ORDINAL
NUMBERS
0 zéro [zay-ro]
1 un [uh]
2 deux [duhr]
3 trois [twa]
4 quatre [katr]
5 cinq [sank]
6 six [sees]
7 sept [set]
8 huit [weet]
9 neuf [nurf]
10 dix [dees]
11 onze [onz]
12 douze [dooz]
13 treize [trez]
14 quatorze [katorz]
15 quinze [kanz]
16 seize [sez]
17 dix-sept [dee-set]
18 dix-huit [dees-weet]
19 dix-neuf [dees-nurf]
20 vingt [van]
21 vingt
et un [vant-ay-uh]
22 vingt-deux [van-duhr]
23 vingt-trois [van-twa]
24 vingt-quatre [van-katr]
25 vingt-cinq [van-sank]
26 vingt-six [van-sees]
27 vingt-sept [van-set]
28 vingt-huit [van-weet]
29 vingt-neuf [van-nurf]
30 trente [tront]
31 Trente
et un [tront ay-uh]
32 Trente-deux [tront-durh)
33 Trente-trois [tront-twa)
34 Trente-quatre [tront-katr)
35 Trente-cinq [tront-sank)
36 Trente-six [tront-sees)
37 Trente-sept [tront-set)
38 Trente-huit [tront-weet)
39 Trente-neuf [tront-nurf)
40 quarante [karont]
41 quarante
et un [karont-ay-uh]
42 quarante-deux [karont-deux]
43 quarante-trois [karont-twa]
44 quarante-quatre [karont-katr]
45 quarante-cinq [karont-sank]
46 quarante-six [karont-sees]
47 quarante-sept [karont-set]
48 quarante-huit [karont-weet]
49 quarante-neuf [karont-nurf]
50 cinquante [sank-ont]
51 cinquante
et un [sank-ont-ay-uh]
52 cinquante-deux [sank-ont-deux]
53 cinquante-trois [sank-ont-twa]
54 cinquante-quatre [sank-ont-katr]
55 cinquante-cinq [sank-ont-sank]
56 cinquante-six [sank-ont-sees]
57 cinquante-sept [sank-ont-set]
58 cinquante-huit [sank-ont-weet]
59 cinquante-neuf [sank-ont-nurf]
60 soixante [swa-sont]
61 soixante
et un [swa-sont-ay-un]
62 soixante-deux [swa-sont-dur]
63 soixante-trois [swa-sont-twa]
64 soixante-quatre [swa-sont-katr]
65 soixante-cinq [swa-sont-sank]
66 soixante-six [swa-sont-sees]
67 soixante-sept [swa-sont-set]
68 soixante-huit [swa-sont-weet]
69 soixante-neuf [swa-sont-nurf]
70 soixante-dix [swa-sont-dees]
71 soixante-et-onze [swa-sont-ay-onz]
72 soixante-douze [swa-sont-dooz]
73 soixante-treize [swa-sont-trez]
74 soixante-quatorze [swa-sont-katorz]
75 soixante-quinze [swa-sont-kanz]
76 soixante-seize [swa-sont-sez]
77 soixante-dix-sept [swa-sont-dee-set]
78 soixante-dix-huit [swa-sont-dees-weet]
79 soixante-dix-neuf [swa-sont-dees-nurf]
80 quatre-vingts [kat-ra-van]
81 quatre-vingt-un [kat-ra-vant-uh]
82 quatre-vingt-deux [kat-ra-van-dur]
83 quatre-vingt-trois [kat-ra-van-twa]
84 quatre-vingt-quatre [kat-ra-van-katr]
85 quatre-vingt-cinq [kat-ra-van-sank]
86 quatre-vingt-six [kat-ra-van-sees]
87 quatre-vingt-sept [kat-ra-van-set]
88 quatre-vingt-huit [kat-ra-van-weet]
89 quatre-vingt-neuf [kat-ra-van-nurf]
90 quatre-vingt-dix [kat-ra-van-dees]
91 quatre-vingt-onze [kat-ra-van-onz]
92 quatre-vingt-douze [kat-ra-van-dooz]
93 quatre-vingt-treize [kat-ra-van- trez]
94 quatre-vingt-quatorze [kat-ra-van-katorz]
95 quatre-vingt-quinze [kat-ra-van- kanz]
96 quatre-vingt-seize [kat-ra-van- sez]
97 quatre-vingt-dix-sept [kat-ra-van- dee-set]
98 quatre-vingt-dix-huit [kat-ra-van- dees-weet]
99 quatre-vingt-dix-neuf [kat-ra-van- dees-nurf]
100 cent [son]
CARDINAL NUMBERS
The
1st Le premier if masculin, La première
if féminin
2nd deuxième
3rd troisième
4th quatrième
5th cinquième
6th sixième
