French Food and Drink Vocabulary
Getting started
Food and drink vocabulary comes up constantly in the TEF/TCF speaking and listening sections: restaurants, grocery shopping, daily routine, and health-related contexts. In this lesson, learn each word together with its article, because in French a noun almost always sounds natural paired with le/la/du/de la/des.
Note: the pronunciation guides below are approximations only. French nasal vowels, the u sound, and the French r can’t be fully captured in plain English spelling. Always check real audio from RFI, Radio-Canada, or a similar source.
1. Core food words
| French | English | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| manger | to eat | mahn-zhay |
| boire | to drink | bwahr |
| le repas | meal | luh ruh-pah |
| le pain | bread | luh pan |
| le riz | rice | luh ree |
| les pâtes | pasta | lay paht |
| la viande | meat | lah vee-ahnd |
| le poulet | chicken | luh poo-lay |
| le poisson | fish | luh pwah-sohn |
| les légumes | vegetables | lay lay-gyoom |
| les fruits | fruit | lay frwee |
| la pomme | apple | lah pom |
| la banane | banana | lah bah-nahn |
| la tomate | tomato | lah toh-maht |
| la carotte | carrot | lah kah-rot |
Examples:
- Je mange du riz. (I eat rice.)
- Je ne mange pas de viande. (I do not eat meat.)
- J’achète des légumes. (I buy vegetables.)
2. Drinks
| French | English | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| l’eau | water | loh |
| le café | coffee | luh kah-fay |
| le thé | tea | luh tay |
| le jus | juice | luh zhoo |
| le lait | milk | luh lay |
| le sucre | sugar | luh sook-ruh |
| le sel | salt | luh sel |
| le beurre | butter | luh burr |
| le fromage | cheese | luh froh-mahzh |
| l’œuf | egg | luf |
Note: l’eau is feminine, but because it starts with a vowel we don’t say la eau — we say l’eau.
3. Meals and places
| French | English | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| le petit-déjeuner | breakfast | luh puh-tee-day-zhuh-nay |
| le déjeuner | lunch | luh day-zhuh-nay |
| le dîner | dinner | luh dee-nay |
| le restaurant | restaurant | luh res-toh-rahn |
| l’épicerie | grocery store | lay-pee-suh-ree |
| le supermarché | supermarket | luh soo-per-mar-shay |
| la recette | recipe | lah ruh-set |
| délicieux / délicieuse | delicious | day-lee-syuh |
| végétarien(ne) | vegetarian | vay-zhay-tah-ryen |
This pattern is safe to use in a restaurant:
- Je voudrais une soupe, s’il vous plaît. (I would like a soup, please.)
- C’est délicieux. (It is delicious.)
- L’addition, s’il vous plaît. (The bill, please.)
4. The article trap
In French, food is almost always paired with du / de la / des:
| Pattern | Example | English |
|---|---|---|
| du + masculine | Je mange du pain. | I eat bread. |
| de la + feminine | Je mange de la soupe. | I eat soup. |
| de l’ + vowel | Je bois de l’eau. | I drink water. |
| des + plural | Je mange des pâtes. | I eat pasta. |
Note: in a negative sentence, un/une/des/du/de la almost always becomes de: Je ne mange pas de viande.
What’s next
Now connect this vocabulary to grammar: French Articles, Negation (ne…pas), and Everyday Greetings and Phrases — check the full lesson list as more topics get translated.