What is “bread” in French?
The English word “bread” names the baked food made from flour, water and a raising agent. French calls it pain, a masculine noun, said /pɛ̃/. The Académie française defines it in its 9th edition as “aliment fait de farine pétrie, fermentée et cuite au four”: a food made of flour that has been kneaded, left to rise and baked in the oven.
Pain works in two ways. It is the substance: du pain, “some bread”, as in J’achète du pain. It is also the single loaf: un pain, “a loaf”, and the plural des pains, “loaves, kinds of bread”. The word also stands for the means of living: gagner son pain means “to earn one’s living”.
Be careful with a false friend. The English word “pain”, meaning an ache, is douleur or mal in French. French pain is bread. The two words are written the same and have nothing in common but their spelling.
Do not take pain and baguette for the same thing. A baguette is one shape of bread; pain is the whole family. In a bakery you ask for une baguette, un pain de campagne, un pain complet, and each is a pain.
The word comes from Latin pānis, “bread” (accusative pānem), and the TLFi dates the French word to the end of the 10th century, in the Passion. The family is large. Panier, “basket”, comes from Latin pānārium, “bread basket” (Wiktionnaire). Copain, the informal word for “pal” from Lesson 101, comes from Old French compain, which is compagnon, “one who shares bread” (Wiktionnaire); English “company” belongs to the same family. A French friend and French bread are close kin.
In Lesson 101 you met ami and amie. Pain begins with a consonant, so there is no elision and no liaison to worry about: le pain, un pain, ce pain, mon pain.
This lesson uses standard French as taught in France. Section E describes Quebec usage.
FAQ: How do you say “bread” in French?
Q: How do I say “some bread”, “the bread” and “a loaf”? A: Du pain, le pain, un pain. Du is de plus le: it means “some” and cannot be dropped.
Q: How do I ask for bread in a bakery? A: Name the kind: Une baguette, s’il vous plaît, or Je voudrais un pain de campagne, s’il vous plaît. For an amount of bread without a kind, du pain.
Q: How do I say “a slice of bread”? A: Une tranche de pain. A piece is un morceau de pain.
Q: Does pain mean “pain”? A: No. French pain is bread; the ache is la douleur. Nasal pain /pɛ̃/ and English “pain” /peɪn/ do not sound alike either.
Q: What is a pain au chocolat? A: A flaky pastry with chocolate in it, not a loaf of bread. The plural is des pains au chocolat; only pain takes the s.
Key Takeaways:
- Pain is masculine: le pain, un pain, du pain; its plural pains is said like the singular, /pɛ̃/ - Du pain is “some bread”; after a negative it becomes de: je n’ai pas de pain, il n’y a plus de pain - Un pain is a loaf; for a part of it say une tranche de pain or un morceau de pain - Pain begins many fixed phrases: pain de campagne, pain complet, pain de mie, pain au chocolat, petit pain, pain perdu - English “pain” (an ache) is douleur in French: pain is only bread
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Pain /pɛ̃/ — one syllable, a nasal vowel. Start with the vowel of English “bed” (or the first vowel of “pen”), and let the air go through the nose and mouth together, with no n or m sounded. The letters -ain are the spelling of that one sound, as in main /mɛ̃/, “hand”, and demain /dəmɛ̃/, “tomorrow”. The p is not followed by a puff of air, as it is in English “pin”.
The written n only shows that the vowel is nasal. If you say /pɛn/, the listener hears peine, “sorrow”.
Pains /pɛ̃/ — the plural s is silent. Pain is said like pin /pɛ̃/ (“pine tree”) and peint /pɛ̃/ (“painted”).
Three nasal vowels in a row: pain /pɛ̃/, pont /pɔ̃/ (“bridge”) and pan /pɑ̃/ (“panel”). Listen for the difference in the mouth: /ɛ̃/ is front and open, /ɔ̃/ is round and back, /ɑ̃/ is open and back.
