{"id":87,"date":"2026-09-30T17:07:10","date_gmt":"2026-09-30T16:07:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leweb2ks.dev\/vitrine-vocadial\/en\/resources\/food-in-french\/"},"modified":"2026-09-30T17:07:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T16:07:10","slug":"food-in-french","status":"publish","type":"vd_ressource","link":"https:\/\/vocadial.com\/en\/resources\/food-in-french\/","title":{"rendered":"Food in French: vocabulary, meals and a classroom routine"},"content":{"rendered":"

Food vocabulary in French<\/h2>\n\n

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 “\u00fc” is “ee” said with rounded lips.<\/p>\n\n

Fruit and vegetables<\/h3>\n\n
French<\/th>English<\/th>Say it like<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
le fruit<\/td>fruit<\/td>frwee<\/td><\/tr>
la pomme<\/td>apple<\/td>pom<\/td><\/tr>
la banane<\/td>banana<\/td>ba-NAN<\/td><\/tr>
l’orange (f.)<\/td>orange<\/td>lo-RAH(N)ZH<\/td><\/tr>
la fraise<\/td>strawberry<\/td>frez<\/td><\/tr>
le raisin<\/td>grapes<\/td>reh-ZA(N)<\/td><\/tr>
la poire<\/td>pear<\/td>pwar<\/td><\/tr>
la p\u00eache<\/td>peach<\/td>pesh<\/td><\/tr>
le citron<\/td>lemon<\/td>see-TRO(N)<\/td><\/tr>
le l\u00e9gume<\/td>vegetable<\/td>lay-G\u00dcM<\/td><\/tr>
la pomme de terre<\/td>potato<\/td>pom duh TAIR<\/td><\/tr>
la tomate<\/td>tomato<\/td>to-MAT<\/td><\/tr>
la carotte<\/td>carrot<\/td>ka-ROT<\/td><\/tr>
l’oignon (m.)<\/td>onion<\/td>lo-NYO(N)<\/td><\/tr>
les haricots verts (m.)<\/td>green beans<\/td>ay-ree-koh VAIR<\/td><\/tr>
les petits pois (m.)<\/td>peas<\/td>puh-tee PWA<\/td><\/tr>
le champignon<\/td>mushroom<\/td>shah(m)-pee-NYO(N)<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n

Other food and drink<\/h3>\n\n
French<\/th>English<\/th>Say it like<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
le pain<\/td>bread<\/td>pa(n)<\/td><\/tr>
le croissant<\/td>croissant<\/td>krwa-SAH(N)<\/td><\/tr>
le beurre<\/td>butter<\/td>burr<\/td><\/tr>
la confiture<\/td>jam<\/td>ko(n)-fee-T\u00dcR<\/td><\/tr>
le fromage<\/td>cheese<\/td>fro-MAZH<\/td><\/tr>
le jambon<\/td>ham<\/td>zhah(m)-BO(N)<\/td><\/tr>
l’\u0153uf (m.) (les \u0153ufs)<\/td>egg<\/td>luhf \/ lay-ZUH<\/td><\/tr>
le poulet<\/td>chicken<\/td>poo-LEH<\/td><\/tr>
la viande<\/td>meat<\/td>vyah(n)d<\/td><\/tr>
le poisson<\/td>fish<\/td>pwa-SO(N)<\/td><\/tr>
les frites (f.)<\/td>chips<\/td>freet<\/td><\/tr>
le riz<\/td>rice<\/td>ree<\/td><\/tr>
les p\u00e2tes (f.)<\/td>pasta<\/td>paht<\/td><\/tr>
la soupe<\/td>soup<\/td>soop<\/td><\/tr>
le g\u00e2teau<\/td>cake<\/td>ga-TOH<\/td><\/tr>
la glace<\/td>ice cream<\/td>glass<\/td><\/tr>
le yaourt<\/td>yoghurt<\/td>ya-OORT<\/td><\/tr>
le lait<\/td>milk<\/td>leh<\/td><\/tr>
l’eau (f.)<\/td>water<\/td>loh<\/td><\/tr>
le jus d’orange<\/td>orange juice<\/td>zh\u00fc do-RAH(N)ZH<\/td><\/tr>
le sucre<\/td>sugar<\/td>S\u00dc-kruh<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n

