers.

Again, "deux" tells us how many brothers I have.

So, when we count, we generally use cardinal numbers.

🇫🇷 Cardinal numbers in French

un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq...

🇬🇧 Cardinal numbers in English

one, two, three, four, five...

You already learned these in our previous lesson:

👉🏾 French Numbers Made Easy: From 1 to 100 (with Pronunciation Guide)

Now we are going to learn something new.

🥇 So, What Are Ordinal Numbers?

Now imagine you have a race.

Five people are running.

You don't want to know how many people are in the race; you already know there are five.

Instead, you want to know where each person finished.

Someone finished:

first

Someone finished:

second

Someone finished:

third

These are ordinal numbers.

In French, they are called les nombres ordinaux.

Ordinal numbers tell us the position or order of something in a sequence.

Think of it this way:

Cardinal = How many?

Ordinal = Which one/what position?

Here's a simple comparison in English:

Cardinal Number                   Ordinal Number

one                                            first

two                                            second

three                                          third

four                                            fourth

five                                             fifth

So:

3 tells us how many.

3rd tells us which position.

That's the difference!

🇫🇷 Cardinal vs Ordinal Numbers in French

Now let's see how this works in French.

Cardinal numbers

un — one
deux — two
trois — three
quatre — four
cinq — five

Ordinal numbers

premier/première — first
deuxième — second
troisième — third
quatrième — fourth
cinquième — fifth

For example:

J'ai trois livres.

English Pronunciation: Jay trwah leevr.

English Meaning: I have three books.

Here, "trois" tells us how many books I have.

But:

J'ai le troisième livre.

English Pronunciation: Jay luh trwah-zee-ehm leevr.

English Meaning: I have the third book.

Here, "troisième" tells us which book I'm talking about; its position in the sequence. It tells us the position or order of the book.

🧠 An Easy Way to Remember

Whenever you are unsure which type of number you need, ask yourself:

"Am I counting?"

If yes → Use a Cardinal number

For example:

J'ai cinq pommes.

Jay sank pom.

I have five apples.

"Am I talking about position or order?"

If yes → Use an Ordinal number

For example:

La cinquième pomme.

Lah sank-ee-ehm pom.

The fifth apple.

So:

🍎 Five apples = cinq pommes

🍎 The fifth apple = la cinquième pomme

Now you can see the difference!

🥇 The First Ten Ordinal Numbers

Now that we understand ordinal numbers, let's learn them in French.

🇫🇷 premier/première            🗣️ pruh-myay/pruh-myair                  🇬🇧 first (1st)

🇫🇷 deuxième                          🗣️ duh-zyem                                         🇬🇧 second (2nd)

🇫🇷 troisième                          🗣️ trwa-zyem                                        🇬🇧 third (3rd)

🇫🇷 quatrième                        🗣️ ka-tree-em                                        🇬🇧 fourth (4th)

🇫🇷 cinquième                        🗣️ sank-yem                                           🇬🇧 fifth (5th)

🇫🇷 sixième                             🗣️ see-zyem                                            🇬🇧 sixth (6th)

🇫🇷 septième                           🗣️ set-yem                                              🇬🇧 seventh (7th)

🇫🇷 huitième                           🗣️ weet-yem                                           🇬🇧 eighth (8th)

🇫🇷 neuvième                          🗣️ nuh-vyem                                          🇬🇧 ninth (9th)

🇫🇷 dixième                             🗣️ deh-zyem                                           🇬🇧 tenth (10th)

Now let's take a closer look at some of them.

🥇 Premier/Première (1er) — First (1st)

Premier means first when used with a masculine noun.

Première means first when used with a feminine noun.

Le premier jour.

Luh pruh-myay joor.

The first day.

"Jour" is masculine, so we use "premier".

La première fois.

Lah pruh-myair fwah.

The first time.

"Fois" is feminine, so we use "première". 

This is an important one to remember because premier/première doesn't follow the same pattern as most of the other ordinal numbers.

🥈 Deuxième (2e) — Second (2nd)

Deuxième means second.

Le deuxième jour.

Luh duh-zyem joor.

The second day.

