French course

Lesson 15 of 240

New here? This is lesson 15 of a free 240-lesson French course.

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Numbers one to ten in French

Sam is at the zinc with a handful of coins. A café crème costs two euros, and he wants to count them out himself.

Two croissants sit on a plate. Gaspard waits, as if the count is a small show.

By the end, you'll count from one to ten, say zero, and take two croissants at the counter.

Odile watches from the till. The window table stays empty.

By the end of this lesson

Count from one to ten and say zero.

  • Un, deux, trois.One, two, three
  • Quatre, cinq, six.Four, five, six
  • Sept, huit, neuf.Seven, eight, nine
  • Dix.Ten
  • Zéro.Zero
  • J'en prends deux.I'll take two

Scene — coins on the zinc

Same morning at Café des Tilleuls. Sam stands at the zinc with coins in his palm. Odile waits by the till.

Two croissants sit on a plate. Gaspard sits at the table next to the window table, on two chairs. His café crème is still full.

A wide morning view of the café with Sam at the zinc holding coins, Odile waiting by the till, and Gaspard on two chairs beside a still-full café crème.

Learn — one through ten

Six short lines take you from one to ten, plus zero.

You'll also get a ready counter line: I'll take two.

  1. From high above, Sam looks down and taps the first coins from a palm onto the zinc.

    Un, deux, trois.

    One, two, three

    When to use it: Say this when you count the first three numbers.

    Learn it as one piece for one, two and three.

    Say it: The un in Un is a nasal sound.

  2. In profile, Sam leans on the zinc and slides more coins toward Odile at the till.

    Quatre, cinq, six.

    Four, five, six

    When to use it: Say this for the next three numbers in the count.

    Learn it as one piece for four, five and six.

    Say it: The x in six sounds like s.

  3. Over Sam's shoulder, Sam stretches a handful of remaining coins across the zinc toward Odile.

    Sept, huit, neuf.

    Seven, eight, nine

    When to use it: Say this for seven, eight and nine.

    Learn it as one piece for seven, eight and nine.

    Say it: The p in sept is silent.

  4. Sam looks up from the zinc after setting down a last single coin.

    Dix.

    Ten

    When to use it: Say this when the count reaches ten.

    Learn it as one piece for ten.

    Say it: The x in Dix sounds like s.

  5. Both of Sam's empty palms are held open over the zinc after the coins have left.

    Zéro.

    Zero

    When to use it: Say this when there is nothing to count.

    Learn it as one piece for a count of nothing.

  6. From a low angle along the zinc, Gaspard indicates two croissants on a plate while Odile reaches into the basket.

    J'en prends deux.

    I'll take two

    When to use it: Say this at the counter when you want two.

    Learn it as one piece when you take two.

    Say it: The elision in J'en drops a vowel.

Story — two already down

Watch Sam count coins at the zinc for a crème. Gaspard wants two croissants.

The highlighted words are the lines you just learned. Turn on Show English if you need it.

  1. Odile looks up from the till.
  2. OdileBonjour.Hello.
  3. SamBonjour.Hello.
  4. Two croissants sit on a plate on the zinc. Gaspard looks at them.
  5. GaspardJ'en prends deux.I'll take two.
  6. He slides two coins onto the zinc for his crème. The cup is still full. Sam starts on his own pile of coins.
  7. SamUn, deux, trois.One, two, three.
  8. SamQuatre, cinq, six.Four, five, six.
  9. SamSept, huit, neuf.Seven, eight, nine.
  10. SamDix.Ten.
  11. He turns his other palm up. It is empty.
  12. SamZéro.Zero.
  13. The window table stays empty. Gaspard does not sit there.

Practice — count them out

Ten quick exercises wait here. You'll listen, pick, match, fill a gap, and build a line.

They stay tiny, so the round moves fast.

0 of 10 done

  1. What did you hear?

  2. Match the pairs

    French

    Un, deux, trois.Drop the English here
    Quatre, cinq, six.Drop the English here
    Sept, huit, neuf.Drop the English here

    English

    Drag an English line onto its French, or tap one and then the other.

  3. What do you say?

    Two croissants sit on a plate at the zinc. You want two of them.

  4. What does it mean?

    Zéro.

  5. Fill the gap

    Four, five, six

    Quatre, ____, six.

  6. Build the line

    One, two, three

    , , .

    Tap the words in order.

  7. True or false?

    Dix means zero.

  8. Swap the word

    You are counting seven, eight, nine on the zinc.

    Sept, huit, ____.

  9. What do you say?

    You walk up to the zinc in the morning. Odile looks at you and waits.

  10. Pick the reply

    Odile says:

    Comment allez-vous ?

    How are you?

    And you reply with:

Say it — say the numbers

Now you're Sam at the zinc, coins in hand. Two croissants sit on a plate by the till.

When it's your turn, tap the microphone and speak the line.

Tap ▶ first if you want to hear the line. Your recording stays on your device.

  1. OdileBonjour.Hello.
  2. Sam (you)Say hello back. Two croissants sit on the plate.

    Bonjour.

    Hello

0 of 4 said

Recap — what you can say now

FrenchEnglish
Un, deux, trois.One, two, three
Quatre, cinq, six.Four, five, six
Sept, huit, neuf.Seven, eight, nine
Dix.Ten
Zéro.Zero
J'en prends deux.I'll take two
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