dix
/dis/
The French word for ten is dix.
dix is the cardinal number occurring after 9 and before 11.
Meaning: the cardinal number occurring after 9 and before 11 (num)
Which one should you use?
While dix is the specific number ten, the related form dizaine refers to a group or set of approximately ten elements.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
When dix is a standalone number or appears at the end of a sentence, the final 'x' is pronounced as an 's' sound (dees).
How do you pronounce it?
/dis/
Did you know?
- French counting becomes mathematically complex after dix because the number seventy is expressed as soixante-dix, which literally translates to 'sixty-ten'.
- The word dix is a direct descendant of the Latin decem, which also gave English the prefix 'dec-' in words like 'decimal' and 'decade'.
- In French, the number dix is a linguistic chameleon because its final 'x' can sound like a 'ks', a 's', or even remain silent depending on the word that follows it.
Examples in context
- Il est dix heures.It's ten o'clock.This sentence is useful for stating the time with dix.Tatoeba #8333654 by theachaean, translation #2706996 by CN
- Il parle dix langues.He speaks ten languages.This sentence is useful for counting languages with dix.Tatoeba #993982 by U2FS, translation #993960 by CK
- Sami en a acheté dix.Sami bought ten of them.This sentence is useful for referring to a quantity of items with dix.Tatoeba #6819544 by GB3, translation #6818713 by OsoHombre
- 702 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Emma and Gabriel are checking the price of a snack.
- EmmaCombien coûte ce gâteau ?How much does this cake cost?
- GabrielIl coûte dix euros.It costs ten euros.
- EmmaC'est un peu cher.That is a bit expensive.
- GabrielOui, mais il est délicieux.Yes, but it is delicious.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “ten” translations and entries dix, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries dix, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