Other words in this lesson. Boulangerie /bulɑ̃ʒʁi/ — “bakery”, the g is the j of “measure”. Baguette /bagɛt/. Mie /mi/ — the soft inside of a loaf; croûte /kʁut/ — the crust. Four /fuʁ/ — “oven”.
Du pain /dy pɛ̃/ — the u is the French u of lune: lips rounded as for “oo”, tongue forward as for “ee”. Say du, then say dou /du/, and hear the difference.
Stress falls on the last syllable of the group, and each syllable has about the same weight: du pain /dy ˈpɛ̃/, le pain /lə ˈpɛ̃/.
The glossed forms in Section A give each word as it is said alone.
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Duplex Method: line a gives each French word with its meaning; line b gives the same words with IPA and grammatical glosses.
102.1a Le the pain bread est is frais fresh
102.1b Le /lə/ the.M.SG pain /pɛ̃/ bread.M.SG est /ɛ/ be.PRES.3SG frais /fʁɛ/ fresh.M.SG
102.2a J’ I achète buy du some pain bread
102.2b J’ /ʒ/ I.NOM.1SG achète /aʃɛt/ buy.PRES.1SG du /dy/ of-the.M.SG.PARTITIVE pain /pɛ̃/ bread.M.SG
102.3a Je I voudrais would-like du some pain bread
102.3b Je /ʒə/ I.NOM.1SG voudrais /vudʁɛ/ want.COND.1SG du /dy/ of-the.M.SG.PARTITIVE pain /pɛ̃/ bread.M.SG
102.4a Il he mange eats du some pain bread
102.4b Il /il/ he.NOM.3SG mange /mɑ̃ʒ/ eat.PRES.3SG du /dy/ of-the.M.SG.PARTITIVE pain /pɛ̃/ bread.M.SG
102.5a Le the pain bread est is sur on la the table table
102.5b Le /lə/ the.M.SG pain /pɛ̃/ bread.M.SG est /ɛ/ be.PRES.3SG sur /syʁ/ on la /la/ the.F.SG table /tabl/ table.F.SG
102.6a Il it n’ not y there a has plus more de of pain bread
102.6b Il /il/ it.IMPERS.3SG n’ /n/ NEG y /i/ there.PRON a /a/ have.PRES.3SG plus /ply/ NEG.more de /də/ of pain /pɛ̃/ bread.M.SG
102.7a Nous we mangeons eat du some pain bread avec with du some fromage cheese
102.7b Nous /nu/ we.NOM.1PL mangeons /mɑ̃ʒɔ̃/ eat.PRES.1PL du /dy/ of-the.M.SG.PARTITIVE pain /pɛ̃/ bread.M.SG avec /avɛk/ with du /dy/ of-the.M.SG.PARTITIVE fromage /fʁɔmaʒ/ cheese.M.SG
102.8a Le the boulanger baker fait makes le the pain bread tous every les the matins mornings
102.8b Le /lə/ the.M.SG boulanger /bulɑ̃ʒe/ baker.M.SG fait /fɛ/ make.PRES.3SG le /lə/ the.M.SG pain /pɛ̃/ bread.M.SG tous /tu/ every.M.PL les /le/ the.PL matins /matɛ̃/ morning.M.PL
102.9a Elle she coupe cuts le the pain bread avec with un a grand big couteau knife
102.9b Elle /ɛl/ she.NOM.3SG coupe /kup/ cut.PRES.3SG le /lə/ the.M.SG pain /pɛ̃/ bread.M.SG avec /avɛk/ with un /œ̃/ a.M.SG grand /gʁɑ̃/ big.M.SG couteau /kuto/ knife.M.SG
102.10a Je I prends take un a petit small pain bread avec with mon my café coffee
102.10b Je /ʒə/ I.NOM.1SG prends /pʁɑ̃/ take.PRES.1SG un /œ̃/ a.M.SG petit /pəti/ small.M.SG pain /pɛ̃/ bread.M.SG avec /avɛk/ with mon /mɔ̃/ my.M.SG café /kafe/ coffee.M.SG