7th septième
8th huitième
9th neuvième
10th dixième
11th onzième
12th douzième
13th treizième
14th quatorzième
15th quinzième
16th seizième
17th dix-septième
18th dix-huitième
19th dix-neuvième
20th vingtième
21st vingt et unième
22nd vingt-deuxième
23rd vingt-troisième
24th vingt-quatrième
25th vingt-cinquième
26th vingt-sixième
27th vingt-septième
28th vingt-huitième
29th vingt-neuvième
30th trentième
31st trente et unième
32nd trente-deuxième
33rd trente-troisième
34th trente-quatrième
35th trente-cinquième
36th trente-sixième
37th trente-septième
38th trente-huitième
39th trente-neuvième
40th quarantième
41st quarante et unième
42nd quarante-deuxième
43rd quarante-troisième
44th quarante-quatrième
45th quarante-cinquième
46th quarante-sixième
47th quarante-septième
48th quarante-huitième
49th quarante-neuvième
50th cinquantième
51st cinquante et unième
52nd cinquante-deuxième
53rd cinquante-troisième
54th cinquante-quatrième
55th cinquante-cinquième
56th cinquante-sixième
57th cinquante-septième
58th cinquante-huitième
59th cinquante-neuvième
60th soixantième
61st soixante et unième
62nd soixante-deuxième
63rd soixante-troisième
64th soixante-quatrième
65th soixante-cinquième
66th soixante-sixième
67th soixante-septième
68th soixante-huitième
69th soixante-neuvième
70th soixante-dixième
71st soixante et onzième
72nd soixante-douzième
73rd soixante-treizième
74th soixante-quatorzième
75th soixante-quinzième
76th soixante-seizième
77th soixante-dix-septième
78th soixante-dix-huitième
79th soixante-dix-neuvième
80th quatre-vingtième
81st quatre-vingt-unième
82nd quatre-vingt-deuxième
83rd quatre-vingt-troisième
84th quatre-vingt-quatrième
85th quatre-vingt-cinquième
86th quatre-vingt-sixième
87th quatre-vingt-septième
88th quatre-vingt-huitième
89th quatre-vingt-neuvième
90th quatre-vingt-dixième
91st quatre-vingt-onzième
92nd quatre-vingt-douzième
93rd quatre-vingt-treizième
94th quatre-vingt-quatorzième
95th quatre-vingt-quinzième
96th quatre-vingt-seizième
97th quatre-vingt-dix-septième
98th quatre-vingt-dix-huitième
99th quatre-vingt-dix-neuvième
100th centième
PRONUNCIATION
ALPHABET
a- ah
g- zheh m- em s- ess y- ee-grek
b -beh h -ahsh n -en t
-teh z -zed
c -seh i -ee o- oh u
-ew
d -deh j -zhee p- peh
v -veh
e -uh k- kah q -kew
w -doo-bluh-veh
f -eff l -ell r- air x
–eeks
French
Vowels
IPA Phonetic spelling Sample words General
spellings
[i] ee vie, midi,
lit, riz i, y
[y] ee rounded
rue, jus, tissu, usine u
[e] ay blé,
nez, cahier, pied é, et, final er and ez
[ø] ay rounded
jeu, yeux, queue, bleu eu
[ɛ] eh lait, aile, balai,
reine e, è, ê, ai, ei, ais
[oe] eh rounded
soeur, oeuf, fleur, beurre oeu,
eu
[a] ah chat,
ami, papa, salade a, à, â
[ɑ] ah l onger bas, âne, grâce, château a, â
[u] oo
loup, cou, caillou, outil
ou
[o] oh
eau, dos, escargot, hotel o, ô
[ɔ] aw sol, pomme, cloche, horloge o
[ə] uh fenêtre, genou, cheval, cerise
e
French
semi-vowels
IPA Phonetic spelling
Sample words General
spelling
[w] w fois, oui, Louis oi, ou
[ɥ] ew-ee lui, suisse ui
[j] yuh oreille, Mireille ill, y
2
French
Consonants
ex +
vowel egz examen, exercice
ex +
consonant eks
