Food and drink in Spanish and French
Food is one of the most regional topics in both languages: the same fruit can have a different name across the Spanish-speaking world, and Quebec French names its meals differently from France. The tables give the form most classrooms teach and note the common alternatives.
The words
| Picture | English | Spanish | French |
|---|---|---|---|
| bread | el pan | le pain | |
| water | el agua | l'eau | |
| milk | la leche | le lait | |
| juice | el jugo / el zumo | le jus | |
| apple | la manzana | la pomme | |
| banana | el plátano / la banana | la banane | |
| orange | la naranja | l'orange | |
| strawberry | la fresa / la frutilla | la fraise | |
| grape | la uva | · | |
| potato | la papa / la patata | la pomme de terre | |
| carrot | la zanahoria | la carotte | |
| tomato | el tomate / el jitomate | la tomate | |
| lettuce | la lechuga | · | |
| beans | los frijoles / las judías | · | |
| rice | el arroz | le riz | |
| cheese | el queso | le fromage | |
| egg | el huevo | l'œuf | |
| chicken | el pollo | le poulet | |
| meat | la carne | la viande | |
| fish (food) | el pescado | le poisson | |
| soup | la sopa | la soupe | |
| salad | la ensalada | · | |
| ice cream | el helado | · | |
| cookie, biscuit | la galleta | · | |
| butter | · | le beurre | |
| pasta | · | les pâtes | |
| grapes | · | le raisin | |
| breakfast | · | le petit-déjeuner / le déjeuner | |
| lunch | · | le déjeuner / le dîner | |
| dinner (evening meal) | · | le dîner / le souper |
Where two forms are given, both are standard in different regions and both are marked right on the answer keys. Every word is checked in two dictionaries: how we check. Pictures: OpenMoji, CC BY-SA 4.0, and Language Sheets.
Make a worksheet: food and drink
Word search, bingo, crossword, matching or flashcards, with a separate answer key.
Spanish: el agua is feminine
El agua takes el only because it starts with a stressed a; it is feminine (el agua fría, las aguas).
Regional words: jugo in the Americas and zumo in Spain; papa and patata; frijoles and judías.
French: du pain, de la viande
Food you eat some of takes the partitive: du pain, de la viande, de l'eau, des pâtes.
Meals differ in Quebec, Belgium and Switzerland: le déjeuner is breakfast there, le dîner lunch and le souper the evening meal.
In the classroom
Flashcards and bingo suit food well. A role-played café or market with the flashcards as stock is a good speaking task.