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Au Café — ordering drinks in French | Vocabulary

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Ordering drinks & sitting on the terrasse. This French ordering drinks sitting on terrasse vocabulary list gives you 18 essential words — from un café (an espresso) to C’est pour emporter ? (Is it to take away?) — each with audio and its English translation. Use it to build the French words you need to talk about ordering drinks sitting on terrasse, then test yourself with the games below.

Au Café

Ordering drinks & sitting on the terrasse

Les boissons chaudes ☕

un caféan espresso
un café au laitcoffee with milk
un crèmea coffee with cream
un décaa decaf
un théa tea
un chocolat chauda hot chocolate

Les boissons fraîches 🥤

un demia (half-pint of) beer
une bièrea beer
un verre de vina glass of wine
un jus d’orangean orange juice
une eau gazeuse / platesparkling / still water
un diabololemonade + syrup

Les phrases 💬

Un café, s’il vous plaît.An espresso, please.
Pour moi, un thé.A tea for me.
La même chosethe same
Vous avez choisi ?Have you decided?
L’addition, s’il vous plaît.The bill, please.
C’est pour emporter ?Is it to take away?
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🎬 The 20-second version

5 quick questions on « Au Café » — guess before the reveal. Practise with the free games → Open this short as a page — transcript included →

📘 Café culture, decoded

  • « Un café » means a small black espresso by default. Want a big milky one? Ask for un café au lait or un crème.
  • Un demi = a glass of draft beer (~25cl) — order « un demi » not « une demi-bière ».
  • Prices change by where you sit: au comptoir (at the bar) is cheaper than en terrasse (on the terrace). You pay for the seat!
  • You usually pay when you leave, and a small tip (round up) is appreciated but not required — service is included.
  • The café is a social HQ: « On prend un verre ? » (shall we grab a drink?) is a core French invitation.

🔊 Useful phrases

Un café et un croissant, s’il vous plaît.An espresso and a croissant, please.
Vous prenez quoi ? — Un demi pour moi.What are you having? — A beer for me.
On se prend un verre en terrasse ?Shall we grab a drink on the terrace?
L’addition, quand vous voulez.The bill, whenever you’re ready.

🔊 Example sentences

Je voudrais un crème, s’il vous plaît.I’d like a white coffee, please.
Deux demis et une eau gazeuse.Two beers and a sparkling water.
On paie au comptoir, c’est moins cher.We’ll pay at the bar, it’s cheaper.

✍️ Practice

a small black espresso = un ___ (default coffee)

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café

a glass of draft beer = un ___ (not une bière)

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demi

on the terrace = en ___ (costs more)

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terrasse

🎮 Practise this with games

🎯 More practice — vocabulary recall — both directions

How do you say « an espresso »? (recall)

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un café

What does « un crème » mean? (recall)

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a coffee with cream

How do you say « a tea »? (recall)

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un thé

What does « un demi » mean? (recall)

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a beer

How do you say « a glass of wine »? (recall)

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un verre de vin

What does « une eau gazeuse / plate » mean? (recall)

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sparkling / still water

How do you say « An espresso, please. »? (recall)

Show answer

Un café, s’il vous plaît.

What does « La même chose » mean? (recall)

Show answer

the same

French ordering drinks sitting on terrasse vocabulary — FAQ

How do you say common ordering drinks sitting on terrasse words in French?

For example: an espresso is « un café », coffee with milk is « un café au lait », a coffee with cream is « un crème ». The full list above has 18 French ordering drinks sitting on terrasse words, each with audio so you can hear the pronunciation.

What are the most useful French ordering drinks sitting on terrasse words to learn first?

Start with the basics: un café (an espresso), un café au lait (coffee with milk), un crème (a coffee with cream), un déca (a decaf), un thé (a tea), un chocolat chaud (a hot chocolate). Master these core French words before moving on to the rest of the list.

How can I memorise French ordering drinks sitting on terrasse vocabulary?

Learn the words in small themed groups, say each one out loud with the audio, and use it in a short sentence about your own life. Spaced repetition is what makes new vocabulary stick — see our guide to learning French vocabulary that sticks.

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