exceptionnel, expression
ch
(Latin origin) sh architecte,
archives
ch
(Greek origin) k
orchestre, archéologie
ti +
vowel (except é) see démocratie, nation
c + e,
i, y; or ç s
cent, ceinture, maçon
c + a,
o, u k
caillou, car, cube
g + e,
i, y zh genou,
gingembre
g + a,
o, u g gomme,
ganglion
th t maths,
thème, thym
j zh jambe,
jus, jeune
qu,
final q k
que, quoi, grecque
h silent haricot, herbe, hasard
vowel +
s + vowel z rose,
falaise, casino
x + vowel
z six ans,
beaux arts
final x s six, dix,
soixante (these 3 only!)
There
are a lot of silent letters in French, and you usually do not pronounce the
final consonant, unless that final consonant is c, r, f or l (except verbs that
end in -r).
Supplementary
orthography · Diacritics
Five different kinds of accent marks are used in written
French. In many cases, an accent changes the sound of the letter to which it is
added. In others, the accent has no effect on pronunciation. Accents in French
never indicate stress (which always falls on the last syllable). Accentuated
letters are usually never followed by a double consonant (exceptchâssis for
instance); moreover on e accent becomes useless because a
following double consonant changes its pronunciation (e.g.: jeter ([ə],throw)
but je jette (pronounced è, I throw). The
following table lists every French accent mark and the letters with which it
can be combined:
|
Accent
|
Letters
used
|
Examples
|
|
acute
accent (accent aigu)
|
é
|
|
|
grave
accent (accent grave)
|
è, à, ù
|
|
|
circumflex (accent circonflexe)
|
â, ê, î, ô, û
|
|
|
diaeresis (tréma)
|
ë, ï, ü, ÿ
|
|
|
cedilla (cédille)
|
ç
|
|
Acute
accent · Accent aigu
The acute accent is the most common accent used in written
French. It is only used with the letter e and is always
pronounced /e/ (ay).
médecin (may-deh-sehn, meaning doctor),
étouffer, (ay-too-fay, meaning to stifle),
marché (mar-shay, meaning market).
Grave
accent · Accent grave
à and ù
In the case of the letters à and ù,
the grave accent is used to graphically distinguish one word from another.
|
Without accent
grave
|
With accent
grave
|
|
a (3rd pers. sing of avoir, to
have)
|
à (preposition, to,
at, etc.)
|
|
la (definite article for
feminine nouns)
|
là (there)
|
|
ou (conjunction, or)
|
où (where)
|
è
Unlike à and ù, è is
not used to distinguish words from one another. The è is used
for pronunciation. In careful speech, an unaccented e is
pronounced like an a on the end of a word in English /ə/, as in "Angela",
and in rapid speech is sometimes not pronounced at all. The è is
pronounced like the letter e in pet. Examples:
très (treh,
meaning very)
deuxième
(doo-zee-ehm, meaning second, as in second place).
Circumflex
accent · Accent circonflexe
This accent is often called a 'hat' in language and
mathematics, and usually indicates the disappearance of the old-French s after
the vowel wearing it (the hat) but this s can still be found
in a noun or a verb of the same lexical family. Examples are: hospital
--> hôpital but hospitalité, maistre -->
maître, gâteau from old french gastel, ê is
pronounced like è:Fenestre --> fenêtre but défenestrer, forest
--> forêt but forestier.
