Ordinal Numbers 1 to 10 in French

French ordinals follow a clean pattern from second onwards: take the cardinal, strip any silent final e, add -ième. The exceptions are first (premier / première) and the small sound-shift rules in cinquième and neuvième.

Spellings verified June 2026 · page updated 2 October 2026

Quick answer: 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in French

1st in French

premier (1er)

feminine: première (1re)

2nd in French

deuxième (2e)

3rd in French

troisième (3e)

Two ordinals are built on their own word rather than on the cardinal: premier / première for first, and second / seconde, which stands beside the regular deuxième for second. Everywhere else the rule holds: take the cardinal, drop any silent final e, and add -ième (deux → deuxième, trois → troisième). Abbreviations use a bare -e (2e, 3e), never -eme or -ième, with the two pairs the Académie française excepts: premier / première are 1er / 1re, and second / seconde are 2d / 2de.

NMasculineFeminineAbbrev (M)Abbrev (F)Audio
1premierpremière1er1re
2deuxièmedeuxième2e2e
3troisièmetroisième3e3e
4quatrièmequatrième4e4e
5cinquièmecinquième5e5e
6sixièmesixième6e6e
7septièmeseptième7e7e
8huitièmehuitième8e8e
9neuvièmeneuvième9e9e
10dixièmedixième10e10e

Per-row notes

  • 1. Built on a different root from un, and inflects for gender.
  • 2. Also second / seconde in formal usage, which abbreviate 2d / 2de.
  • 3. Built from trois with -ième suffix.
  • 4. The final e of quatre drops before -ième.
  • 5. A u is inserted to keep the /k/ sound: cinquième not cincième.
  • 6. X kept and voiced /z/ before -ième: /si.zjɛm/.
  • 7. P silent, t voiced: /sɛ.tjɛm/.
  • 8. H stays silent. T voiced into -ième: /ɥi.tjɛm/.
  • 9. The f of neuf shifts to v before -ième: neuvième not neufième.
  • 10. X voiced /z/ before -ième: /di.zjɛm/.

Related

Frequently asked

How do you say first in French?

Premier (masculine) or première (feminine). Premier livre / première page. Abbreviated 1er for masculine, 1re for feminine: the Académie française gives 1re, not 1ère or 1ere.

What is the abbreviation for second in French?

It depends which word you use. Deuxième abbreviates 2e. The separate word second / seconde abbreviates 2d / 2de, which the Académie française lists alongside 1er / 1re as the only forms that do not take a plain e. Never write 2eme, 2ème or 2ieme. From third onwards there are no exceptions: 3e, 4e, 5e.

Why is fifth cinquième and not cincième?

To preserve the /k/ sound. Without the u, the c before -ième would become /s/ following standard French orthography. The inserted u keeps cinq pronounced /sɛ̃k/ across both the cardinal and ordinal forms.

Why is ninth neuvième not neufième?

The f of neuf shifts to v before the -ième suffix. This is a standard French sandhi rule: vif becomes vivement, neuf becomes neuvième. The Larousse and Le Robert both treat neuvième as the only acceptable form.

How do you abbreviate first, second, third in French?

First: 1er (masculine), 1re (feminine). Second: 2e when the word is deuxième, or 2d (masculine) and 2de (feminine) when the word is second. Third: 3e, and the pattern continues 4e, 5e, 6e, 7e, 8e, 9e, 10e with no further exceptions. Plurals add an s: 1ers, 1res, 2ds, 2des, 2es. The Académie française page "Abréviations des adjectifs numéraux" sets out these two irregular pairs and the bare -e for everything else; no -eme or -ième suffix belongs in a French ordinal abbreviation.

Sources: Académie française (questions de langue), Larousse, Imprimerie nationale style guide.