Comprehensive review of foundational French food vocabulary, covering essential nouns, quantifiers, meals, and common expressions for everyday dining.

Building a strong foundation in French food vocabulary is essential for navigating menus, grocery shopping, and dining out with confidence. This chapter covers the most essential words and phrases across key categories like fruits, vegetables, proteins, meals, and common expressions. Plus, each section includes example sentences to see the vocabulary in context.

Structured for beginner to intermediate learners
Includes over 100 essential food-related words
Covers everything from ingredients to mealtime phrases

Fruits (Les Fruits)

Fruits are a fundamental part of any diet, and knowing their names in French helps you shop, snack, and talk about healthy eating. Here are 10 common fruits with example sentences.

French Singular	French Plural	English Singular	English Plural	French Example	English Example
une pomme	des pommes	an apple	apples	Je mange une pomme.	I am eating an apple.
une banane	des bananes	a banana	bananas	Elle achète des bananes.	She buys bananas.
une orange	des oranges	an orange	oranges	Il boit du jus d’orange.	He drinks orange juice.
une fraise	des fraises	a strawberry	strawberries	Nous cueillons des fraises.	We pick strawberries.
un raisin	des raisins	a grape	grapes	J'aime les raisins rouges.	I like red grapes.
une cerise	des cerises	a cherry	cherries	Les cerises sont sucrées.	The cherries are sweet.
un melon	des melons	a melon	melons	Je prends un melon.	I’m taking a melon.
une pêche	des pêches	a peach	peaches	La pêche est juteuse.	The peach is juicy.
une mangue	des mangues	a mango	mangoes	Elle mange une mangue.	She is eating a mango.
une pomme verte	des pommes vertes	a green apple	green apples	Il préfère les pommes vertes.	He prefers green apples.

J'aime les ___(grapes).

How do you say 'grapes' in French?

des pommes

des raisins

des cerises

des fraises

des raisins

'Des raisins' means 'grapes' in French. The other options are different fruits: apples (pommes), cherries (cerises), and strawberries (fraises).

Vegetables (Les Légumes)

Vegetables are a staple in French cooking. This list covers common veggies you’ll encounter at the market or in recipes, along with example sentences.

French Singular	French Plural	English Singular	English Plural	French Example	English Example
une carotte	des carottes	a carrot	carrots	Je coupe une carotte.	I’m cutting a carrot.
une tomate	des tomates	a tomato	tomatoes	Elle cuisine avec des tomates.	She cooks with tomatoes.
une pomme de terre	des pommes de terre	a potato	potatoes	Nous achetons des pommes de terre.	We buy potatoes.
un oignon	des oignons	an onion	onions	Il hache un oignon.	He chops an onion.
une laitue	des laitues	a lettuce	lettuces	La laitue est fraîche.	The lettuce is fresh.
un concombre	des concombres	a cucumber	cucumbers	Je mange du concombre.	I’m eating cucumber.
un poivron	des poivrons	a bell pepper	bell peppers	Ils cuisinent avec des poivrons.	They cook with bell peppers.
une courgette	des courgettes	a zucchini	zucchinis	Je prépare des courgettes.	I’m preparing zucchinis.
un champignon	des champignons	a mushroom	mushrooms	Il ramasse des champignons.	He’s gathering mushrooms.
un haricot vert	des haricots verts	a green bean	green beans	Nous mangeons des haricots verts.	We eat green beans.

Nous achetons des ___(pommes de terre).

Which vegetable is 'une pomme de terre' in English?

carrots

potatoes

lettuce

tomatoes

potatoes

'Une pomme de terre' is 'a potato' in English. The other options are carrots, lettuce, and tomatoes.

Proteins (Les Protéines)

Understanding protein words is important for talking about meals, especially if you’re ordering at a restaurant or cooking. Here are common French protein terms.

French Singular	French Plural	English Singular	English Plural	French Example	English Example
du poulet	—	chicken	—	Je mange du poulet.	I am eating chicken.
du bœuf	—	beef	—	Il prépare du bœuf.	He is preparing beef.
du poisson	—	fish	—	Nous achetons du poisson.	We buy fish.
des œufs	—	eggs	—	Je prends deux œufs.	I’m taking two eggs.
du jambon	—	ham	—	Elle mange du jambon.	She is eating ham.
du saumon	—	salmon	—	Ils cuisinent du saumon.	They cook salmon.
des crevettes	—	shrimp	—	Je commande des crevettes.	I order shrimp.
du fromage	—	cheese	—	Nous aimons le fromage.	We like cheese.
du tofu	—	tofu	—	Je mange du tofu.	I eat tofu.
des saucisses	—	sausages	—	Il grille des saucisses.	He grills sausages.

