Un, Deux, Trois Lyrics
A four-line French rhyme that counts from one to six and tells whoever is pointed at, "you are not it". It is a counting-out rhyme: children say it to choose who sits out or who is it in a game. The French words come with a line-by-line English translation.
Un, Deux, Trois
Un, deux, trois,
Tu ne l'es pas,
Quatre, cinq, six,
Va t'en d'ici.
In English
One, two, three,
You are not it,
Four, five, six,
Go away from here.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/un-deux-trois/
- Type
- Counting Rhymes
- Tune
- Said briskly in French while pointing at each child in turn
- Best for ages
- 3 to 8 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| Un, deux, trois, tu ne l'es pas | Point at one child for each word or beat, going round the circle. |
| Va t'en d'ici | The child the last word lands on steps out of the circle, or becomes the one who is it, depending on the game. |
What Does Un, Deux, Trois Mean?
The rhyme is in French, and the title means "One, two, three". Here is each line in plain English: Un, deux, trois is "one, two, three"; Tu ne l'es pas is "you are not it", where l' stands for "it" as in a game of tag; Quatre, cinq, six is "four, five, six"; and Va t'en d'ici is "go away from here". The last line is a game order, said to whoever the final word lands on, and it is part of the game.
It works as a counting-out rhyme. A leader points at one child for each word, and the child pointed at on the last word is out, or is the one who is "it", depending on the game. Rhymes like this settle who goes first or who must chase without any arguing.
To say it, trois sounds roughly like "trwah", and the "s" at the end of pas is silent, so it sounds like "pah".
History and Origin
Robert Ford printed this rhyme in his book Children's Rhymes, Children's Games, Children's Songs, Children's Stories (1904), in his discussion of counting-out rhymes. He follows one English-language rhyme, "One, two, buckle my shoe", through several countries, including Germany and Italy, and says that in France the children of Paris, "not disposed to waste time and energy", cut it short. The four lines on this page are that short Paris form.
Ford also describes how such rhymes are used. A leader points to each child in turn, one word to each, and the child on whom the last word falls steps aside, until one child is left who is "it". The page for One, Two, Buckle My Shoe has the English version he starts from.
Learning Activities
- Pick who is it: stand in a circle and use the rhyme to choose who starts the next game, pointing at one child per word.
- Count in French: say the numbers one to six in French together, then try seven to ten from a number chart.
- Two languages: say the rhyme once in French and once in English, and listen for which words are short enough to be said in one beat.
- Make your own: invent a four-line counting-out rhyme in your own language, with a different last line that sends the child to a new place.