French Food Vocabulary — Words You Can Hear and Play
Food is where most people's French begins — you order it, you shop for it, you talk about it every single day. This page gathers the essential French food and drink vocabulary, from le pain (bread) and le fromage (cheese) to la pomme (apple) and l'eau (water), each paired with its English meaning and a button to hear it spoken aloud. A quick note for English speakers: every French noun carries a gender. Bread is masculine (le pain), an apple is feminine (la pomme), and there's no shortcut — the article is part of the word, so learn pomme and la together. French spelling also hides sounds: many final consonants stay silent, which is exactly why hearing each word matters more than reading it. Tap the 🔊 next to any word and a French voice says it for you. Read the list once to get your bearings, then stop reading — these words are far easier to remember when you meet them in motion, which is what the game at the bottom of this page is for.
Key words explained
- apple pomme She picked a ripe apple straight from the tree.
- bread pain We bought a warm loaf of bread from the bakery.
- milk lait He pours cold milk over his cereal every morning.
- egg œuf I fried an egg for breakfast.
- water eau After the run, I drank a tall glass of water.
- rice riz They served the curry with a bowl of steamed rice.
- meat viande The stew is packed with tender pieces of meat.
- fish poisson We grilled fresh fish for dinner by the sea.
All 150 French food words
| English | French | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| apple | pomme | |
| bread | pain | |
| milk | lait | |
| egg | œuf | |
| water | eau | |
| rice | riz | |
| meat | viande | |
| fish | poisson | |
| chicken | poulet | |
| cheese | fromage | |
| butter | beurre | |
| sugar | sucre | |
| salt | sel | |
| oil | huile | |
| soup | soupe | |
| coffee | café | |
| tea | thé | |
| juice | jus | |
| banana | banane | |
| orange | orange | |
| tomato | tomate | |
| potato | pomme de terre | |
| onion | oignon | |
| garlic | ail | |
| cake | gâteau | |
| chocolate | chocolat | |
| pizza | pizza | |
| sandwich | sandwich | |
| salad | salade | |
| meal | repas | |
| carrot | carotte | |
| cucumber | concombre | |
| pepper | poivron | |
| lettuce | laitue | |
| mushroom | champignon | |
| corn | maïs | |
| grape | raisin | |
| strawberry | fraise | |
| lemon | citron | |
| watermelon | pastèque | |
| pear | poire | |
| peach | pêche | |
| pasta | pâtes | |
| noodle | nouilles | |
| flour | farine | |
| honey | miel | |
| jam | confiture | |
| sauce | sauce | |
| vinegar | vinaigre | |
| spice | épice | |
| yogurt | yaourt | |
| cream | crème | |
| ice cream | glace | |
| cookie | biscuit | |
| breakfast | petit-déjeuner | |
| lunch | déjeuner | |
| dinner | dîner | |
| snack | collation | |
| recipe | recette | |
| diet | régime | |
| beef | bœuf | |
| pork | porc | |
| lamb | agneau | |
| shrimp | crevette | |
| tofu | tofu | |
| mango | mangue | |
| pineapple | ananas | |
| cherry | cerise | |
| coconut | noix de coco | |
| melon | melon | |
| spinach | épinard | |
| broccoli | brocoli | |
| cabbage | chou | |
| peas | petits pois | |
| beans | haricots | |
| wine | vin | |
| beer | bière | |
| soda | soda | |
| cook | cuisiner | |
| bake | faire cuire | |
| fry | frire | |
| boil | faire bouillir | |
| grill | griller | |
| burger | burger | |
| stew | ragoût | |
| curry | curry | |
| sweet | sucré | |
| sour | aigre | |
| spicy | épicé | |
| bitter | amer | |
| salty | salé | |
| fresh | frais | |
| frozen | congelé | |
| raw | cru | |
| ripe | mûr | |
| hunger | faim | |
| thirst | soif | |
| taste | goût | |
| flavor | saveur | |
| ingredient | ingrédient | |
| portion | portion | |
| menu | menu | |
| restaurant | restaurant | |
| kitchen | cuisine | |
| oven | four | |
| plate | assiette | |
| bowl | bol | |
| cup | tasse | |
| glass | verre | |
| fork | fourchette | |
| knife | couteau | |
| spoon | cuillère | |
| chopsticks | baguettes | |
| fridge | réfrigérateur | |
| sushi | sushi | |
| taco | taco | |
| noodle soup | soupe de nouilles | |
| dumpling | ravioli | |
| popcorn | popcorn | |
| chips | chips | |
| avocado | avocat | |
| blueberry | myrtille | |
| kiwi | kiwi | |
| eggplant | aubergine | |
| pumpkin | citrouille | |
| celery | céleri | |
| salmon | saumon | |
| tuna | thon | |
| turkey | dinde | |
| crab | crabe | |
| smoothie | smoothie | |
| lemonade | limonade | |
| hot chocolate | chocolat chaud | |
| mustard | moutarde | |
| ketchup | ketchup | |
| cinnamon | cannelle | |
| vanilla | vanille | |
| omelette | omelette | |
| pancake | crêpe | |
| waffle | gaufre | |
| porridge | bouillie | |
| cereal | céréales | |
| pot | casserole | |
| pan | poêle | |
| microwave | micro-ondes | |
| protein | protéine | |
| vitamin | vitamine | |
| calorie | calorie | |
| grocery | épicerie | |
| supermarket | supermarché |
Tired of memorizing word lists? Reading a table won't make these stick. Speakka turns vocabulary into a falling-words game — catch the word before it lands and the meaning sticks because you played it. A new way to learn vocabulary that doesn't feel like studying.
→ Play in Speakka