Two spellings to note: ognon<\/span> is accepted since the 1990 spelling reform, though oignon<\/span> is still far more common; and le petit-d\u00e9jeuner<\/span> is also written without a hyphen.<\/p>\n\n

Meals across the French-speaking world<\/h2>\n\n
France<\/th>Belgium, Switzerland, Quebec<\/th>English<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
le petit-d\u00e9jeuner<\/td>le d\u00e9jeuner<\/td>breakfast<\/td><\/tr>
le d\u00e9jeuner<\/td>le d\u00eener<\/td>lunch<\/td><\/tr>
le go\u00fbter<\/td>le go\u00fbter (Quebec: la collation)<\/td>afternoon snack<\/td><\/tr>
le d\u00eener<\/td>le souper<\/td>evening meal<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n

This is one of the clearest regional differences in French: a Belgian or Quebec pupil who says le d\u00eener<\/span> means lunch. Verbs follow the nouns: d\u00e9jeuner<\/span>, go\u00fbter<\/span>, d\u00eener<\/span>, souper<\/span>; breakfast is prendre le petit-d\u00e9jeuner<\/span> in France.<\/p>\n\n

A few more regional words: Quebec says les bleuets<\/span> for blueberries (les myrtilles<\/span> in France) and le yogourt<\/span>; Belgium calls a crusty bread roll un pistolet<\/span>; and la chocolatine<\/span>, used in south-west France and in Quebec, is the pain au chocolat<\/span> of the rest of France.<\/p>\n\n

The partitive: du, de la, des<\/h2>\n\n
  1. Some of something takes the partitive.<\/strong> du pain<\/span> (masculine), de la confiture<\/span> (feminine), de l’eau<\/span> (before a vowel), des frites<\/span> (plural). English often uses no word at all: “I eat bread” is Je mange du pain<\/span>.<\/li>
  2. Likes and dislikes take the definite article.<\/strong> J’aime le fromage<\/span>, Je d\u00e9teste les oignons<\/span>. Compare: J’aime le fromage, alors je mange du fromage.<\/span><\/li>
  3. After a negative, de.<\/strong> Je ne mange pas de viande.<\/span> Il n’y a plus d’eau.<\/span><\/li>
  4. After a quantity, de.<\/strong> un kilo de pommes<\/span>, une bouteille d’eau<\/span>, beaucoup de l\u00e9gumes<\/span>, un peu de sucre<\/span>.<\/li>
  5. Hunger and thirst use avoir.<\/strong> J’ai faim<\/span>, J’ai soif<\/span>, never “je suis faim”.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n

    Ordering and allergies<\/h3>\n\n

    Je voudrais un croque-monsieur et un jus d’orange, s’il vous pla\u00eet.<\/span>I’d like a croque-monsieur and an orange juice, please.<\/small><\/p>\n\n

    Je vais prendre le poulet avec des frites.<\/span>I’ll have the chicken with chips.<\/small><\/p>\n\n

    L’addition, s’il vous pla\u00eet.<\/span>The bill, please.<\/small><\/p>\n\n

    Je suis v\u00e9g\u00e9tarien. \/ Je suis v\u00e9g\u00e9tarienne.<\/span>I’m vegetarian.<\/small><\/p>\n\n

    Je suis allergique aux fruits \u00e0 coque.<\/span>I’m allergic to nuts.<\/small><\/p>\n\n

    Bon app\u00e9tit !<\/span>Enjoy your meal!<\/small><\/p>\n\n

    In a French menu, l’entr\u00e9e<\/span> is the starter, le plat principal<\/span> the main course and le dessert<\/span> the pudding.<\/p>\n\n

