FOODHaving a fairly extensive French vocabulary for food will come in handy for those visiting restaurants, especially typically French restaurants, which often have many varied ingredients that would serve you well to know.

French grammar rules with food

In general, food is referred to by its partitive article, meaning that in most instances you’re referring to an undefined amount of the food item – “some”, in other words.

This means that you use du for masculine foods, de la for feminine foods, de l’ for ones that start with a vowel sound, and des for plural foods.

For example:

Je mange de la viande. (Notice it’s NOT “je mange la viande”, as a native English speaker might assume.)

Only use le/la/les if you are referring to a specific food item.

Je voudrais du gâteau (“I would like (some) cake”) VERSUS Le gâteau que j’ai acheté (“The (specific) cake that I bought”)

French Food Words

These are some of the most common French words for food. They are based on general translations that would be appropriate in most scenarios from buying or ordering the end product. Sometimes French foods have different forms for their unprepared, “cooking” forms.

Vegetables (les légumes)

asparagusde l’asperge (f)
avocadodu avocat (m)
beetsde la betterave
broccolidu brocoli
cabbagedu chou
carrotde la carotte
celerydu céleri
corndu mais
eggplant (aubergine)de l’aubergine(f)
green (string) beansdes haricots verts
green peasdes pois
lettucede la laitue
mushroomsdu champignon
olivede l’olive (f)
onionsde l’oignon (m)
potatode la pomme de terre
pumpkinde la citrouille
radishdu radis
spinachdes épinards
squashde la courge
sweet pepperdu poivron
tomatode la tomate
turnipdu navet

Fruits (les Fruits)

applede la pomme
bananade la banane
blackberryde la mure
blueberryde la myrtille
cantaloupede la cantaloup
cherryde la cerise
clementinede la clémentine
coconutde la noix de coco
cranberryde la canneberge
datede la datte
figde la figue
grapedu raisin
grapefruitdu pamplemousse
kiwidu kiwi
lemondu limon
limedu citron vert
melondu melon
orangede l’orange
peachde la pêche
pearde la poire
pineapplede l’ananas (m)
plumde la prune
pomegranatede la grenade
raspberryde la framboise
strawberryde la fraise
tangerinede la mandarine
watermelonde la pastèque

Dairy Products (les Produits Laitières)

milkdu lait
cheesedu fromage
eggsdes œufs
buttermilkdu babeurre
butterdu beurre

Beverages (les Boissons)

teadu thé
iced teadu thé glacé
cokedu coca, un soda
juicedu jus de… + fruit
waterde l’eau
sparkling waterde l’eau gazeuse
coffeedu café
beerdu bière
winedu vin
cocktaildu cocktail

Beans, Nuts and Grains (les Haricots, les Noix et les Céréales)

peanutsde la cacahuète
wheatdu blé
barleyde l’orge (f)
ricedu riz
beansdu haricot (m)
almondsde l’amande (f)
walnutsde la noix
hazelnutde la noisette

Condiments (les Condiments)

saltdu sel
pepperdu poivre
mustardde la moutarde
mayonnaisede la mayonnaise
ketchupdu ketchup
honeydu miel
cinnamonde la cannelle
nutmegde la muscade
gingerdu gingembre
garlic clovesde la gousse
oilde l’huile

Meats and Seafood (des Viandes et des Fruits de la Mer)

steakdu bifteck
porkdu porc
lambde l’agneau (m)
duckdu canard
rabbitdu lapin
goatdu chèvre
fishdu poisson
shrimpde la crevette
oystersde l’huître (f)
bacondu bacon
sausagedu saucisson
hamdu jambon
chickendu poulet
vealdu veau
venisondu chevreuil
hende la poule
snailsde l’escargot (m)
coddu cabillaud
salmondu saumon
tunadu thon
lobsterdu homard (m)

Prepared Food

pastades pâtes
pizzadu pizza
sandwichdu sandwich
hot dogdu hot-dog
hamburgerdu hamburger
casserolede la casserole
soupdu soupe
french fries (chips)des frites (f)
potato chips (crisps)des chipes (f)
saladde la salade
ice creamde la glace
piede la tourte
cakedu gâteau