Lesson 5: Numbers 0-20 & Telling Your Age
Les nombres 0–20 — Numbers, Age & the U vs OU Sound · A0 → A1 · Part 0 · Absolute Start
You will count from 0 to 20, ask someone's age and give your own. You will also untangle the two sounds that confuse every beginner: the French u and the French ou. At the end you will hear the difference between tu and tout, and between rue and roue.
In this lesson
- numbers 0–20
- age as a fixed phrase
- u vs ou
- asking someone's age
Vocabulary
| French | Meaning | Say it | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| j'ai … ans | I am … years old | zhay … ahn ژے … آن | A FIXED PHRASE for now. It literally means I have … years. The grammar of the verb avoir is taught properly in lesson 9 — for today, just memorise this whole phrase as one block. |
| Quel âge as-tu ? | How old are you? (informal) | kel azh a-tü ↗ کیل آژ اَتُو | Informal. Same phrase block — do not try to change the verb yet. |
| Quel âge avez-vous ? | How old are you? (formal) | kel azh a-vay voo ↗ کیل آژ اوے وُو | Formal. Link avez-vous into a-vay-voo. |
| un an | one year (m) | uh-n ahn اَن آن | Masculine. Nasal an. Use ans after a number: trois ans. |
| zéro | zero | zay-ro زے رو | The é is a short ay. In sport scores French people often say zéro. |
| cinq | five | sank سانک | Nasal in. The q is a k sound. Alone it is sank; before a vowel it links. |
| six | six | sees سیس | TRAP WORD. Alone it is sees, with a sounded s. Before a noun it often becomes see and links. |
| huit | eight | weet وِیت | TRAP WORD. The h is silent, so it starts on the ü-ish wee sound. Final t is silent alone, but links before a vowel. |
| dix | ten | dees دیس | TRAP WORD. Alone it is dees. Before a noun you often hear dee with a link: dix amis = dee-za-mee. |
| vingt | twenty | van واں | The g and the t are both silent. Just a nasal van. In vingt et un you DO hear the t. |
| tu | you (informal) | tü * تُو * | There is no English or Urdu letter for the French u *. Tight whistle lips plus an ee tongue. |
| tout | everything / all | too تُو | The ou sound is a normal, relaxed oo. Compare with tu — completely different vowel. |
| dessus | on top (of it) | duh-sü * دُہ سُو * | Ends in the tight French u *. Hidden inside the word: sur. |
| dessous | underneath | duh-soo دُہ سو | Ends in a normal oo sound. Compare dessus (tight u) with dessous (relaxed oo). |
| une rue | a street (f) | ün rü * اُن رُو * | Feminine. Tight French u *. The r is the light throat r from lesson 4. |
| une roue | a wheel (f) | ün roo اُن رو | Feminine. Normal oo sound. rue and roue are different words — the vowel decides everything. |
Pronunciation
| Word | Sounds like | Slowly | How to make the sound |
|---|---|---|---|
| tu / tout | tü / too | tü ... / ... too | Say them one after another. For tu, lock your lips into a tiny tight circle and say ee inside it — there is no English or Urdu letter for this sound *. For tout, relax and say a normal oo. If both sound the same in your mouth, you are saying tout twice. |
| dessus / dessous | duh-sü / duh-soo | duh-sü ... / ... duh-soo | Two words that look almost identical and mean opposite things. The only difference is the vowel. Feel the tight whistle shape on dessus and the relaxed round shape on dessous. |
| une rue / une roue | ün rü / ün roo | ün rü ... / ... ün roo | Both words start with the same tight ü. Then rue ends tight and roue ends round. Remember the throat r from lesson 4: soft, back of the throat, tongue tip down. |
| j'ai vingt ans | zhay van ahn | zhay ... van ... ahn | Three pieces: zhay, a nasal van (both g and t silent), and a nasal ahn. This is one fixed block for now. Do not change the word j'ai yet — the verb avoir is taught in lesson 9. |
| huit | weet | ü ... eet? | The h is completely silent, so you start straight on a tight ü and slide into eet. Alone the t is silent. The trap: many learners say hoo-eet with a normal oo — that is wrong, it must be the tight ü. |
| vingt | van | van | Only three letters are heard: v, a, n — and the n is nasal. The g and the t vanish completely. But listen later for vingt et un, where the t comes back. |
| dix-huit | dee-zweet | deez ... weet | Here the s of dix wakes up and becomes a z because huit begins with a vowel. This waking-up of a silent letter is called liaison, and lesson 6 explains it fully. |
Spend three minutes a day on u and ou, every day. Listen with Play, then Slow, then say it out loud and stop immediately if you feel your lips relaxing on the u words.