102.11a Mon my grand-père grandfather achète buys toujours always son his pain bread à at la the même same boulangerie bakery
102.11b Mon /mɔ̃/ my.M.SG grand-père /gʁɑ̃pɛʁ/ grandfather.M.SG achète /aʃɛt/ buy.PRES.3SG toujours /tuʒuʁ/ always son /sɔ̃/ his.M.SG pain /pɛ̃/ bread.M.SG à /a/ at la /la/ the.F.SG même /mɛm/ same.F.SG boulangerie /bulɑ̃ʒʁi/ bakery.F.SG
102.12a Cette this boulangerie bakery vend sells du some pain bread de of campagne countryside et and du some pain bread complet whole
102.12b Cette /sɛt/ this.F.SG boulangerie /bulɑ̃ʒʁi/ bakery.F.SG vend /vɑ̃/ sell.PRES.3SG du /dy/ of-the.M.SG.PARTITIVE pain /pɛ̃/ bread.M.SG de /də/ of campagne /kɑ̃paɲ/ countryside.F.SG et /e/ and du /dy/ of-the.M.SG.PARTITIVE pain /pɛ̃/ bread.M.SG complet /kɔ̃plɛ/ whole.M.SG
102.13a Ce this pain bread est is meilleur better quand when il it est is tout quite juste just sorti come-out du of-the four oven
102.13b Ce /sə/ this.M.SG pain /pɛ̃/ bread.M.SG est /ɛ/ be.PRES.3SG meilleur /mɛjœʁ/ better.M.SG quand /kɑ̃/ when il /il/ it.NOM.3SG est /ɛ/ be.AUX.PRES.3SG tout /tu/ quite juste /ʒyst/ just sorti /sɔʁti/ go-out.PTCP.M.SG du /dy/ of-the.M.SG four /fuʁ/ oven.M.SG
102.14a Il he gagne earns son his pain bread depuis since l’ the âge age de of quinze fifteen ans years
102.14b Il /il/ he.NOM.3SG gagne /gaɲ/ earn.PRES.3SG son /sɔ̃/ his.M.SG pain /pɛ̃/ bread.M.SG depuis /dəpɥi/ since l’ /l/ the.SG âge /ɑʒ/ age.M.SG de /də/ of quinze /kɛ̃z/ fifteen ans /ɑ̃/ year.M.PL
102.15a Cette this réunion meeting est is longue long comme like un a jour day sans without pain bread
102.15b Cette /sɛt/ this.F.SG réunion /ʁeynjɔ̃/ meeting.F.SG est /ɛ/ be.PRES.3SG longue /lɔ̃g/ long.F.SG comme /kɔm/ like un /œ̃/ a.M.SG jour /ʒuʁ/ day.M.SG sans /sɑ̃/ without pain /pɛ̃/ bread.M.SG
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102.1 Le pain est frais. → “The bread is fresh.”
102.2 J’achète du pain. → “I’m buying some bread.”
102.3 Je voudrais du pain. → “I would like some bread.”
102.4 Il mange du pain. → “He is eating bread.”
102.5 Le pain est sur la table. → “The bread is on the table.”
102.6 Il n’y a plus de pain. → “There is no bread left.”
102.7 Nous mangeons du pain avec du fromage. → “We eat bread with cheese.”
102.8 Le boulanger fait le pain tous les matins. → “The baker makes the bread every morning.”
102.9 Elle coupe le pain avec un grand couteau. → “She cuts the bread with a big knife.”
102.10 Je prends un petit pain avec mon café. → “I have a bread roll with my coffee.”
102.11 Mon grand-père achète toujours son pain à la même boulangerie. → “My grandfather always buys his bread at the same bakery.”
102.12 Cette boulangerie vend du pain de campagne et du pain complet. → “This bakery sells country bread and wholemeal bread.”