    Pronunciation for English speakers<\/h2>\n\n
    • un \u0153uf, des \u0153ufs:<\/strong> “uhf” in the singular, “zuh” in the plural, with liaison and a silent f.<\/li>
    • Silent endings:<\/strong> le riz<\/span> (ree), le lait<\/span> (leh), le poulet<\/span>, le jus<\/span>, les haricots<\/span>.<\/li>
    • No liaison with haricot:<\/strong> les haricots<\/span> is “lay-ay-ree-KOH”, because the h is aspirated.<\/li>
    • poisson and poison:<\/strong> ss is “s”, a single s between vowels is “z”.<\/li>
    • p\u00eache and p\u00e9ch\u00e9:<\/strong> une p\u00eache<\/span> (a peach) and un p\u00e9ch\u00e9<\/span> (a sin) differ only by their vowels.<\/li>
    • The French u:<\/strong> le jus<\/span>, le sucre<\/span>, la confiture<\/span>. Say “ee” with rounded lips.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n

      Idioms and expressions<\/h2>\n\n
      French<\/th>Literally<\/th>Meaning<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
      c’est du g\u00e2teau<\/td>it’s cake<\/td>it’s a piece of cake<\/td><\/tr>
      ce n’est pas de la tarte<\/td>it’s not tart<\/td>it’s not easy<\/td><\/tr>
      avoir la p\u00eache<\/td>to have the peach<\/td>to be full of beans<\/td><\/tr>
      tomber dans les pommes<\/td>to fall into the apples<\/td>to faint<\/td><\/tr>
      raconter des salades<\/td>to tell salads<\/td>to tell fibs<\/td><\/tr>
      occupe-toi de tes oignons<\/td>mind your onions<\/td>mind your own business<\/td><\/tr>
      en faire tout un fromage<\/td>to make a whole cheese of it<\/td>to make a fuss about it<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n

      Typical mistakes of English-speaking learners<\/h2>\n\n
      • “Je suis faim”:<\/strong> it is J’ai faim<\/span>.<\/li>
      • No partitive:<\/strong> “Je mange pain”. French needs du pain<\/span>.<\/li>
      • Partitive after aimer:<\/strong> “J’aime du chocolat” instead of J’aime le chocolat<\/span>.<\/li>
      • “Pas du”, “pas des”:<\/strong> after a negative, pas de<\/span>.<\/li>
      • Chips and crisps:<\/strong> British chips are les frites<\/span>; French les chips<\/span> are crisps.<\/li>
      • Raisin is not raisin:<\/strong> le raisin<\/span> is grapes; raisins are les raisins secs<\/span>.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n

        In class: food as a word of the day<\/h2>\n\n

        Food is easy to show, easy to have an opinion about, and useful from the first week to GCSE.<\/p>\n\n

        1. Show the picture and the English word: “strawberry”.<\/li>
        2. Ask Comment dit-on “strawberry” en fran\u00e7ais ?<\/span> Pupils write a guess on mini whiteboards.<\/li>
        3. Reveal la fraise<\/span> with its pronunciation. The class repeats it together, then two pupils alone.<\/li>
        4. Show the example sentence: En \u00e9t\u00e9, je mange des fraises avec de la cr\u00e8me.<\/span><\/li>
        5. Give the reuse task: each pupil gives an opinion with j’aime<\/span> and says how often they eat it: J’aime les fraises, j’en mange souvent.<\/span><\/li>
        6. Recall yesterday’s word and one from last week.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n

          That is exactly what a daily routine does: one word a day, and a short, useful sentence built around it.<\/p>\n\n

          Riddles and games<\/h3>\n\n

          Qui suis-je ?<\/span> riddles work from A1: Je suis jaune, je suis un fruit et les singes m’adorent. Qui suis-je ?<\/span> (la banane<\/span>). For A2, a caf\u00e9 role-play with Je voudrais\u2026<\/span>; for the partitive, a “shopping basket” chain: Dans mon panier, il y a du pain, de la confiture et des pommes\u2026<\/span>, each pupil repeating the list and adding one item.<\/p>\n\n