La deuxième leçon.

Lah duh-zyem luh-son.

The second lesson.

Unlike premier/première, deuxième stays the same whether the noun is masculine or feminine.

🥉 Troisième (3e) — Third (3rd)

Troisième means third.

Le troisième livre.

Luh trwa-zyem leevr.

The third book.

La troisième fois.

Lah trwa-zyem fwah.

The third time.

4️⃣ Quatrième (4e) — Fourth (4th)

Quatrième means fourth.

Le quatrième jour.

Luh ka-tree-em joor.

The fourth day.

Le quatrième chapitre.

Luh ka-tree-em sha-pee-truh.

The fourth chapter.

You might notice something interesting here. The cardinal number is:

quatre — four

But the ordinal number is:

quatrième — fourth

The spelling changes slightly when we add -ième.

5️⃣ Cinquième (5e) — Fifth (5th)

Cinquième means fifth.

Le cinquième jour.

Luh sank-yem joor.

The fifth day.

Notice the change:

cinq → cinquième

This is one of the small spelling changes you'll want to remember.

6️⃣ Sixième (6e) — Sixth (6th)

Sixième means sixth.

Le sixième jour.

Luh see-zyem joor.

The sixth day.

7️⃣ Septième (7e) — Seventh (7th)

Septième means seventh.

Le septième jour.

Luh set-yem joor.

The seventh day.

The word is formed from:

sept → septième

8️⃣ Huitième (8e) — Eighth (8th)

Huitième means eighth.

Le huitième jour.

Luh weet-yem joor.

The eighth day.

Remember that French huit begins with a silent h, so the pronunciation may look a little different from what you expect from the spelling.

9️⃣ Neuvième (9e) — Ninth (9th)

Neuvième means ninth.

Le neuvième jour.

Luh nuh-vyem joor.

The ninth day.

Notice:

neuf → neuvième

The spelling changes slightly here too.

🔟 Dixième (10e) — Tenth (10th)

Dixième means tenth.

Le dixième jour.

Luh deh-zyem joor.

The tenth day.

🧩 The Basic Pattern

Here's some good news.

Once you understand the basic idea, you'll notice that many French ordinal numbers are formed by adding -ième to the cardinal number.

For example:

deux → deuxième

trois → troisième

six → sixième

sept → septième

dix → dixième

However, there are a few important exceptions and spelling changes to remember.

Remember these:

un → premier/première

quatre → quatrième

cinq → cinquième

neuf → neuvième

Once you know these, the rest becomes much easier.

🧠 Quick Quiz

Let's see how well you've understood the difference between cardinal and ordinal numbers.

1. Which type of number tells us how many?

A. Cardinal
B. Ordinal

2. Which type tells us position or order?

A. Cardinal
B. Ordinal

3. What does deuxième mean?

A. Two
B. Second
C. Twice

4. What is the French word for "first"?

A. un
B. premier/première
C. deuxième

5. How do you say 5th in French?

A. cinq
B. cinquième
C. cinqième

🇯🇲🇫🇷 Your Turn!

Now that you know the difference, try creating your own sentences.

Write five sentences about things around you using premier/première, deuxième, troisième, quatrième, and cinquième

For example:

C'est ma première leçon de français.

It's my first French lesson.

Then try:

1. The second chapter.

2. The third book.

3. The fourth lesson.

4. The fifth day.

Remember:

Cardinal numbers = How many?

un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq, six, sept, huit, neuf, dix

Ordinal numbers = Which one/what position?

premier/première, deuxième, troisième, quatrième, cinquième, sixième, septième, huitième, neuvième, dixième.

Once you understand that difference, ordinal numbers become much easier.

And don't worry if you don't remember everything immediately. Petit à petit, you'll get there.

Little by little, we learn. ❤️🇯🇲🇫🇷

In Part 2, we'll continue beyond tenth and learn how French forms ordinal numbers such as eleventh, twelfth, twentieth, thirtieth, and beyond. We'll also look at how ordinal numbers are used for dates, floors, chapters, lessons, and rankings.

So bookmark this lesson and come back for Part 2.

À bientôt, mes amis!