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Basic French Food Vocabulary You Need to Know

Me, you, your neighbour, your mother-in-law – everyone eats! And if you are learning French, the following could be very useful to you! The French have made gastronomy a central part of their culture. So much so, that their favourite topic of discussion during meals is… food! So here are some essential words to participate in these conversations.

Essential French food vocabulary

Les légumes – vegetables

Whether you eat them « crus » (raw) or on the contrary « cuits » (cooked), these words may come in handy. In restaurants, you can order a « assiette de crudités » (a plate with salad and raw vegetables).

Some of the ‘vegetables’ on this list are technically fruits (such as tomatoes and cucumbers) but the French classify them as ‘vegetables’. This will save you from searching for the vegetable at the weighing machine in the supermarket.

  • Une tomate – a tomato
  • Un radis – a radish
  • Un concombre – a cucumber
  • Un poivron (vert, rouge, orange ou jaune) – a (green, red, orange or yellow) pepper
  • Des haricots verts – green beans
  • Des épinards – spinaches
  • Un champignon – a mushroom 
  • Un chou-fleur – a cauliflower
  • Un oignon – an onion
  • Une pomme de terre – a potato
  • Un poireau – a leak
  • For this list, you should not have to make much effort to memorise. Even if the spelling is slightly different, the pronunciation is almost the same.

  • Une carotte – a carrot
  • Une courgette – a courgette
  • Une aubergine – an aubergine
  • Une salade – a salad
  • Les fruits – fruits

    Along with vegetables, they are part of the dietary recommendations of many countries, the famous “5 fruits and vegetables a day”. Fruit is sometimes parfois « mûrs » (ripe/mature) and sometimes « pas mûrs » ou « verts » (not ripe/green). 

    And if you had to remember one verb, it would be the verb « éplucher » (to peel).

  • Une pomme – an apple
  • Une poire – a pear
  • Un abricot – an apricot
  • Du raisin – grapes
  • Un pamplemousse – a grapefruit
  • Une banane – a banana
  • Un citron – a lemon
  • Un ananas – a pineapple
  • Une fraise – a strawberry
  • Une framboise – a raspberry
  • Une cerise – a cherry
  • Une pêche – a peach
  • Une orange … an orange! 
  • The best French slang words that will make you sound like a native speaker

    Le poisson – fish

    You can read it on restaurant menus, or buy it in « poissonnerie » (fish shops). Be careful, the double “ss” is important, make sure you pronounce it [s] and not [z]… Otherwise, it would be much less edible (poisson ≠ poison).

  • Le saumon – salmon
  • Le cabillaud – cod
  • Le thon (ignore « h » for pronunciation) – tuna
  • Les fruits de mer – seafood
  • Un crabe – crab 
  • Une huître – oyster 
  • Une crevette – shrimp
  • Une moule – mussel
  • Une coquille St-Jacques – scallop
  • La viande – meat 

    In France we have a specialised shop for meat and it’s called “la boucherie” (like a butcher’s hop). The same shop usually sells “charcuterie” as well. This is the name used for sausage, sausages, hams, pâté… Also, in restaurants, you can order a « assiette de charcuterie » (“charcuterie plate”). In France, you can find a wide variety of meats:

    • Le porc – pork
  • Une côte de porc – a pork chop
  • Du jambon – ham
    • Le bœuf – beef
  • Une bavette – flank steak
  • Une entrecôte – rib steak
    • Le veau – veal
  • Un rôti – a roast
    • L’agneau – lamb
  • Une côtelette – a chop
  • Un gigot – leg 
    • La volaille – poultry
  • Un poulet – a chicken
  • Un canard – a duck
  • Une dinde – a turkey 
  • Une aile – a wing
  • Une cuisse – a thigh
  • Les produits laitiers – dairy products

    • Les fromages – cheese

    There are more than 1,200 of them in France! Here are only the French people’s favourite cheeses:

  • Le camembert
  • Le brie
  • Le fromage de chèvre – goat cheese
  • Le comté
  • Le bleu d’Auvergne
    • La crèmerie – creamery
  • Le lait – milk
  • Le beurre – butter
  • Le yaourt – yogurt
  • La crème fraîche
  • Un œuf – egg 
  • If you buy a « produit fermier » (‘farmhouse’ product) for cheese or poultry, for example, it will generally be of better quality, with a stronger taste. 

    Try these tongue twisters in French

    Les produits de base – basic products

  • La farine – flour
  • Le sucre – sugar
  • Les pâtes – pastas
  • Le riz – rice
  • Les légumes secs (lentilles, pois chiches…) –  Pulses (lentils, chickpeas, etc.) 
  • Une boîte de conserve – A tin can 
  • The French are consuming more and more “bio” (organic) products, and you can find specialised shops and entire shelves devoted to “bio” in French supermarkets.

    The future tense in French

    Les condiments – condiments

  • Le sel – salt
  • Le poivre – pepper
  • L’huile – oil
  • Le vinaigre – vinegar
  • La moutarde – mustard
  • La mayonnaise 
  • Un cornichon – gherkin 
  • Les boissons – drinks

    Feel like celebrating the end of this vocabulary list? Then you can get:

  • Le champagne
  • Le vin (rouge, blanc, rosé) – wine (red, white, rosé)
  • La bière – beer 
  • Le cidre – cider
    • Les boissons sans alcool – free alcohol drinks
  • L’eau (gazeuse ≠ plate) – water (sparkling ≠ still)
  • Un jus de fruits : le jus d’orange, de pomme, de raisin… – juice (orange, apple, grapes…)
  • Un café – a coffee
  • Un thé – a tea
  • Un chocolat chaud – a hot chocolate
  • Now it’s your turn to make these words your own, by writing them down in a notebook,or you could try ordering some of the above words the next time you’re at a restaurant. Pay attention to the gender (masculine/feminine) of the nouns, write them in two different colours to help you remember. And you can highlight the words you already know. Finally, the best way to remember them in the long term is to use them! Write sentences in context or use them with your Lingoda teacher.

    Audrey Sivadier

    Audrey has been a French teacher for more than ten years now, and a cheese-lover all her life. She comes from the west of France, and after living 2 years in Spain and 4 years in Oxford in England, she has just settled in the heart of France, in Auvergne, a land of cheese, rugby, Michelin tires and ancient volcanoes. Audrey definitely prefers the first one. She speaks French, Spanish and English, and just started German, nothing better to understand her students who tremble at the French grammar! When she is not teaching, she tries to find time to cook or sing in a choir. She loves to invite people to her house to feed them and trap them with musical blind tests designed and adapted to her guests! Find out more about her on her website and LinkedIn.

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