Vocabulary list
Doigt or orteil? Fingers, thumbs and toes in French
Learn eight hand and foot words with picture cards, simple French examples and a short quiz. Includes le pouce, le gros orteil and doigt de pied.
- A1
- 8 words
- Gender marked
- With examples
- Learn this in the A1 notebook →
In short
Un doigt is a finger; un orteil is a toe. The thumb is le pouce, and the big toe is le gros orteil. You will also hear un doigt de pied for a toe.
Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learn
Hands and feet · eight picture cards
Find:
What is the French word for finger, thumb and toe?
The hand
The foot
Both doigt and orteil are masculine. Their plurals take -s: des doigts, des orteils. The elided articles in l’index and l’orteil hide the gender; un index and un orteil make it visible. For a particular finger or toe, keep the whole phrase: le petit doigt is the little finger; le petit orteil is the little toe.
Point, move and name the part
Elle montre le dessin du doigt.
She points to the drawing with her finger.
Je peux bouger les doigts et les orteils.
I can move my fingers and toes.
Les doigts de pied is an everyday alternative to les orteils. The words de pied give the location. By itself, doigt usually suggests a finger. Pouce names the thumb; for the foot, say gros orteil.
| Part | Sentence | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| le doigt | J’ai mal au doigt. | My finger hurts. |
| les orteils | J’ai mal aux orteils. | My toes hurt. |
| l’index | J’ai mal à l’index. | My index finger hurts. |