Monday, September 27, 2010

Les nombres en francais


                How does a person survive in a world without knowing the basics of math, the most hated subject of everyone (or almost everyone)? But, in this class, we only discussed counting numbers. Simple? Well not really. It took me quite a few activities and meetings to familiarize the basics:
Number
In writing
In pronunciation
0
Zéro
Zero
1
Un
An
2
Deux
Doo
3
Trios
Tua
4
Quatre
Cat
5
Cing
Sank
6
Six
Sis
7
Sept
Sept
8
Huit
Hooi
9
Neuf
Noof
10
Dix
Dits
11
Onze
Onz
12
Douze
Dooz
13
Treize
Trez
14
Quatorze
Katorz
15
Quinze
Kanz
16
Seize
Sez
17
Dix-sept
Diz-sept
18
Dix-huit
Diz-ooit
19
Dix-neuf
Diz-noof
20
Vingt
Vant
21
Vingt et un
Vante-an
22
Vingt-duex
Vant-doo
30
Trente
Trant
40
Quarante
Karant
50
Cinquante
Sangkant
60
Soixante
Suasan
70
Soixante-dix
Suasan-diz
80
Quatre-vingts
Katra-vant
90
Quatre-vingt-dix
Katra-vant-diz
100
Cent
Sent
1000
Mille
Mil
                Cool, right? Memorizing could be difficult at first; but with practice, it can be very handy. Unlike regular way of counting numbers in English, in French,
Property
Rule
Numbers ending in one except 71 and 91
Add the word “et un”
Eg. 51 is cinquante et un
Numbers ending in other digits except those under 70+ and 90+
Add hyphen and units digits
Eg. 89 is qutre-vingt-nuef
Numbers under 70+ and 90+
Replace “dix” with those under eleven to nineteen
Eg. 75 is soixante-cinq 
                As you might be wondering, numbers with a tens digit of 7 to 9 uses a different approach.  Numbers with a tens digit of 7 uses the number 60 as its base and adds numbers 10 – 19 to produce the numbers 70 – 79. The tens digit 8, on the other hand is simply multiplying 20 with 4, then simply add the units digit. The tens digit 9, similar to that of 7, uses 80 as its base and adding numbers 10 -19 to produce the numbers 90 -99. Confusing? Here’s another thing that I did:
Number
In writing
Technique
0
Zéro
Still the same
1
Un
Its pronunciation “An” is an article representing a unit
2
Deux
Sounds like “two”
3
Trios
Sounds like “two – a” or 2 + a, which is a unit again.
4
Quatre
Its pronunciation “Cat” has four legs!
5
Cing
Sank
6
Six
Still sounds like six to me^^
7
Sept
Sept
8
Huit
Hooi
9
Neuf
Noof
10
Dix
Sounds like 10 in Spanish
11
Onze
Sounds like 1, just ending with a z
12
Douze
Sounds like 2, just ending with a z
13
Treize
Sounds like 3, just ending with a z
14
Quatorze
Sounds like 3, just ending with torz
15
Quinze
Kanz
16
Seize
Sez
17
Dix-sept
10 + 7
18
Dix-huit
10 + 8
19
Dix-neuf
10 + 9
20
Vingt
Vant
21
Vingt et un
20 and 1
22
Vingt-duex
20 - 2
30
Trente
The first 3 letters of the word three plus “ant”
40
Quarante
Karant
50
Cinquante
5 plus “ant”
60
Soixante
Suasan
100
Cent
Still means a hundred
1000
Mille
Still means a thousand
                Another reason for the importance of numbers is in stating the telephone number. In France, numbers are grouped by 2’s. For example, the telephone number 07 95 65 43 71 is stated as “zero sept, quatre-vingt-quinze, soixante-cinq,  quarante-trois, soixante-onze.” Quite a mouthful, ain’t it? But, it’s fun if you love to learn a new language! 
               “Et vous, quel est votre numéro de téléphone?”

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