Circumflex accent may be used to have closed-o (la
Drôme (French department), un dôme... ô is pronounced [o] like
in château, without this accent it would be said like the english
word hot ; whereas this pronunciation is not really applied in
the south of France.)
In the past participle of devoir (must), dû a
circumflex accent is written to distinguish it from the article du.
According to the spelling reform of 1990 some circumflex
accents are no longer compulsory (maître --> maitre, boîte
--> boite...) forêt (for-ay, meaning forest)
hôtel
(owe-tel, meaning hotel)
Cedilla · Cédille
The cedilla is used only with the letter c, and
is said to make the c soft, making it equivalent to the
English and French s.
It changes a hard C sound (like K) into a soft C sound (like
S), e.g., garçon. The cedilla is never placed in front of E or I, because C
always sounds like an S in front of these vowels. for example:
garçon
(gahr-sohn, meaning boy)
français
(frahn-say, meaning the French language)
Le tréma: The tréma looks like two
dots above a letter. It’s usually placed above the second of two consecutive
vowels when both vowels are to be pronounced separately.
Jamaïque
(jam-eh-eek, meaning Jamaica)
coïncidence
(ko-ehn-see-dahns, meaning coincidence)
|
One-part punctuation marks
These are very similar in French and English, with a few exceptions. |
|||
|
|
|||
|
.
le point
|
1.
|
In French, the period is not used after
abbreviations of measurement:
25 m (mètres), 12 min (minutes), etc. |
|
|
2.
|
It can be used to separate the elements of a
date:
10 septembre 1973 = 10.9.1973 |
||
|
3.
|
When writing numbers, either a period or a
space may be used to separate every three digits (where a comma would be used
in English):
1,000,000 (English) = 1.000.000 or 1 000 000 |
||
|
4.
|
It's not used to indicate a decimal point
(see virgule 1)
|
||
|
|
|||
|
,
la virgule
|
1.
|
In French, the comma is used as a decimal
point:
2.5 (English) = 2,5 (French) |
|
|
2.
|
It's not used to separate three digits
(see point 3)
|
||
|
3.
|
Whereas in English, the serial comma (the one before
"and" in a list) is optional, it cannot be used in French:
J'ai acheté un livre, deux stylos et du papier. Not J'ai acheté un livre, deux stylos, et du papier. |
||
|
|
|||
|
Note: When writing numerals, the period and comma
are opposites in the two languages:
|
|||
|
|
French
|
English
|
|
|
|
2,5 (deux virgule cinq)
2.500 (deux mille cinq cents) |
2.5 (two point five)
2,500 (two thousand five hundred) |
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Two-part punctuation marks
In French, a space is required both before and after all two- (or more) part punctuation marks and symbols, including : ; « » ! ? % $ # |
|||
|
|
|||
|
:
les deux-points
|
The colon is much more common in French than
in English. It may introducedirect speech; a citation; or the
explanation, conclusion, summary, etc. of whatever precedes it.
|
||
|
|
Jean a dit : « Je veux le
faire. »
|
Jean said, "I want to do it."
|
|
|
|
Ce film est très intéressant : c'est un
classique.
|
This movie is interesting: it's a classic.
|
|
|
|
|||
|
« »
les guillemets
et
—
le tiret
et
...
les points de suspension
|
The quotation marks (inverted commas) "
" don't exist in French; theguillemets « » are used.
Note that these are actual symbols; they are not just two angle brackets typed together << >>. If you don't know how to type guillemets, see my page on typing accents. |
||
|
Guillemets are usually used only at the beginning
and end of an entire conversation. Unlike in English, where any non-speech is
found outside of the quotation marks, in French guillemets do
not end when an incidental clause (he said, she smiled, etc.) is added. To
indicate that a new person is speaking, a tiret (m-dash or
em-dash) is added.
|
|||
|
In English, an interruption or trailing off
of speech can be indicated with either a tiret or des points
de suspension (ellipsis). In French only the latter is used.
|
|||
|
« Salut Jeanne ! dit Pierre.
Comment vas-tu ?
