French Ordinal Numbers


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Adjectifs numéraux ordinaux

Ordinal numbers are essential for lists: they denote the rank, position, or order of items in a group, whether that group is made up of people, objects, or things to do.

Par exemple…

Guy est en deuxième position, et Alain en cinquième.		Guy is in second place, and Alain is in fifth.
En premier lieu, il faut choisir un président.		In the first place, The first thing we need to do is choose a chairperson.

		abbreviations
first	premier première	1st	1er 1re
second	deuxième	2nd	2e
third	troisième	3rd	3e
fourth	quatrième	4th	4e
fifth	cinquième	5th	5e
sixth	sixième	6th	6e
seventh	septième	7th	7e
eighth	huitième	8th	8e
ninth	neuvième	9th	9e
tenth	dixième	10th	10e

etc.

Premier is the only ordinal number that changes to agree in gender and number with the noun it modifies.

Par exemple…

ta première idée		your first idea
les premiers colonisateurs		the first colonizers

In English, we can say, for example, May 25 or May 25th. But in French, the only ordinal number that is used for dates is premier – for all other dates, you must use the cardinal number.

Note the abbreviated forms for each ordinal number. Though many native French speakers write things like ~~2ème~~ or ~~2ième~~, they are incorrect: the only correct abbreviation for deuxième is 2e. Likewise, the abbreviation for première is 1re, not ~~1ère~~.

Creating ordinal numbers

Other than premier, all ordinal numbers are based on their corresponding cardinal numbers:

cardinal		add –ième
deux		deuxième
vingt et un		vingt et unième
cent		centième

When the cardinal number ends in -e, that letter is dropped before the ordinal ending:

cardinal	drop –e	add –ième
quatre	quatr	quatrième
onze	onz	onzième
cinquante	cinquant	cinquantième

Two other numbers require minor spelling corrections in their ordinals:

cardinal	correction	add -ième
cinq	cinqu	cinquième
neuf	neuv	neuvième

Of course, those corrections are also required in dix-neuvième, vingt-cinquième, etc.

Most French ordinal numbers are identical to their corresponding fractions.

If you have trouble remembering the difference between ordinal and cardinal numbers, try this mnemonic:

ordinals are for ordering
cardinals are for counting cards

Number Quizzes

Think you’ve got it? Test yourself on ordinal and cardinal numbers with these fill-in-the-blank exercises:

Related lessons

More French numbers

Ordinal Numbers

Adjectifs numéraux ordinaux