102.13 Ce pain est meilleur quand il est tout juste sorti du four. → “This bread is better when it has just come out of the oven.”
102.14 Il gagne son pain depuis l’âge de quinze ans. → “He has been earning his living since he was fifteen.”
102.15 Cette réunion est longue comme un jour sans pain. → “This meeting drags on endlessly.”
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102.1 Le pain est frais.
102.2 J’achète du pain.
102.3 Je voudrais du pain.
102.4 Il mange du pain.
102.5 Le pain est sur la table.
102.6 Il n’y a plus de pain.
102.7 Nous mangeons du pain avec du fromage.
102.8 Le boulanger fait le pain tous les matins.
102.9 Elle coupe le pain avec un grand couteau.
102.10 Je prends un petit pain avec mon café.
102.11 Mon grand-père achète toujours son pain à la même boulangerie.
102.12 Cette boulangerie vend du pain de campagne et du pain complet.
102.13 Ce pain est meilleur quand il est tout juste sorti du four.
102.14 Il gagne son pain depuis l’âge de quinze ans.
102.15 Cette réunion est longue comme un jour sans pain.
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These are the grammar rules for “bread” (pain) in French:
1. Gender and number
Pain is masculine: le pain, un pain, ce pain, mon pain (102.1, 102.5, 102.13). Never la pain. The plural is pains: des pains, les pains. It is said /pɛ̃/ like the singular, so the article tells you the number: le pain /lə pɛ̃/, les pains /le pɛ̃/.
2. Pain as a substance: du pain
When the amount is unspecified, French uses the partitive: du, which is de plus le. J’achète du pain (102.2), Il mange du pain (102.4), Nous mangeons du pain avec du fromage (102.7). There is no English equivalent: English leaves out the article (“I buy bread”), French cannot. Compare the definite article, for a particular bread or bread in general: Le pain est frais (102.1), J’aime le pain, “I like bread”.
3. After a negative: de
After ne … pas, ne … plus and ne … jamais, the partitive du becomes de (or d’ before a vowel): Je n’ai pas de pain, “I have no bread”; Il n’y a plus de pain (102.6). The same happens after expressions of quantity: beaucoup de pain, assez de pain, un morceau de pain. The article le after a negative stays: Je n’aime pas le pain, “I don’t like bread”.
4. Pain as a loaf: un pain
Pain is also a countable item: un pain, deux pains. In a bakery, un pain is one loaf, as a unit (Wiktionnaire adds that in Paris it has named a loaf of 400 grams, apart from the baguette). Un petit pain (102.10) is a small bread roll: petit comes before the noun. The plural names several loaves or kinds of bread: des pains aux céréales (102.18).
For a part of a loaf, use a noun of quantity: une tranche de pain (a slice), un morceau de pain (a piece), un bout de pain (a bit). The soft inside is la mie, the crust la croûte.
5. Du, au, aux
Du is de plus le: du pain (102.2), tout juste sorti du four (102.13). Au is à plus le and aux is à plus les. In the names of pastries, à marks what goes with the bread: un pain au chocolat, des pains aux céréales (102.18). A de with no article after it does not contract: du pain de campagne (102.12), where pain de campagne is “country bread” and the first du is the partitive.
6. Compounds and fixed phrases
Pain de campagne (102.12), pain complet (102.12), pain de mie, pain au chocolat, petit pain (102.10), pain perdu (102.25), pain grillé (“toast”), pain d’épices (“gingerbread”), pain azyme (“unleavened bread”). Only pain takes the plural mark in these compounds: des pains de campagne, des pains complets, des pains au chocolat. The word also names other things in the shape of a block: un pain de savon, “a bar of soap”; un pain de sucre, “a sugarloaf” (TLFi).
7. Adjectives and participles
Most adjectives follow the noun: du pain frais, du pain chaud, du pain rassis (“stale”), du pain complet (102.12). Bien before an adjective or participle strengthens it: du pain bien cuit (102.19), un pain bien doré (102.20). The adjective agrees with pain: masculine singular.
