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Level B2 (Upper Intermediate)
👉 See also: 50 Connector Words »
Published February 23, 2026 — Lesson written by French teacher David Issokson for students who want to learn French online, with native audio by Marie Assel Cambier, a voice artist from France.
The French Word of the Day is premièrement, meaning “firstly” or “first of all.” It’s a formal sequencing adverb used to introduce logical arguments and structured explanations.
📘 Premièrement meaning in French
Premièrement is a French adverb meaning “first,” “firstly,” “first of all,” or “first and foremost.” It is used to introduce the first point in a structured argument or explanation, especially in formal speech and writing. The word signals logical organization rather than chronological order and is often followed by deuxièmement (secondly) and troisièmement (thirdly) when listing ideas.
💡 Premièrement vs. d’abord
While premièrement is more formal and is mainly used to present structured ideas and arguments, d’abord is much more common in everyday conversation and usually refers to the first action in a sequence of events.
➞ Premièrement, il faut analyser les faits.
Firstly, we must analyze the facts.
➞ D’abord, je prends un café.
First, I have a coffee.
🎧 Premièrement pronunciation in French
The pronunciation of premièrement is /pʁə.mjɛʁ.mɑ̃/ (IPA), which sounds roughly like “pruh-myair-mahn”.
📝 Premièrement usage examples
Premièrement, on doit en parler ensemble.
First, we need to discuss it together.
Premièrement, ce projet coûte trop cher.
First and foremost, this project costs too much.
Premièrement, je n’ai pas le temps.
Firstly, I don’t have time.
Premièrement, il faut comprendre le problème.
To begin with, we need to understand the problem.
Want to know more about d’abord? Check out:
👉 D’abord – pronunciation and usage examples »
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🔗 Related words and expressions
- d’abord — first, first of all
- pour commencer — to begin with
- en premier — first (in order)
- premier / première — first (adjective)
- deuxièmement — secondly
- troisièmement — thirdly
- en premier lieu — in the first place
- avant tout — above all
📚 Related lessons on FrenchLearner!
👉 D’abord (first, first of all) »
👉 Connector Words (hub) »
👉 French adverbs »
👉 French ordinal numbers »
