Level A1 (Beginner)
The French word of the day is: Compter, meaning “to count”. We’ll also look at example sentences using the meanings “to intend to”, “to mean” and “to count on”.
compter – IPA pronunciation /kɔ̃.te/
“Compter” in French: Examples, Usage, Conjugation
Compter word origin
The Modern French verb compter comes from Old French conter, which in turn comes from the Latin verb computare (to compute, enumerate, take into account).
Compter example sentences
Qu’est-ce que tu comptes faire ce week-end? – Je vais aller à la plage !
What do you intend to do this weekend? – I’m going to the beach!
In French, compter + infinitive means both “to mean ” and “to intend” to do something. It’s used to express a high degree of willingness or certainty to carry out an activity.
Je sais compter jusqu’a cent en français. C’est facile !
I know how to count to one hundred in French. It’s easy!
This sentence uses the most basic meaning of compter – to count.
Vous venez demain, Marc ? On compte sur vous, hein !
Are you coming tomorrow, Marc? We’re counting on you!
Just like English, compter sur + person means “to count on somebody”. This lesson covers the commonly used French interjection hein, meaning “eh?!” and “huh?”
Compter – present tense
Here’s the present tense conjugation of compter:
- Je compte
- Tu comptes
- Il/Elle/On compte
- Nous comptons
- Vous comptez
- Ils/Elles comptent
Complete conjugation table for compter
Continue learning French
Now that you’ve mastered compter, it’s time to learn to count from 1-100! Some learners find the nasal ɔ̃ sound to be a bit difficult. French Today provides a super useful audio lesson covering this tricky sound!
Recent word of the day lessons | French verb drills (course)
