Au Marché — buying fresh food in French | Vocabulary
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Buying fresh food, French-style. This French buying fresh food -style vocabulary list gives you 22 essential words — from un kilo de (a kilo of) to Ça fait combien ? (How much altogether?) — each with audio and its English translation. Use it to build the French words you need to talk about buying fresh food -style, then test yourself with the games below.
Au Marché
Buying fresh food, French-style
Les quantités ⚖️
Les étals 🍎
Les phrases magiques 💬
🎬 The 20-second version
5 quick questions on « Au Marché » — guess before the reveal. Practise with the free games → Open this short as a page — transcript included →
📘 Market French decoded
- Open with Je voudrais or Je vais prendre — never the blunt je veux.
- Quantities all use de: un kilo de pommes, une botte de radis — the partitive-quantity rule.
- The vendor’s script: « Et avec ça ? » (anything else?) → « Ce sera tout, merci. » (that’ll be all).
- Un peu plus / un peu moins ? — they’ll ask as they weigh; c’est parfait = perfect, stop there.
- Markets are cash-friendly and chatty — a smile + Bonjour before ordering is non-negotiable politeness.
🔊 Useful phrases
🔊 Example sentences
✍️ Practice
a kilo OF apples = un kilo ___ pommes (quantity rule)
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de
polite “I’d like” = je ___ (softener)
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voudrais
a bunch of radishes = une ___ de radis (market unit)
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botte
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🎯 More practice — vocabulary recall — both directions
How do you say « a kilo of »? (recall)
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un kilo de
What does « cent grammes de » mean? (recall)
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100 grams of
How do you say « a punnet of »? (recall)
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une barquette de
What does « un morceau de » mean? (recall)
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a piece of
How do you say « greengrocer »? (recall)
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le primeur
What does « le boucher » mean? (recall)
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butcher
How do you say « ripe »? (recall)
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mûr
What does « de saison » mean? (recall)
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in season
Go further: Argent & Shopping — paying and prices.
French buying fresh food -style vocabulary — FAQ
How do you say common buying fresh food -style words in French?
For example: a kilo of is « un kilo de », half a kilo of is « une livre de », 100 grams of is « cent grammes de ». The full list above has 22 French buying fresh food -style words, each with audio so you can hear the pronunciation.
What are the most useful French buying fresh food -style words to learn first?
Start with the basics: un kilo de (a kilo of), une livre de (half a kilo of), cent grammes de (100 grams of), une botte de (a bunch of (radishes/carrots)), une barquette de (a punnet of (berries)), une douzaine d’œufs (a dozen eggs). Master these core French words before moving on to the rest of the list.
How can I memorise French buying fresh food -style 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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