Below are 60 French food and restaurant words, each with its article, in the French of France. Learn these five first: le pain (bread), l'eau (water, a feminine noun), le café (coffee), l'addition (the bill) and manger (to eat). The sections explain the gender that l' hides, when to say du pain, and how to order.
- Words
- 60: food, drink, the table, the restaurant
- Variety
- France French (Belgian and Swiss meal names noted)
- Level
- A1–A2
- Read them in
- Contos stories (chapters 1–2 free)
60 French food words
Nouns come with le, la, l' or les. Where the article is l', the gender is hidden, so the first section lists it. The Contos web app uses this same pack for flashcard review.
| French | English |
|---|---|
| le pain | bread |
| l'eau | water |
| le café | coffee |
| le thé | tea |
| le lait | milk |
| le jus | juice |
| le vin | wine |
| la bière | beer |
| le riz | rice |
| les pâtes | pasta |
| la viande | meat |
| le poulet | chicken |
| le poisson | fish |
| l'œuf | egg |
| le fromage | cheese |
| le beurre | butter |
| la pomme | apple |
| la banane | banana |
| l'orange | orange |
| la tomate | tomato |
| la pomme de terre | potato |
| l'oignon | onion |
| la carotte | carrot |
| le citron | lemon |
| la fraise | strawberry |
| le fruit | fruit |
| la salade | salad |
| la soupe | soup |
| le sucre | sugar |
| le sel | salt |
| le poivre | pepper |
| le miel | honey |
| le gâteau | cake |
| le chocolat | chocolate |
| la glace | ice cream |
| le petit-déjeuner | breakfast |
| le déjeuner | lunch |
| le dîner | dinner |
| la carte | menu |
| l'addition | bill |
| le serveur | waiter |
| le restaurant | restaurant |
| la cuisine | kitchen |
| l'assiette | plate |
| le verre | glass |
| la tasse | cup |
| la bouteille | bottle |
| le couteau | knife |
| la fourchette | fork |
| la cuillère | spoon |
| la serviette | napkin |
| la table | table |
| manger | to eat |
| boire | to drink |
| cuisiner | to cook |
| commander | to order |
| payer | to pay |
| avoir faim | hungry |
| délicieux | delicious |
| sucré | sweet |
Le or la? The gender behind each food word
French has no rule that covers every noun, but a few endings in this list are reliable guides. Check them against the table, then learn the exceptions as single words.
| Ending | Usually | From the list | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| -eau | masculine | le gâteau, le couteau | l'eau is feminine (de l'eau fraîche) |
| -ette, -eille | feminine | la fourchette, la serviette, l'assiette, la bouteille | nothing in this list |
| -on | masculine | le poisson, le citron, l'oignon | la boisson (a drink), la maison |
| -age | masculine | le fromage | la plage and la page, outside this list |
| -ade, -ère | feminine | la salade, la cuillère, la bière | nothing in this list |
Six words where l' hides the gender
Before a vowel or a silent h, le and la both shrink to l', so the list cannot show you the gender. Learn these with un or une instead: une orange, une addition, une assiette, and de l'eau (feminine) against un œuf and un oignon (masculine). The gender matters as soon as you add an adjective: l'eau froide, but un œuf dur (a hard-boiled egg).
- un œuf and des œufs sound different: the f is pronounced in the singular and silent in the plural.
- les pâtes (pasta) is always plural. La pâte, in the singular, is dough or pastry.
- le petit-déjeuner is breakfast; the verb déjeuner means to have lunch, and dîner to have dinner.
Du pain or le pain? Saying "some"
English often drops the article with food ("I eat bread"). French cannot. When you mean some, an unspecified amount, use du (masculine), de la (feminine), de l' (before a vowel) or des (plural).
Je mange du pain le matin.
I eat bread in the morning.
Tu veux de la soupe ?
Do you want some soup?
On achète des pommes de terre.
We're buying some potatoes.
Je ne bois pas de vin.
I don't drink wine.
After a negative, du, de la and des all become de (or d').
J'aime le fromage, mais je déteste le poisson.
I love cheese, but I hate fish.
With likes and dislikes, use le or la: you mean cheese in general.
Beginner stories use this all the time, because characters are always handing each other things. In these two lines from A1 chapters, nobody counts the water or the bread, so French uses the partitive:
Elle prend de l'eau.Madame Lefèvre donne du pain aux oiseaux.Hungry, the menu and the bill: what the list leaves out
Say j'ai faim, not je suis affamé
The list gives avoir faim for hungry, because French says it with avoir and a noun: j'ai faim, literally "I have hunger". Affamé is a real word, but it means starving or famished and sounds dramatic in conversation. Thirst works the same way: j'ai soif.
Enfin non, j'ai faim.La carte, le menu, l'addition
- la carte is the full menu, which is why ordering dish by dish is à la carte. Le menu is usually a fixed-price set meal (le menu du jour). La carte is also a card and a map.
- l'addition is the bill in a restaurant or café. In a hotel it is la note, and a bill from a business is la facture.
- la glace is ice cream, but also ice and a mirror. An ice cube is un glaçon.
- la cuisine is both the kitchen and cooking: faire la cuisine means to cook.
Ordering in a French café
Je voudrais un café, s'il vous plaît.
I'd like a coffee, please.
Un café in France is a small black espresso. For milk, ask for un café crème.
Une carafe d'eau, s'il vous plaît.
A jug of tap water, please.
Tap water is free with a meal in a French restaurant.
Je vais prendre le poulet.
I'll have the chicken.
C'est très sucré.
It's very sweet.
Sucré is sweet in taste. Doux is mild or gentle.
For paying, see how to ask for the bill in French, and for praising the food, how to say delicious. Daily habits around meals are on the daily routine page.
Read a French story at A1: tap any word to see what it means, then save it as a flashcard.
Read free in your browserFrequently asked questions
Is it le eau or la eau in French?
Neither: it is l'eau, because le and la shorten to l' before a vowel. The noun is feminine, so adjectives agree (l'eau froide, l'eau minérale) and "some water" is de l'eau.
How do you say "I'm hungry" in French?
J'ai faim, literally "I have hunger". Affamé exists but means starving and sounds dramatic. For thirst, say j'ai soif.
What is the difference between du pain and le pain?
Du pain means some bread, an unspecified amount: je mange du pain. Le pain means bread in general or a specific loaf: j'aime le pain, le pain est sur la table.
Is le menu the same as la carte?
Not quite. La carte lists every dish; le menu is usually a set meal at a fixed price, often with a starter, main course and dessert. Ask for la carte if you want to see everything.