Everyday food words in French include le pain (bread), le fromage (cheese), le poulet (chicken), le poisson (fish), les pâtes (pasta), la pomme (apple), les frites (chips) and l’eau (water). To talk about eating some of something, French uses the partitive: Je mange du pain, de la viande et des pâtes.
Food vocabulary in French
In the pronunciation column, capitals mark the syllable to lean on slightly (French stress is light and falls on the last syllable). (n) marks a nasal vowel: air goes through the nose and the n itself is not pronounced. “zh” is the s in “measure”, “uh” is the short vowel in “the”, and “ü” is “ee” said with rounded lips.
Fruit and vegetables
| French | English | Say it like |
|---|---|---|
| le fruit | fruit | frwee |
| la pomme | apple | pom |
| la banane | banana | ba-NAN |
| l’orange (f.) | orange | lo-RAH(N)ZH |
| la fraise | strawberry | frez |
| le raisin | grapes | reh-ZA(N) |
| la poire | pear | pwar |
| la pêche | peach | pesh |
| le citron | lemon | see-TRO(N) |
| le légume | vegetable | lay-GÜM |
| la pomme de terre | potato | pom duh TAIR |
| la tomate | tomato | to-MAT |
| la carotte | carrot | ka-ROT |
| l’oignon (m.) | onion | lo-NYO(N) |
| les haricots verts (m.) | green beans | ay-ree-koh VAIR |
| les petits pois (m.) | peas | puh-tee PWA |
| le champignon | mushroom | shah(m)-pee-NYO(N) |
Other food and drink
| French | English | Say it like |
|---|---|---|
| le pain | bread | pa(n) |
| le croissant | croissant | krwa-SAH(N) |
| le beurre | butter | burr |
| la confiture | jam | ko(n)-fee-TÜR |
| le fromage | cheese | fro-MAZH |
| le jambon | ham | zhah(m)-BO(N) |
| l’œuf (m.) (les œufs) | egg | luhf / lay-ZUH |
| le poulet | chicken | poo-LEH |
| la viande | meat | vyah(n)d |
| le poisson | fish | pwa-SO(N) |
| les frites (f.) | chips | freet |
| le riz | rice | ree |
| les pâtes (f.) | pasta | paht |
| la soupe | soup | soop |
| le gâteau | cake | ga-TOH |
| la glace | ice cream | glass |
| le yaourt | yoghurt | ya-OORT |
| le lait | milk | leh |
| l’eau (f.) | water | loh |
| le jus d’orange | orange juice | zhü do-RAH(N)ZH |
| le sucre | sugar | SÜ-kruh |
Two spellings to note: ognon is accepted since the 1990 spelling reform, though oignon is still far more common; and le petit-déjeuner is also written without a hyphen.
Meals across the French-speaking world
| France | Belgium, Switzerland, Quebec | English |
|---|---|---|
| le petit-déjeuner | le déjeuner | breakfast |
| le déjeuner | le dîner | lunch |
| le goûter | le goûter (Quebec: la collation) | afternoon snack |
| le dîner | le souper | evening meal |
This is one of the clearest regional differences in French: a Belgian or Quebec pupil who says le dîner means lunch. Verbs follow the nouns: déjeuner, goûter, dîner, souper; breakfast is prendre le petit-déjeuner in France.
A few more regional words: Quebec says les bleuets for blueberries (les myrtilles in France) and le yogourt; Belgium calls a crusty bread roll un pistolet; and la chocolatine, used in south-west France and in Quebec, is the pain au chocolat of the rest of France.
The partitive: du, de la, des
- Some of something takes the partitive. du pain (masculine), de la confiture (feminine), de l’eau (before a vowel), des frites (plural). English often uses no word at all: “I eat bread” is Je mange du pain.
- Likes and dislikes take the definite article. J’aime le fromage, Je déteste les oignons. Compare: J’aime le fromage, alors je mange du fromage.
- After a negative, de. Je ne mange pas de viande. Il n’y a plus d’eau.
- After a quantity, de. un kilo de pommes, une bouteille d’eau, beaucoup de légumes, un peu de sucre.
- Hunger and thirst use avoir. J’ai faim, J’ai soif, never “je suis faim”.
Ordering and allergies
Je voudrais un croque-monsieur et un jus d’orange, s’il vous plaît.I’d like a croque-monsieur and an orange juice, please.
Je vais prendre le poulet avec des frites.I’ll have the chicken with chips.
