🍞The basics
Bread, eggs, rice, milk, salt — the staples you shop for every week.
23 concepts
Columns follow the languages switched on at the top. Gender after the word (m/f/n); IPA beneath; notes, alternatives and origins underneath — nothing is hidden.
| Concept | English | Français | Español |
|---|---|---|---|
bread noun | bread Uncountable: some bread, a loaf of bread, a slice of bread — never 'a bread'. | painm also: baguette Du pain. Pain and pin (pine) sound the same: /pɛ̃/. | panm also: barra (a baguette, Spain) Una barra de pan = a baguette. Pan de molde = sliced bread. |
egg noun | egg Boiled, fried, scrambled, poached. | œufm pl. œufs Singular /œf/ with the f; plural œufs /ø/ — the f AND the vowel change. | huevom The h is silent and hue- is /we/. Also vulgar slang (testicles) in many countries — context. |
rice noun | rice Uncountable: some rice, a grain of rice. | rizm The z is silent: /ʁi/, like rit (laughs). | arrozm Plural arroces. /aˈros/ in Latin America. |
meat noun | meat Sounds like 'meet'. The meat has its own name, not the animal's: beef, pork, lamb. | viandef Viande hachée = mince. Le bœuf, le porc, l'agneau — same word for animal and meat. | carnef In Argentina carne alone means beef. Carne picada = mince. |
fish (to eat) noun | fish Plural usually fish: two fish. Fish and chips. | poissonm One s /s/ vs two: poison = /pwazɔ̃/, poisson = /pwasɔ̃/. Don't serve poison. | pescadom also: pez (alive, in the water) Pescado is the fish on your plate; the live fish is el pez (plural peces). |
chicken (the meat) noun | chicken Same word for the bird and the meat. A chicken (the bird), some chicken (the meat). | pouletm also: poule (the hen) Le poulet is what you eat; la poule lays the eggs. Poulet is also slang for a cop. | pollom also: gallina (the hen) Most speakers say /ˈpoʝo/. Pollo asado = roast chicken. |
vegetable noun | vegetable also: veg (UK, spoken), veggies Three syllables, not four: /ˈvɛd͡ʒtəbl/ — the first e after the g is swallowed. | légumem Masculine despite the -e: un légume. Usually plural: des légumes. | verduraf also: hortaliza (technical), vegetal Usually plural: las verduras. Vegetales is also heard, especially in Latin America. |
tomato noun | tomato British /təˈmɑːtəʊ/, US /təˈmeɪtoʊ/ — the classic 'you say tomato'. Plural tomatoes. | tomatef | tomatem also: jitomate (Mexico) Masculine: el tomate. In Mexico tomate can mean the green tomatillo; the red one is jitomate. |
onion noun | onion Starts with the vowel of 'up', not 'on': /ˈʌnjən/. | oignonm The i is silent: /ɔɲɔ̃/. The 1990 reform allows ognon. | cebollaf /seˈβoʝa/ in Latin America. |
potato noun | potato also: spud (UK, informal) Plural potatoes. Chips (UK) = fries; crisps (UK) = chips (US). | pomme de terref pl. pommes de terre also: patate (familiar) 'Earth apple'. In speech patate is everywhere; frites = chips. | patataf also: papa (Latin America, Canaries, Andalusia) Spain: patata. Latin America: papa — which in Spain means the Pope (el Papa) or dad (papá). |
apple noun | apple The vowel of 'cat', not of 'up'. | pommef Pomme de terre (potato) is literally 'earth apple'. | manzanaf Also a city block in Spain: dar la vuelta a la manzana. |
cheese noun | cheese Ends in /z/. Uncountable for the food: some cheese. | fromagem Du fromage. From 'formage' — cheese made in a form (a mould). | quesom qu = /k/. Queso rallado = grated cheese. |
butter noun | butter British English drops the final r: /ˈbʌtə/. | beurrem Du beurre. Beurre salé = salted butter (Brittany's pride). | mantequillaf also: manteca (Argentina, Uruguay) In Spain manteca is lard; in Argentina it is butter. |
milk noun | milk Uncountable: some milk, a glass of milk. | laitm The t is silent. Café au lait; lait demi-écrémé = semi-skimmed. | lechef Feminine: la leche. ¡Qué mala leche! = what bad luck / bad temper (Spain, colloquial). |
water noun | water British /ˈwɔːtə/ with a clear t; tap water is free in restaurants — ask for 'tap water'. | eauf pl. eaux One vowel, three letters. Une carafe d'eau = free tap water in a restaurant. | aguaf Feminine but takes el: el agua fría (el before a stressed a-). |
coffee noun | coffee British /ˈkɒfi/, the vowel of 'hot'. | cafém Un café = an espresso. Also the place: on se retrouve au café. | cafém Café solo = black; cortado = with a dash of milk; con leche = half and half. |
tea noun | tea In Britain also the evening meal (northern England): what's for tea? | thém The h is silent. Une tisane / une infusion = herbal tea. | tém The accent separates té (tea) from te (you). Infusión = herbal tea. |
soup noun | soup Ou = /uː/, as in 'group'. | soupef also: potage, velouté (smooth) Potage is a little more refined; velouté is creamy. | sopaf also: caldo (broth), crema (smooth) Sopa de ajo, gazpacho (cold). Estar hecho una sopa = soaked through. |
cake noun | cake A piece of cake = easy. | gâteaum pl. gâteaux Le cake (French) is only a loaf cake, often with fruit. | tartaf also: pastel, torta (Latin America), bizcocho (sponge) Spain: tarta de cumpleaños. Latin America: pastel or torta — and in Mexico a torta is a sandwich. |
salt noun | salt British /sɔːlt/ or /sɒlt/. Pass the salt. | selm Sel et poivre = salt and pepper. Poivre et sel is the hair: grey at the temples. | salf Feminine: la sal — though Italian sale is masculine. |
sugar noun | sugar The s is /ʃ/, as in 'sure' — not /s/. | sucrem Sucre en poudre = caster sugar; un sucre = a sugar cube. | azúcarm Usually masculine, but 'azúcar morena' (brown) is feminine — both are heard. |
flour noun | flour Sounds exactly like 'flower' — the two were once one word. | farinef | harinaf Latin f became a silent h in Spanish: farina → harina. |
garlic noun | garlic Uncountable: some garlic; a clove of garlic, a bulb of garlic. | ailm also: gousse d'ail (clove) /aj/, like 'eye'. Plural ails (the old aulx is in dictionaries only). | ajom also: diente de ajo (clove) A clove is a 'tooth' of garlic. Estar en el ajo = to be in on it. |