Improve your ear for French with this third snippet from a kids song. It’s 76 words in 42 seconds. Improve your French listening comprehension with daily quizzes.
Learn French with a kids song snippet! This clip is from the song “Un deux trois quatre (Chanson)” by Anny and Jean-Marc Versini. Listen and fill in what you hear below. Read more and find a translation below. Find the full song here.
The above audio sample and transcription is from “Un deux trois quatre (Chanson)” by Anny and Jean-Marc Versini. We do not own the content. Listen to the full song here.
Always with me
I find myself humming this song often. It’s always with me, and now I hope it can be in your head too.
Not only that, you now should have a firm grasp of the lyrics, so when it pops into your head you can sing away the verses, not just the chorus.
Remember the grammar you ran into in the verses and the chorus. Great stuff hidden in these kids songs, that’s why I’m going to come back to them from time to time.
How are you getting on?
The snippet in English
Find a translation of this snippet here, how much of this did you hear?
J’ai neuf marionnettes
Que j’ai reçues pour ma fête
J’ai dix petits doigts
Qui sont toujours avec moi
J’ai onze petites fleurs
Pour offrir à ma petite (p’tite) soeur
J’ai douze belles images
Que j’ai eues quand j’étais sage
Un deux trois quatre
Cinq six sept huit
Neuf dix onze douze
Je sais compter jusqu’à douze
Je sais compter jusqu’à douze
Et pour compter jusqu’à vingt
Je continuerai demain
Et pour compter jusqu’à vingt
Je continuerai demain
I have nine puppets
That I got for my party
I have ten little fingers
That are always with me
I have eleven little flowers
To give to my little sister
I have twelve beautiful pictures
That I had when I was good
One two three four
Five six seven eight
Nine ten eleven twelve
I can count to twelve
I can count to twelve
And to count to twenty
I’ll continue tomorrow
And to count to twenty
I will continue tomorrow
English translation by Deepl. Check it.
What does “quand j’étais sage” mean?
In French-speaking cultures, particularly in France, it’s common for children to be rewarded with small tokens or treats when they behave well. One such reward, traditionally, could be “images” (small pictures or cards), which were given as a way to encourage good behavior, especially in schools or at home. These images might depict animals, flowers, or other cute or educational illustrations.
Being “sage” (well-behaved) is often a key part of raising children, and the idea of giving rewards like small pictures or stickers for good behavior is quite universal. In this context, the child is remembering these twelve images as something special they received for behaving well.
This reflects a broader theme of positive reinforcement in parenting and schooling, where kids are encouraged to follow rules and act politely with the promise of small rewards or recognition.
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