— Ah, salut Pierre ! crie Jeanne. — As-tu passé un bon weekend ? — Oui, merci, répond-elle. Mais... — Attends, je dois te dire quelque chose d'important ». |
"Hi Jean!" Pierre says. "How
are you?"
"Oh, hi Pierre!" shouts Jeanne. "Did you have a nice weekend?" "Yes, thanks," she responds. "But—" "Wait, I have to tell you something important." |
||
|
The tiret can also be used
like parentheses, to indicate or emphasize a comment:
|
|||
|
|
Paul — mon meilleur
ami — va arriver demain.
|
Paul—my best friend—will arrive tomorrow.
|
|
|
|
|||
|
le point-virgule ;
le point d'exclamation ! le point d'interrogation ? |
The semi-colon, exclamation point, and
question mark are essentially the same in French and English.
|
||
|
|
Je t'aime ; m'aimes-tu ?
|
I love you; do you love me?
|
|
|
|
Au secours !
|
Help!
|
|
Week day
Monday
lundi (luhn-DEE)
Tuesday mardi
(mahr-DEE)
Wednesday mercredi
(mehr-kruh-DEE)
Thursday jeudi
(juh-DEE)
Friday vendredi
(vahn-druh-DEE)
Saturday samedi
(sahm-DEE)
Sunday
dimanche (dee-MAHNSH
Today aujourd'hui
(aw-zhoor-DWEE)
Yesterday hier (YEHR)
Tomorrow demain
(duh-MANG)
this week cette semaine
(set SMEN)
last week la semaine
dernière (lah SMEN dehr-NYEHR)
next week la semaine
prochaine (lah SMEN proh-SHEN)
January janvier
(zhahng-VYAY)
February février
(fay-VRYAY)
March mars
(mahrs)
April avril
(ah-VREEL)
May mai
(meh)
June juin
(zhwang)
July juillet
(zhwee-YAY)
August août (oot)
September septembre
(set-TAHMBR)
October octobre
(ock-TOHBR)
November novembre
(noh-VAHMBR)
December décembre
(day-SAHMBR)
Seasons
printemps
spring
été summer
automne autumn/fall
hiver
winter
Salutations in French
bienvenue welcome
bonjour good day (greeting)
bonsoir good
evening/night (greeting)
bonne journée good
day (farewell)
bonne soirée good
evening/night (farewell)
bonne nuit good
night (farewell)
Comment allez-vous ? How are you? formal
-bien -good
-pas mal -not
bad
au revoir see
you later
à bientôt see
you soon
à tout à l'heure see
you soon
s'il vous plait Please
merci thank
you
de rien you're
welcome
excusez-moi Excuse me (asking a
question)
félicitations Congratulations
bonne chance Good
luck
Monsieur Sir
Madame Madam
Mademoiselle Miss
Time in French
|
It's
one o'clock
|
1h00
|
|
|
It's
two o'clock
|
2h00
|
|
|
|
||
|
It's
3:30
|
3h30
|
|
|
It's
4:15
|
4h15
|
|
|
It's
4:45
|
Il
est cinq heures moins le quart
Il est cinq heures moins quinze Il est quatre heures quarante-cinq |
4h45
|
|
It's
5:10
|
Il
est cinq heures dix
|
5h10
|
|
It's
6:50
|
Il
est sept heures moins dix
Il est six heures cinquante |
6h50
|
|
|
||
|
It's
7 a.m.
|
7h00
|
|
|
It's
3 p.m.
|
15h00
|
|
|
It's
6 p.m.
|
18h00
|
|
|
|
||
|
It's
noon
|
12h00
|
|
|
It's
midnight
|
Il
est minuit
|
0h00
|
Saying the date in French
To say what
the date is, the most important thing to remember is that the number must
precede the month. Use this construction:
C'est + le
(definite article) + cardinal number + month
C'est le 30 octobre.
C'est le 8 avril.
C'est le 2 janvier.
If you want
to include the year, just tack it on to the end:
C’est le
(day)(month)(year).
It is the
(day)(month)(year).
C'est le 8 avril 2013.
On est le 1er juillet 2014.
Nous sommes le 18 octobre 2012.