8. Verbs that go with pain
Faire, “to make” (102.8), acheter, “to buy” (102.2, 102.11), manger, “to eat” (102.4), couper, “to cut” (102.9), prendre, “to have, take” (102.10), jeter, “to throw away” (102.26); in the baker’s craft: pétrir, “to knead”, and cuire, “to bake”. Sorti du four (102.13): the dough is baked, the bread comes out.
9. The pronoun en
En stands for du pain, de la confiture, and other partitives: Tu veux du pain ? Oui, j’en veux. In the negative: Non, je n’en veux pas; Il n’y en a plus, “There is none left.” Elle en fait de la chapelure (102.27): en is the leftover bread.
10. Idioms
Gagner son pain (102.14), “to earn one’s living”: the possessive agrees with the subject: je gagne mon pain, elle gagne son pain. Long comme un jour sans pain (102.15), “endlessly long, tedious”. Avoir du pain sur la planche, “to have plenty of work ahead”. Pain quotidien, “daily bread”, which is an allusion to the Lord’s Prayer. Ôter le pain de la bouche à quelqu’un, “to take away someone’s livelihood”. (Wiktionnaire and TLFi.)
11. Words of the same family
Boulanger, boulangère and boulangerie name the baker and the shop. From Latin pānis come panier (“basket”, Latin pānārium) and, by way of compagnon, copain (“one who shares one’s bread”, Lesson 101).
Common mistakes for English speakers:
Mistake: Gender. ✗ la pain → ✓ le pain.
Mistake: Leaving out the article. ✗ J’achète pain → ✓ J’achète du pain (102.2). And ✗ J’aime pain → ✓ J’aime le pain.
Mistake: Du after a negative. ✗ Je n’ai pas du pain → ✓ Je n’ai pas de pain (102.6).
Mistake: De le. ✗ de le pain → ✓ du pain.
Mistake: Plural for “some bread”. ✗ des pains, said of bread as food in general → ✓ du pain. Des pains means several loaves or kinds (102.18).
Mistake: False friend. ✗ pain used for an ache → ✓ douleur, mal: J’ai mal à la tête, “I have a headache”. French pain is only bread.
Mistake: Baguette for any bread. ✗ Je voudrais une baguette de campagne → ✓ Je voudrais un pain de campagne. A baguette is one shape; a pain de campagne is another.
Mistake: Sounding the n. ✗ pain said /pɛn/ → ✓ /pɛ̃/. The n is only the mark of nasality.
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Frequency
Pain is one of the most common nouns of French food. In this course’s list of the thousand commonest words it ranks 102nd. It is among the first words a learner needs, because the bakery is among the first places a learner goes.
The bakery
The boulangerie is where bread is bought. The best-known loaf is the baguette, but the bakery also sells pains de campagne, pains complets, pains aux céréales, and sweet things such as pains au chocolat (102.18).
The baguette and the law
A decree of 13 September 1993 regulated the names pain de tradition française and pain maison, with strict rules on how such bread may be made. On 30 November 2022 UNESCO inscribed “the artisanal know-how and culture of the baguette” on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (French government information site; United Nations news service). The inscription honours the bakers’ craft and the whole chain behind it, from the growers of grain to the millers and the apprentices.
Pain au chocolat or chocolatine?
The pastry in 102.18 has two names. Pain au chocolat is used in most of France and is the term taught in the baking trade; chocolatine is the usual name in the south-west of France, and it is heard in Quebec too. Both are the same pastry. A learner may say either; pain au chocolat is understood everywhere.
Everyday phrases
Du pain, un pain, une baguette — the three things asked for in the shop.
Gagner son pain, “to earn a living”; Avoir du pain sur la planche, “to have a lot to do”.
Long comme un jour sans pain: a famous simile for anything interminable (102.15).
