At The Supermarket: 112 Useful French Vocabulary for Grocery­ Shopping

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Last Updated: June 21, 2023

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Buying stuff at the store is a necessary part of living, regardless of whether you find it a mundane task you’re too lazy to do or you actually enjoy it.

french-grocery

When you’re in a French-speaking country, it’s incredibly important to know the French words for items you need to grab at the store, as well as the vocabulary that you will encounter during this task.

But even when you’re simply learning French from your own non-French-speaking country, the terms related to buying groceries are still among the common words to know. That way you can ask or list your groceries in French!

This article is all about food and basic items that usually make up your grocery list. We’ll be learning French words for different types of stores, common grocery items, meat products, dairy, as well as equipment usually found inside stores.

You can also download a copy of the vocabulary list in PDF format by clicking the yellow button.

First, the types of stores.

le supermarchésupermarket
une épiceriesmall grocery store selling general items
le marchéfarmer's market
un hypermarchésuperstore, big supernarket
la boucheriebutcher shop
la boulangeriebakery
la charcuteriemeat shop/ delicatessen
la confiserieconfectionery/ candy shop
la crèmerie/ la laiteriemilk/ dairy products store
la fromageriecheese store
la pâtisseriepastry shop
le cavistewine store
la poissonneriefish shop
la drogueriedrugstore
la quincailleriehardware store

Now let’s take a look at common grocery items and their corresponding French words.

les provisionsgroceries
les fruitsfruits
les légumesvegetables
les produits surgelésfrozen foods
les céréalescereals
le poissonfish
la viandemeat
la volaillepoultry
les boissonsbeverages
l'eauwater
l’eau minéralemineral water
le jus de fruitfruit juice
le jus d’orangeorange juice
la limonadelemonade
la bièrebeer
le cafécoffee
le café instantané instant coffee
le café décaféinédecaffeinated coffee
le café moulucoffee grounds
du café en grainscoffee beans
le thétea
le thé vertgreen tea
le thé noirblack tea
le vinwine
le vin blancwhite wine
le vin rougered wine
le champagnechampagne
le cidrecider
les conservescanned goods
les plats cuisinésinstant meals
les produits d’entretienhousehold cleaning items
les articles de toilettetoiletries
la nourriture pour animauxpet food
l’électoménagerelectrical products/ supplies
les articles pour bébésbaby items
les magazines/revuesmagazines

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For the different types of meat, see below.

le bœufbeef
le porcpork
le chevreuilvenison
le veauveal
le pouletchicken
la dindeturkey
le canardduck
l’oiegoose
le poulet préparédressed chicken
l’agneaulamb
le lapinrabbit
le baconbacon
le jambonham
les saucissessausages
les morceaux de viandemeat cuts
le foieliver
la viande hachéeground meat/ minced meat
le grasfat
la viande maigrelean meat
la côte de bœufbeef rib
la côtelettechop
le filetfillet
fumésmoked
salésalted
fermier / fermièrefree range
bioorganic
la viande cuitecooked meat
la viande crueraw meat

For vocabulary about fruits and grains, you can go here.

Now for the different dairy products.

le laitmilk
le fromagecheese
le lait de vachecow's milk
le lait de chèvregoat's milk
le lait de brebissheep's milk
le lait entierwhole milk
le lait écréméskimmed milk
le lait condensécondensed milk
le lait pasturisépasteurized milk
le lait non-pasteuriséunpasteurized milk
le beurrebutter
la crèmecream
la margarinemargarine
le yaourtyoghurt
le babeurrebuttermilk
la glaceice cream
le lait en poudrepowdered milk
le fromage à la crèmecream cheese
la crème fouettéewhipped cream
sans matières grassesfat-free
le fromage râpégrated cheese
le fromage fraisfresh cheese
le bleublue cheese

If you want to know the names of the most popular French cheeses, you can check out this guide to French cheese.

And finally, here is a list of common things you find inside supermarket in French.

le caddietrolley/shopping cart
le paniershopping basket
l’étagèreshelf
le caissiercashier
la caissecheckout/ cash register
le code-barresbar code
le tapis roulantconveyor belt
le sac à provisionsshopping bag
le lecteur optiquescanner
l’alléeaisle


Hopefully after reading this article you will be able to navigate through the supermarket in French and most of all buy groceries in French!

Did we miss anything? Make sure to add it in the comment section. 

Here are some FAQs about French Grocery Shopping

What is a French shop called?

Un magasin !

How do you say “shopping list” in French?

Liste des courses !

How do you ask for something in a French shop?

Here are a few ways to ask:

  • Je dois trouver… (I need to find…)
  • Pardonnez-moi, je cherche… (Pardon me, I’m looking for…)
  • Vous Avez …? (Do you have…?)

What are some French vocabulary words?

This article has outlined 112 spectacular words you’ll come across when grocery shopping! Some other phrases you may need to know:

  • Faire les courses (shopping for essentials)

  • Faire du shopping (shopping for specific, non-essential items such as a hat)

  • Les soldes (the sales; faire les soldes means to shop the sales)

  • Heures d’ouverture (shop/opening hours)

  • Je vais payer en liquide (I’ll pay in cash.)

  • Je peux régler par carte ? (Can I pay by card?)

    • You can also use: Puis-je payer par carte bancaire ?

About the author 

Frederic Bibard is the founder of Talk in French, a company that helps french learners to practice and improve their french. Macaron addict. Jacques Audiard fan. You can contact him on Instagram

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