          • A1<\/b>The word with its article and aimer: J’aime les pommes.<\/span><\/li>
          • A2<\/b>Meals and the partitive: Au petit-d\u00e9jeuner, je mange du pain avec de la confiture.<\/span><\/li>
          • B1<\/b>Past meals and a caf\u00e9 role-play: Hier soir, j’ai mang\u00e9 du poisson.<\/span> L’addition, s’il vous pla\u00eet.<\/span><\/li>
          • B2<\/b>Healthy eating and opinions: Il faut que nous mangions moins de sucre.<\/span> C’est du g\u00e2teau !<\/span><\/li><\/ul>\n\n

            At KS2, a picture and a j’aime<\/span> \/ je n’aime pas<\/span> vote are enough. At KS3, insist on the partitive and on pas de<\/span>. At GCSE, food returns through healthy living, festivals and eating out.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            Food and drink in French with the article and pronunciation, the partitive, meal names across the French-speaking world and a daily routine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"menu_order":28,"template":"","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"Food in French: Vocabulary, Meals, Partitives | VocaDial","_seopress_titles_desc":"Food and drink in French with articles and pronunciation, du, de la and des, meal names in France, Belgium and Quebec, idioms and a daily word routine.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_seopress_news_disabled":"","_seopress_video_disabled":"","_seopress_video":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas_manual":[],"_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable_all":"","_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas":[],"_vd_topic":"nourriture","_vd_target":"fr","_vd_module":"palabra","_vd_level":"A1","_vd_minutes":"7","_vd_card_word":"le pain\u2026","_vd_answer":"Everyday food words in French include le pain<\/span> (bread), le fromage<\/span> (cheese), le poulet<\/span> (chicken), le poisson<\/span> (fish), les p\u00e2tes<\/span> (pasta), la pomme<\/span> (apple), les frites<\/span> (chips) and l'eau<\/span> (water). To talk about eating some of something, French uses the partitive: Je mange du pain, de la viande et des p\u00e2tes.<\/span>","_vd_faq":"[{\"q\":\"How do you say \\\"food\\\" in French?\",\"a\":\"La nourriture<\\\/span>. In conversation, French often says manger<\\\/span> instead: Qu'est-ce qu'on mange ?<\\\/span> (What are we eating?). Informally, la bouffe<\\\/span>.\"},{\"q\":\"When do you use du, de la and des?\",\"a\":\"For an unspecified amount of something: du pain<\\\/span>, de la viande<\\\/span>, de l'eau<\\\/span>, des frites<\\\/span>. After a negative or a quantity, use de<\\\/span>: pas de pain<\\\/span>, un kilo de pommes<\\\/span>.\"},{\"q\":\"What are the meals of the day in French?\",\"a\":\"In France: le petit-d\u00e9jeuner<\\\/span>, le d\u00e9jeuner<\\\/span>, le go\u00fbter<\\\/span> and le d\u00eener<\\\/span>. In Belgium, Switzerland and Quebec: le d\u00e9jeuner<\\\/span> (breakfast), le d\u00eener<\\\/span> (lunch) and le souper<\\\/span> (dinner).\"},{\"q\":\"How do you say \\\"chips\\\" in French?\",\"a\":\"British chips are les frites<\\\/span>. Les chips<\\\/span> in French are crisps.\"},{\"q\":\"How do you say \\\"I'm hungry\\\" in French?\",\"a\":\"J'ai faim<\\\/span>, literally \\\"I have hunger\\\". \\\"I'm thirsty\\\" is J'ai soif<\\\/span>.\"}]","_vd_key":"nourriture-fr","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-87","vd_ressource","type-vd_ressource","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vocadial.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vd_ressource\/87","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vocadial.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vd_ressource"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vocadial.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/vd_ressource"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vocadial.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vd_ressource\/87\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vocadial.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}