Figures and Numbers

This is one of the easiest lessons to start with. The logic behind french numbers is pretty close to what it is in English. And the way we say the figures is close to what they are called in English too, probably the same old indo-european root.

The Figures

0 : Zéro (like Zayroh)
1 : Un (that sound does not exists in English, we will have an article on pronunciation pretty soon)
2 : Deux (like D-ah)
3 : Trois (like Tr-wah)
4 : Quatre (like k-a-tr)
5 : Cinq (the sound 'in' does not exist in English)
6 : Six (pronunce as siss not six)
7 : Sept (forget the p, just say 'set')
8 : Huit (say the 't', though final consonant is very scarcely said, here we say it !)
9 : Neuf (like N-ah-f)

The Numbers

Here comes a little difference in the logic of 'making' the names between the two languages. In English, ten, eleven and twelve are not 'made' from another root but then after the logic is 'figure + teen' and that leads to thirteen, fourteen, ... up to nineteen.
In French, it is not exactly the same thing. Ten is also a 'lonely' word. But after we 'make' the name of the number by adding '-ze' to the figure up to 16, and then completely change the logic to build 17,18 and 19. Don't know why ... So here they are :
10 : Dix (same as Six, pronounce Diss and not Diks)
11 : Onze (Un+ze becomes Onze)
12 :  Douze (Deux+ze becomes Douze)
13 : Treize
14 : Quatorze
15 : Quinze
16 : Seize
17 : Dix-sept (here starts the new scheme. As you notice, dix-sept is just 10+7 so dix and sept)
18 : Dix-huit (same logic)
19 : Dix-neuf

On a further lesson, we carry on with the other tens, hundreds, thousands, millions and so on ... But these are really easy to learn as they follow exactly the same logic as English.