French Ordinal Numbers and Fractions

Ordinal numbers are used to express rank or position - in other words, ordinal numbers are used for ordering, as opposed to cardinal numbers which are used for counting. French ordinal numbers are often taught at the same time as fractions because, beginning with "fifth," French ordinal numbers and fractions are the same word.

Lesson | Quiz

Ordinal numbers					Fractions
first	premier première	1st	1er 1re
second	deuxième	2nd	2e		half	une moitié
third	troisième	3rd	3e		1/3	un tiers
fourth	quatrième	4th	4e		1/4	un quart
fifth	cinquième	5th	5e		1/5	un cinquième
sixth	sixième	6th	6e		1/6	un sixième
seventh	septième	7th	7e		1/7	un septième
eighth	huitième	8th	8e		1/8	un huitième
ninth	neuvième	9th	9e		1/9	un neuvième
tenth	dixième	10th	10e		1/10	un dixième
					3/4	trois quarts
					2/5	deux cinquièmes
All ordinal numbers (except first) and most fractions are created from their corresponding cardinal number:
cardinal number		drop the final e (if any)				add -ième
six		six				sixième
onze		onz				onzième
vingt et un		vingt et un				vingt et unième
"First" is the only ordinal number that doesn't follow the above rule: premier (masculine) and première (feminine). Note that twenty-first, thirty-first, etc. do follow it.
Notes Watch out for the spelling changes in cinquième and neuvième   Ordinal numbers are not used to talk about dates in French, except for premier Practice! Ordinal numbers quiz You are here: Learn French > French for Beginners > French Vocabulary > French numbers > Ordinal numbers + fractions