Le pain de la veille, “yesterday’s bread”, is not thrown away (102.26): it becomes pain perdu, “French toast” (literally “lost bread”), or breadcrumbs, la chapelure (102.27).
Pain quotidien: the “daily bread” of the Lord’s Prayer, used for the necessities of life (TLFi).
Pain, the necessity of life
The word also stands for livelihood and subsistence, as in gagner son pain (102.14) and ôter le pain de la bouche à quelqu’un. The TLFi gives, among the senses of pain, “nourishment essential to life” and, figuratively, a symbol of necessity.
Quebec
In Quebec, pain is the ordinary word for bread, as in France, and the bakery is la boulangerie. The word chocolatine is heard there for the chocolate pastry (see above).
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Source: La Bible, traduction de Louis Segond (1910), Évangile selon Matthieu, chapitre 4, verse 4 (with verse 3 as context). The text follows the Louis Segond edition as given on bible.com and levangile.com, with the modern French spacing before the colon and the curved apostrophe.
Context: After forty days in the desert, Jesus is hungry. In verse 3 the tempter says to him: “Si tu es Fils de Dieu, ordonne que ces pierres deviennent des pains.” (“If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves.”) Verse 4 is his reply, a quotation from the book of Deuteronomy (chapter 8, verse 3). Pain stands here for the body’s food, set against the word of God as the food of the spirit.
F-A: Interlinear Construed Text
F.1a Jésus Jesus répondit answered
F.1b Jésus /ʒezy/ Jesus répondit /ʁepɔ̃di/ answer.PST.3SG
F.2a Il it est is écrit written
F.2b Il /il/ it.IMPERS.3SG est /ɛ/ be.PRES.3SG écrit /ekʁi/ write.PTCP.M.SG
F.3a L’ the homme man ne not vivra will-live pas not de of pain bread seulement only
F.3b L’ /l/ the.SG homme /ɔm/ man.M.SG ne /nə/ NEG vivra /vivʁa/ live.FUT.3SG pas /pa/ NEG de /də/ of pain /pɛ̃/ bread.M.SG seulement /sœlmɑ̃/ only
F.4a mais but de of toute every parole word qui which sort goes-out de from la the bouche mouth de of Dieu God
F.4b mais /mɛ/ but de /də/ of toute /tut/ every.F.SG parole /paʁɔl/ word.F.SG qui /ki/ which.REL.NOM sort /sɔʁ/ go-out.PRES.3SG de /də/ from la /la/ the.F.SG bouche /buʃ/ mouth.F.SG de /də/ of Dieu /djø/ God
F-B: Authentic Text with Idiomatic English Translation
Jésus répondit : Il est écrit : L’homme ne vivra pas de pain seulement, mais de toute parole qui sort de la bouche de Dieu.
→ “Jesus answered: It is written: Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes out of the mouth of God.” (Latinum Institute translation.)
F-C: Authentic Text Only
Jésus répondit : Il est écrit : L’homme ne vivra pas de pain seulement, mais de toute parole qui sort de la bouche de Dieu.
F-D: Grammar and Literary Commentary
Jésus répondit (F.1) — répondit is the passé simple, the tense of narrative in writing. Spoken French uses the passé composé (Jésus a répondu), but the passé simple keeps the biblical register.
Il est écrit (F.2) — a fixed formula for introducing a quotation from scripture: “it is written”. Écrit is the past participle of écrire, used as an adjective.
L’homme ne vivra pas de pain seulement (F.3) — vivre de means “to live on, to live by”: here de is the verb’s preposition, not the partitive. That is why de pain stays de pain; compare Section D, 3, where de replaces du after a negative. The simple future vivra gives the sentence the force of a general truth, with the English “shall”. Seulement, “only”, follows the phrase it limits: pas de pain seulement, “not by bread only”.