Grammar
Numbers 0–20, with the trap words marked
Learn the numbers in blocks, not one by one. 0–10, then 11–16, then 17, 18, 19, 20 are built like maths: dix-sept is ten-seven, dix-huit is ten-eight, dix-neuf is ten-nine. Three words are traps: six, huit and dix. Said alone they end with a sounded consonant (sees, weet, dees). Before a noun starting with a vowel, that consonant comes alive and links (six amis = see-za-mee). Also watch vingt: the g and the t are silent, so it is just a nasal van. About age: French uses j'ai … ans, literally I have … years. Learn that whole sentence as one fixed block today. The full grammar of the verb avoir is taught in lesson 9 — do not try to build other avoir sentences yet.
u versus ou — the tight sound and the round sound
These two sounds are the number one difficulty for Urdu and English speakers. ou is easy: it is the ordinary oo in English food or Urdu دو. u has no equivalent in either language *. For the French u, pull your lips into a very tight, small circle as if you were about to whistle, and then, WITHOUT moving your lips, say the sound ee. If your lips relax, it turns into ou and the word changes meaning. Keep your lips locked the whole time. Listen to the pairs: tu / tout, dessus / dessous, rue / roue. Only the vowel changes, and the meaning changes completely.
Examples
| French | English | Say it |
|---|---|---|
| J'ai vingt ans. | I am twenty years old. | zhay van ahn |
| Quel âge as-tu ? | How old are you? (informal) | kel azh a-tü ↗ |
| Quel âge avez-vous ? | How old are you? (formal) | kel azh a-vay voo ↗ |
| J'ai seize ans. | I am sixteen years old. | zhay sehz ahn |
| Mon frère a dix ans. | My brother is ten years old. | mon frehr a dees ahn |
| Un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq. | One, two, three, four, five. | uhn, duh, trwa, kat-ruh, sank |
| Six, sept, huit, neuf, dix. | Six, seven, eight, nine, ten. | sees, set, weet, nuhf, dees |
| Onze, douze, treize, quatorze, quinze. | Eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen. | onz, dooz, trehz, ka-torz, kanz |
| Seize, dix-sept, dix-huit, dix-neuf, vingt ! | Sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty! | sehz, dee-set, dee-zweet, deez-nuhf, van |
| Tu parles, ou tu manges ? | You speak, or you eat? | tü parl, oo tü mahnzh ↗ |
| C'est tout ? | Is that all? | seh too ↗ |
| Une rue, une roue. | A street, a wheel. | ün rü, ün roo |
| Tu es dessus ou dessous ? | Are you on top or underneath? | tü eh duh-sü, oo duh-soo ↗ |
Dialogue: Family photo on the phone
Age is always j'ai … ans in French, never je suis … ans. Think of it as one memorised block for now.
| French | English | Say it | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nabil | Salut ! Voici une photo. | Hi! Here is a photo. | sa-lü, vwa-see ün fo-to |
| Lina | C'est mon frère. Il a dix ans. | It is my brother. He is ten years old. | seh mon frehr, eel a dees ahn |
| Nabil | Et toi, quel âge as-tu ? | And you, how old are you? | ay twa, kel azh a-tü ↗ |
| Lina | J'ai vingt ans. Et toi ? | I am twenty. And you? | zhay van ahn, ay twa ↗ |
| Nabil | J'ai dix-huit ans. | I am eighteen. | zhay dee-zweet ahn |
| Lina | D'accord ! Et voici mon oncle, il a dix-neuf ans. | Okay! And this is my uncle, he is nineteen. | da-kor, ay vwa-see mon on-kluh, eel a deez-nuhf ahn |
Say it out loud
- un, deux, trois — one, two, three All even, no stress.
- quatre, cinq, six — four, five, six Trap word: six = sees alone.
- sept, huit, neuf, dix — seven, eight, nine, ten Silent p, silent h, sounded s.
- onze, douze, treize — eleven, twelve, thirteen Keep the vowels round.
- vingt — twenty g and t are both silent.
- J'ai vingt ans. — I am twenty. One fixed block. Say it many times.
