Le dixième train arrive.

The tenth train arrives.

Breakdown of Le dixième train arrive.

• arriver: to arrive
• le train: the train
• dixième: tenth

Questions & Answers about Le dixième train arrive.

Why is it le and not un?

Le means the, so it points to a specific train: the tenth train.

With ordinal numbers in French, you very often use the definite article:

• le premier train = the first train
• le dixième train = the tenth train

Using un would sound unusual here, because tenth normally identifies one specific item in an ordered series.

What does dixième mean, and how is it formed?

Dixième means tenth.

It is the ordinal form of dix (ten). French often forms ordinals with -ième:

• quatre → quatrième = fourth
• six → sixième = sixth
• dix → dixième = tenth

So dixième is an adjective telling you the train’s position in a sequence.

Why does dixième come before train?

In French, ordinal numbers usually go before the noun:

• le premier jour = the first day
• la deuxième fois = the second time
• le dixième train = the tenth train

This is different from many other adjectives in French, which often come after the noun. Ordinals are one of the common types that come before it.