seizième
/sɛ.zjɛm/
The French word for sixteenth is seizième. Wiktionary also lists seize.
Meaning: the ordinal form of the number sixteen (adj)
Ways to say it
| French | IPA |
|---|---|
| seizième | /sɛ.zjɛm/ /se.zjɛm/ |
| seize | /sɛz/ |
seizième is the ordinal form used to indicate position in a sequence, such as the sixteenth century or a sixteenth birthday. It can also be used as a noun to mean one of sixteen equal parts of a whole.
Which one should you use?
While seizième is the ordinal number, seize is the cardinal number sixteen. Use the ordinal seizième for centuries and sequences, but use the cardinal seize when stating a specific day of the month.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
When referring to dates, use the cardinal number seize for the day of the month (e.g., le seize mai). For centuries or ordered sequences, use the ordinal seizième.
How do you pronounce it?
/sɛ.zjɛm/
Did you know?
- When talking about music, a seizième de note refers to a sixteenth note. Interestingly, French rhythm terminology often focuses on the division of the note rather than its position in a sequence.
- The word seize is a linguistic cousin to the English word 'sixteen', as both descended from the Latin sēdecim.
- When talking about a 'sixteenth' of a cake or a pie, seizième acts as a noun, meaning it doesn't need an adjective to describe the slice.
Examples in context
- Cette statue date du seizième siècle.This statue dates from the sixteenth century.This sentence uses seizième to refer to a century.Tatoeba #10335263 by felix63, translation #10358020 by sundown
- Si ma mémoire est bonne, on m'a donné cet ampli en cadeau pour mon seizième anniversaire.If memory serves, I was given this amplifier as a present for my sixteenth birthday.This sentence uses seizième to refer to a birthday.Tatoeba #11267025 by lbdx, translation #10589243 by sundown
- L'élection a eu lieu le seize mai.The vote took place on May sixteenth.This sentence uses seize to indicate the day of the month.Tatoeba #3162982 by Apex, translation #804327 by Source_VOA
- La seizième édition de ce livre est désormais disponible.The sixteenth edition of this book is now available.
- Tu as déjà lu le seizième chapitre de ce livre ?Have you already read the sixteenth chapter of this book?
- Il a terminé à la seizième place lors de la course.He finished in sixteenth place in the race.
- 6 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Hugo and Chloé are organizing books on a shelf.
- HugoCe livre est le seizième de la série.This book is the sixteenth of the series.
- ChloéC'est énorme, il y en a autant ?That's huge, are there really that many?
- HugoOui, le seizième tome vient de sortir.Yes, the sixteenth volume has just come out.
- ChloéJe vais commencer à les lire alors.I'll start reading them then.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “sixteenth” translations and entries seizième, seize, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries seize, seizième, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