- Quel âge as-tu ? — How old are you? Tight ü at the end, then rise.
- Tu es tout seul ? — Are you all alone? Hear both sounds in one sentence: tü then too.
- Une rue, une roue, dessus, dessous. — A street, a wheel, on top, underneath. The u / ou pairs — say them slowly.
Listening practice: Counting the family
Salut ! Je m'appelle Lina. Mon frère a dix ans et ma sœur a six ans. Moi, j'ai vingt ans. Mon oncle a dix-sept ans. Mon ami Nabil a dix-huit ans. C'est beaucoup !
Hi! My name is Lina. My brother is ten and my sister is six. Me, I am twenty. My uncle is seventeen. My friend Nabil is eighteen. That is a lot!
Questions
- How old is Lina's brother? Six / Ten / Twenty → Ten
- How old is Lina's sister? Six / Sixteen / Ten → Six
- How old is Lina? Ten / Twenty / Seventeen → Twenty
- How old is her uncle? Seventeen / Seven / Sixteen → Seventeen
- How old is Nabil? Eighteen / Ten / Twenty → Eighteen
Remember this
- Numbers 0–20 in blocks: 0–10, 11–16, then dix-sept, dix-huit, dix-neuf, vingt.
- Traps: six = sees, huit = weet, dix = dees when they stand alone.
- vingt = van. The g and the t are both silent.
- Age: j'ai … ans. A fixed block for now — the verb avoir is taught in lesson 9.
- Quel âge as-tu ? (informal) / Quel âge avez-vous ? (formal).
- u and ou are different sounds. ou = relaxed oo. u = tight lips plus ee, with no English or Urdu letter *.
- Pairs to remember: tu / tout, dessus / dessous, rue / roue, sur / sourd.
- [object Object]
- Before a vowel, six, dix and huit can link: dix-huit = dee-zweet.
- Recycled from lessons 2-4: quel, âge, mon, frère, rue, tu, tout, la France, un pays.
Common mistakes
| Instead of | Say | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Je suis vingt ans. | J'ai vingt ans. | English says I AM twenty, but French says I HAVE twenty years. Age uses avoir. For today treat j'ai … ans as one memorised block. |
| saying the g and t in vingt | van (nasal, nothing else) | Both the g and the t of vingt are silent. Only the nasal vowel is heard. |
| making tu and tout sound the same | tü with tight lips, too with relaxed lips | These are two different words. Relaxing the lips turns tu into tout and changes the meaning. |
| six ans said as sees-ahn with a hard break | see-zahn, linking the s as a z | Before a vowel the final s of six wakes up and buzzes like a z. |
| thinking an in dix-huit is a normal n | huit starts with a tight ü, not oo | huit is pronounced weet with the tight ü shape from une, not hoo-eet with an oo. |
Practice questions
- How do you say I am twenty years old? Je suis vingt ans. / J'ai vingt ans. / Je vais vingt ans. / Je ai vingt ans. — J'ai vingt ans.
- How do you ask a friend's age? Quel âge avez-vous ? / Quel âge as-tu ? / Comment ça va ? / Tu es d'où ? — Quel âge as-tu ?
- Which number has BOTH silent g and silent t? cinq / sept / vingt / huit — vingt
- How is six said when it stands alone? see / sees / siks / siz — sees
- Which word contains the TIGHT French u? tout / roue / tu / douze — tu
- Which pair means on top / underneath? rue / roue / dessus / dessous / tu / tout / sur / sourd — dessus / dessous
- What does une roue mean? a street / a wheel / a road / a room — a wheel
- How do you say sixteen? seize / six / douze / sept — seize
- Which is the correct way to say dix-huit? dee-weet / dee-zweet / dik-hweet / dees-hweet — dee-zweet
- Complete: Je ___ vingt ans. suis / ai / vais / es — ai
Homework (15 minutes)
1) Count out loud from 0 to 20 twice, slowly, with no stress on any syllable. 2) Write your age and the ages of three family members using j'ai … ans and il a / elle a … ans as fixed blocks. 3) Say these pairs out loud ten times each and feel your lips: tu / tout, dessus / dessous, rue / roue. 4) Record yourself saying une rue, une roue and check that the two do NOT sound identical.
Lesson 5 of 45 · Part 0 · Absolute Start · See the full A0 → A2 roadmap · Français A0 → A2