Meals (Les Repas)

Knowing how to talk about meals and meal times helps you describe your routine and understand schedules. Here are key meal-related words.

French Singular	French Plural	English Singular	English Plural	French Example	English Example
le petit déjeuner	—	breakfast	—	Je prends le petit déjeuner à 7h.	I have breakfast at 7 a.m.
le déjeuner	—	lunch	—	Le déjeuner est à midi.	Lunch is at noon.
le dîner	—	dinner	—	Nous dînons à 19h.	We have dinner at 7 p.m.
un goûter	des goûters	a snack	snacks	Les enfants prennent un goûter.	The children have a snack.
un repas	des repas	a meal	meals	Le repas est prêt.	The meal is ready.
une collation	des collations	a snack	snacks	Je prends une collation.	I’m having a snack.
une entrée	des entrées	a starter	starters	L'entrée est une salade.	The starter is a salad.
un dessert	des desserts	a dessert	desserts	Le dessert est au chocolat.	The dessert is chocolate.
une boisson	des boissons	a drink	drinks	Je prends une boisson fraîche.	I’m having a cold drink.
une recette	des recettes	a recipe	recipes	J’ai une nouvelle recette.	I have a new recipe.

Quantities & Containers (Les Quantités et Conteneurs)

French uses specific words for quantities and containers, which is helpful when shopping or measuring ingredients. Here are the most common terms.

French Singular	English Singular	French Example	English Example
un morceau	a piece	Je veux un morceau de gâteau.	I want a piece of cake.
une tranche	a slice	Une tranche de pain, s’il vous plaît.	A slice of bread, please.
un kilo	a kilo	J’achète un kilo de pommes.	I’m buying a kilo of apples.
un litre	a liter	Il faut un litre de lait.	You need a liter of milk.
une bouteille	a bottle	Une bouteille d’eau, merci.	A bottle of water, please.
une boîte	a box/can	J’ai une boîte de biscuits.	I have a box of cookies.
un paquet	a package	Nous avons un paquet de farine.	We have a package of flour.
une cuillère	a spoon	Une cuillère de sucre.	A spoonful of sugar.
un verre	a glass	Je prends un verre de jus.	I’m having a glass of juice.
une tasse	a cup	Une tasse de thé, s’il vous plaît.	A cup of tea, please.

Common Food Expressions (Expressions Alimentaires Courantes)

These everyday expressions and phrases will help you sound more natural when talking about food, cooking, and eating in French.

French Expression	English Translation	French Example	English Example
avoir faim	to be hungry	J’ai faim.	I’m hungry.
avoir soif	to be thirsty	Elle a soif.	She’s thirsty.
faire la cuisine	to cook	Je fais la cuisine ce soir.	I’m cooking tonight.
passer à table	to come to the table	On passe à table !	Let’s come to the table!
manger sur le pouce	to eat quickly	Je mange sur le pouce.	I eat quickly (on the go).
bon appétit	enjoy your meal	Bon appétit !	Enjoy your meal!
c’est délicieux	it’s delicious	Ce gâteau est délicieux.	This cake is delicious.
je n’ai plus faim	I’m not hungry anymore	Je n’ai plus faim.	I’m not hungry anymore.
prendre un dessert	to have a dessert	Je prends un dessert.	I’m having a dessert.
commander à manger	to order food	Nous commandons à manger.	We’re ordering food.

Summary

This chapter has given you the essential French food vocabulary to confidently talk about fruits, vegetables, proteins, meals, quantities, and common expressions. Practice these words daily by incorporating them into simple sentences about your own eating habits. The more you use the vocabulary in context, the more natural it will feel.

Covering 100+ essential French food words and phrases
Spanning categories from ingredients to meal times
Includes example sentences for real-world practice

You’ve built a strong foundation for all your future food-related French conversations!

Flashcards (1 of 60)

English Singular: an apple
English Plural: apples
English Example: I am eating an apple.

Next Up: Cooking Verbs

Last updated: Thu Jun 12, 2025

French

Food Words