L’addition, s’il vous plaît.The bill, please.
Je suis végétarien. / Je suis végétarienne.I’m vegetarian.
Je suis allergique aux fruits à coque.I’m allergic to nuts.
Bon appétit !Enjoy your meal!
In a French menu, l’entrée is the starter, le plat principal the main course and le dessert the pudding.
Pronunciation for English speakers
- un œuf, des œufs: “uhf” in the singular, “zuh” in the plural, with liaison and a silent f.
- Silent endings: le riz (ree), le lait (leh), le poulet, le jus, les haricots.
- No liaison with haricot: les haricots is “lay-ay-ree-KOH”, because the h is aspirated.
- poisson and poison: ss is “s”, a single s between vowels is “z”.
- pêche and péché: une pêche (a peach) and un péché (a sin) differ only by their vowels.
- The French u: le jus, le sucre, la confiture. Say “ee” with rounded lips.
Idioms and expressions
| French | Literally | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| c’est du gâteau | it’s cake | it’s a piece of cake |
| ce n’est pas de la tarte | it’s not tart | it’s not easy |
| avoir la pêche | to have the peach | to be full of beans |
| tomber dans les pommes | to fall into the apples | to faint |
| raconter des salades | to tell salads | to tell fibs |
| occupe-toi de tes oignons | mind your onions | mind your own business |
| en faire tout un fromage | to make a whole cheese of it | to make a fuss about it |
Typical mistakes of English-speaking learners
- “Je suis faim”: it is J’ai faim.
- No partitive: “Je mange pain”. French needs du pain.
- Partitive after aimer: “J’aime du chocolat” instead of J’aime le chocolat.
- “Pas du”, “pas des”: after a negative, pas de.
- Chips and crisps: British chips are les frites; French les chips are crisps.
- Raisin is not raisin: le raisin is grapes; raisins are les raisins secs.
In class: food as a word of the day
Food is easy to show, easy to have an opinion about, and useful from the first week to GCSE.
- Show the picture and the English word: “strawberry”.
- Ask Comment dit-on “strawberry” en français ? Pupils write a guess on mini whiteboards.
- Reveal la fraise with its pronunciation. The class repeats it together, then two pupils alone.
- Show the example sentence: En été, je mange des fraises avec de la crème.
- Give the reuse task: each pupil gives an opinion with j’aime and says how often they eat it: J’aime les fraises, j’en mange souvent.
- Recall yesterday’s word and one from last week.
That is exactly what a daily routine does: one word a day, and a short, useful sentence built around it.
Riddles and games
Qui suis-je ? riddles work from A1: Je suis jaune, je suis un fruit et les singes m’adorent. Qui suis-je ? (la banane). For A2, a café role-play with Je voudrais…; for the partitive, a “shopping basket” chain: Dans mon panier, il y a du pain, de la confiture et des pommes…, each pupil repeating the list and adding one item.
- A1The word with its article and aimer: J’aime les pommes.
- A2Meals and the partitive: Au petit-déjeuner, je mange du pain avec de la confiture.
- B1Past meals and a café role-play: Hier soir, j’ai mangé du poisson. L’addition, s’il vous plaît.
- B2Healthy eating and opinions: Il faut que nous mangions moins de sucre. C’est du gâteau !
At KS2, a picture and a j’aime / je n’aime pas vote are enough. At KS3, insist on the partitive and on pas de. At GCSE, food returns through healthy living, festivals and eating out.
The “Le mot” module does it for you
A picture and the word in the pupils’ language: the class works out how to say it, then the word is revealed with its pronunciation and an example sentence to reuse. No preparation needed: try everything free for 15 days of use.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say "food" in French?
La nourriture. In conversation, French often says manger instead: Qu’est-ce qu’on mange ? (What are we eating?). Informally, la bouffe.
When do you use du, de la and des?
For an unspecified amount of something: du pain, de la viande, de l’eau, des frites. After a negative or a quantity, use de: pas de pain, un kilo de pommes.
What are the meals of the day in French?
In France: le petit-déjeuner, le déjeuner, le goûter and le dîner. In Belgium, Switzerland and Quebec: le déjeuner (breakfast), le dîner (lunch) and le souper (dinner).
How do you say "chips" in French?
British chips are les frites. Les chips in French are crisps.
How do you say "I'm hungry" in French?
J’ai faim, literally “I have hunger”. “I’m thirsty” is J’ai soif.