French Food Vocabulary: 100 Words Every Learner Needs
Ingredients, cooking methods, classic dish names, and café culture — the French food lexicon that actually gets used. From brasserie menus to Provençal markets, this is the vocabulary that unlocks French food culture.
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Vegetables
Core vegetable vocabulary — useful for menus, markets, and recipes.
| French | Type | English |
|---|---|---|
| tomate | noun | tomato |
| oignon | noun | onion |
| ail | noun | garlic |
| poivron | noun | bell pepper |
| piment | noun | chilli pepper |
| courgette | noun | courgette / zucchini |
| aubergine | noun | aubergine / eggplant |
| épinards | noun | spinach |
| pomme de terre | noun | potato |
| carotte | noun | carrot |
| champignons | noun | mushrooms |
| laitue | noun | lettuce |
| chou | noun | cabbage |
| brocoli | noun | broccoli |
| artichaut | noun | artichoke |
| petits pois | noun | peas |
| haricots | noun | beans |
| lentilles | noun | lentils |
| asperges | noun | asparagus |
| poireau | noun | leek |
Fruit
French fruit vocabulary — from the marché to the pâtisserie.
| French | Type | English |
|---|---|---|
| pomme | noun | apple |
| poire | noun | pear |
| orange | noun | orange |
| citron | noun | lemon |
| banane | noun | banana |
| fraise | noun | strawberry |
| raisin | noun | grapes |
| pêche | noun | peach |
| cerise | noun | cherry |
| pastèque | noun | watermelon |
| melon | noun | melon |
| figue | noun | fig |
| abricot | noun | apricot |
| framboise | noun | raspberry |
| prune | noun | plum |
Dairy & eggs
France has over 400 types of cheese — these are the essential category terms.
| French | Type | English |
|---|---|---|
| beurre | noun | butter |
| crème fraîche | noun | crème fraîche (thick slightly sour cream) |
| crème liquide | noun | double / heavy cream |
| yaourt | noun | yogurt |
| fromage à pâte molle | noun | soft cheese (Brie, Camembert) |
| fromage à pâte dure | noun | hard cheese (Comté, Emmental) |
| chèvre | noun | goat's cheese |
| fromage bleu | noun | blue cheese (Roquefort) |
| œufs brouillés | noun | scrambled eggs |
| œuf à la coque | noun | soft-boiled egg |
| œuf dur | noun | hard-boiled egg |
Cooking methods
French cuisine has precise terminology for how food is cooked — these appear on every menu.
| French | Type | English |
|---|---|---|
| bouilli | adj | boiled |
| frit | adj | fried |
| au four | adj | baked / oven-cooked |
| grillé | adj | grilled |
| rôti | adj | roasted |
| braisé | adj | braised |
| sauté | adj | sautéed |
| à la vapeur | adj | steamed |
| cru | adj | raw |
| fumé | adj | smoked |
| mariné | adj | marinated |
| farci | adj | stuffed |
| pané | adj | breaded |
| gratiné | adj | au gratin |
| poché | adj | poached |
| confit | adj | preserved in fat / slowly cooked in fat |
| émincé | adj | thinly sliced |
| haché | adj | minced / chopped |
| bien cuit | adj | well done |
| saignant | adj | rare (meat) |
| à point | adj | medium (meat) |
Courses & classic dishes
The structure of a French meal and the dishes you'll encounter on every brasserie menu.
| French | Type | English |
|---|---|---|
| amuse-bouche | noun | small pre-starter bite |
| entrée | noun | starter / appetiser |
| soupe | noun | soup |
| plat principal | noun | main course |
| bœuf bourguignon | noun | beef braised in Burgundy wine |
| coq au vin | noun | chicken braised in wine |
| cassoulet | noun | slow-cooked bean and meat casserole |
| bouillabaisse | noun | Provençal fish stew |
| ratatouille | noun | vegetable stew from Provence |
| quiche | noun | egg and cream tart |
| crêpe | noun | thin pancake |
| galette | noun | buckwheat crêpe (savoury) |
| croque-monsieur | noun | toasted ham and cheese sandwich |
| tarte tatin | noun | upside-down caramelised apple tart |
| mille-feuille | noun | layered pastry (Napoleon) |
At the table
Tableware and dining logistics.
| French | Type | English |
|---|---|---|
| carte des vins | noun | wine list |
| verre | noun | glass |
| bouteille | noun | bottle |
| carafe | noun | carafe / jug |
| couteau | noun | knife |
| fourchette | noun | fork |
| cuillère | noun | spoon |
Café & drinks
French café culture is a social institution. These are the drinks you'll order.
| French | Type | English |
|---|---|---|
| un café | noun | an espresso |
| un café allongé | noun | a longer / weaker espresso |
| un café crème | noun | espresso with hot milk |
| une noisette | noun | espresso with a dash of milk |
| une tisane | noun | herbal tea |
| un kir | noun | white wine with blackcurrant liqueur |
| un kir royal | noun | champagne with blackcurrant liqueur |
| un apéritif | noun | pre-meal drink |
| un digestif | noun | after-dinner drink |
| pastis | noun | anise-flavoured liqueur (South of France) |
| pression | noun | draft beer |
How to learn French food vocabulary
Food vocabulary is some of the most motivating content to learn — it's immediately usable and culturally rich. Here's how to make it stick:
- →Learn the cooking method adjectives as a batch — rôti, grillé, braisé — they appear constantly on French menus.
- →Read French restaurant menus on Google Maps before visiting — it primes the words before you need them.
- →Watch French cooking shows on YouTube (there are many with subtitles) to hear the vocabulary in context.
- →Note the difference between entrée in French (starter) vs American English (main) — a common confusion.
- →Use spaced repetition to review the words a few days after first seeing them — that's when retention gaps open.
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