Talking about meals in French is easy once you master this vocab! Find out how to pronounce different words to do with meals in French with this free lesson! Listen to the audio of French words about meals, then practice your pronunciation with our voice recognition tool.
By the end you’ll know how to talk about daily meals, and what to expect when eating in France. I’ve also included the French words for some of my favorite food, so you’ll never go hungry!
Resources for further reading:
Rocket Record lets you perfect your French pronunciation. Just listen to the native speaker audio and then use the microphone icon to record yourself. Once you’re done, you’ll get a score out of 100 on your pronunciation and can listen to your own audio playback. (Use a headset mic for best results.) Problems? Click here!
Le petit déjeuner
Breakfast
Le déjeuner
Lunch
Le croissant
Croissant (Bread)
La brioche
Brioche (Bread)
Goûter
To taste
Le pain au chocolat
Bread with chocolate
Le dîner
Evening meal
Le potage
Soup
Le gratin
Gratin
L'apéritif
The aperitif
Le muscat
Muscat
“Le petit déjeuner”, breakfast, is usually much lighter than either English or American breakfasts, made of fresh bread, “croissant” or “brioche”.
“Le déjeuner”, lunch, is always taken between 12 and 2 p.m. and sometimes longer in the sunny south. It is very common for people to enjoy a table red (wine) during a workday lunch.
“Le goûter” is especially popular with children and traditionally involves “pain au chocolat”, which dates back to when plain bread was stuffed with squares of chocolate to surprise children after school!
“Le dîner” is a light evening meal, often made of “potage”, a soup, or “gratin”, vegetables cooked with a crispy cheese topping.
Reinforce your learning from this lesson with the Rocket Reinforcement activities!
“L’apéritif” is enjoyed by old and young alike, and consists of a cooked wine, and in some regions a “Muscat”, with savory appetizers intended to open the appetite, such as paté on thin toast.
Check out these other French food and drink related lessons!
À bientôt!
Marie-Claire Rivière and the Rocket French Team