The numbers in French sound very melodic and in some ways similar to the numbers of other European countries: Spain, Italy and England. But at the same time, for example, there are significant differences in the sound of the numbers “four” and “five”. Especially five and fifteen are hardly remembered by Russian children starting to learn French numbers, and cumbersome numerals after eighty plunge into complete bewilderment.
French numbers from 1 to 20: transcription in Russian
Numbers in French are divided into simple and complex, consisting of one word and several.
1 | en | eleven | onz |
2 | do | 12 | doz |
3 | trois | thirteen | sober |
4 | katr | 14 | katorz |
5 | sank | fifteen | kanz |
6 | siz | 16 | fez |
7 | set | 17 | dis set |
8 | whit | 18 | dis whit |
9 | nave | 19 | dizzy |
10 | diz | 20 | van |
It can be seen from the table that, starting with the number seventeen, numbers take a double form, consisting of the designation of tens and units in a number. This feature of the account in French-speaking countries applies to all numbers.
Moreover, in the numbers “twenty-one”, “thirty-one,” and so on, between the number denoting ten and one, for the consonance add the union
et (e), which does not apply to subsequent figures.
Features of the numeral system of France
In the language of romance and love, the score does not lend itself to any logical direction and sometimes sounds absurd in comparison with Russian numerals: nineteen in translation into our usual language sounds like “ten and nine,” thirty seven as “thirty and seven,” that is, dozens are voiced and units separately.
The numbers "five" and "fifteen", despite the general five, sound completely different: "senk" and "kanz", which creates a significant problem when memorizing. Among the French teachers teaching Russians, there is even an unwritten rule that fifteen are not remembered by anyone even from the tenth attempt.
The numbers after seventy are extremely unusual: in order to say seventy-five, you must say “sixty and fifteen”: soixante-quinze ( soasant-kanz ), and to sound the numbers seventy-eight: “sixty-ten-eight” (soixante-dix- huit - soasant-diz-whit ). This creates a certain confusion when memorizing, and only by delving into the particulars of the French account can we understand this unusual principle of calculus.
Four to twenty
The number eighty (quatre-vingts - katr-van ) is expressed in such an unusual way, and then all subsequent numbers up to a hundred start from this principle:
- eighty-two: four times twenty and two;
- ninety: four times twenty and ten;
- ninety-two: four times twenty and twelve ( qatr-van-duz );
- ninety-eight: qatr-van-dis-neuf .
The French owed such an unusual account system to the Celts and Normans, who had a great influence on the formation of the language in ancient times: trade transactions were made often and everywhere and a twenty-decimal account was very useful in lengthy accounting calculations. By the way, the Aztecs and Mayans, famous for their powerful civilization and wisdom, also used the twenty-decimal system of counting.
Numbers over one hundred
After a hundred (cent - san ) and two hundred (deux cents - de san - two in a hundred) everything becomes even more interesting, because the pronunciation of French numbers a few words long will have to work hard to make them sound natural and relaxed. For example: two hundred and ninety-seven will sound like de-san-katr-van-diz-set and 1999 - yong-mill-nöf-katr-van-diz-nef. By the way, it is necessary to bring to specificity the specifics of constructing French numbers in order to say such a thing without hesitation!
Teachers recommend during the day, in a bus or traffic jam, while walking around the city, saying aloud (or to yourself) in French the numbers of houses, cars - any numbers that will catch your eye. This will make it possible to quickly master this complex twenty-decimal system of counting and to navigate freely in the unusual world of French numbers.