Mais de toute parole … (F.4) — de repeats from F.3: he lives de pain, he lives de toute parole. Toute parole is “every word” (toute, singular, means “every”). Qui sort de la bouche de Dieu: a relative clause with qui as subject.
The tone: pain is not despised in this verse. It stands for what the body needs, and the verse says that it is not all a person needs. The same sense, bread as the necessity of life, is behind gagner son pain (102.14) and pain quotidien (Section D, 10).
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A description written for this lesson. A speaker describes the morning routine of buying bread at the corner bakery, and the place of bread in their family kitchen. The text goes through pain as substance, as loaf and as a fixed phrase: du pain, un pain, pain de campagne, pains au chocolat, pain perdu, pain de mie.
Part A: Interlinear Construed Text
102.16a Chaque each matin morning je I descends go-down acheter to-buy du some pain bread à at la the boulangerie bakery du of-the coin corner
102.16b Chaque /ʃak/ each matin /matɛ̃/ morning.M.SG je /ʒə/ I.NOM.1SG descends /desɑ̃/ go-down.PRES.1SG acheter /aʃte/ buy.INF du /dy/ of-the.M.SG.PARTITIVE pain /pɛ̃/ bread.M.SG à /a/ at la /la/ the.F.SG boulangerie /bulɑ̃ʒʁi/ bakery.F.SG du /dy/ of-the.M.SG coin /kwɛ̃/ corner.M.SG
102.17a L’ the odeur smell du of-the pain bread chaud hot se itself sent smells déjà already dans in la the rue street
102.17b L’ /l/ the.SG odeur /ɔdœʁ/ smell.F.SG du /dy/ of-the.M.SG pain /pɛ̃/ bread.M.SG chaud /ʃo/ hot.M.SG se /sə/ REFL.3SG sent /sɑ̃/ smell.PRES.3SG déjà /deʒa/ already dans /dɑ̃/ in la /la/ the.F.SG rue /ʁy/ street.F.SG
102.18a Dans in la the vitrine shop-window il it y there a has des some baguettes baguettes des some pains breads aux with-the céréales cereals et and des some pains breads au with-the chocolat chocolate
102.18b Dans /dɑ̃/ in la /la/ the.F.SG vitrine /vitʁin/ shop-window.F.SG il /il/ it.IMPERS.3SG y /i/ there.PRON a /a/ have.PRES.3SG des /de/ some.PL baguettes /bagɛt/ baguette.F.PL des /de/ some.PL pains /pɛ̃/ bread.M.PL aux /o/ to-the.PL céréales /seʁeal/ cereal.F.PL et /e/ and des /de/ some.PL pains /pɛ̃/ bread.M.PL au /o/ to-the.M.SG chocolat /ʃɔkɔla/ chocolate.M.SG
102.19a La the boulangère baker me to-me demande asks si whether je I veux want du some pain bread bien well cuit baked
102.19b La /la/ the.F.SG boulangère /bulɑ̃ʒɛʁ/ baker.F.SG me /mə/ me.DAT.1SG demande /dəmɑ̃d/ ask.PRES.3SG si /si/ whether je /ʒə/ I.NOM.1SG veux /vø/ want.PRES.1SG du /dy/ of-the.M.SG.PARTITIVE pain /pɛ̃/ bread.M.SG bien /bjɛ̃/ well cuit /kɥi/ bake.PTCP.M.SG
102.20a Je I réponds answer que that oui yes et and elle she choisit chooses un a pain bread bien well doré golden
102.20b Je /ʒə/ I.NOM.1SG réponds /ʁepɔ̃/ answer.PRES.1SG que /kə/ that.COMP oui /wi/ yes et /e/ and elle /ɛl/ she.NOM.3SG choisit /ʃwazi/ choose.PRES.3SG un /œ̃/ a.M.SG pain /pɛ̃/ bread.M.SG bien /bjɛ̃/ well doré /dɔʁe/ golden.M.SG
102.21a Elle she enveloppe wraps le the pain bread dans in un a sac bag en made-of papier paper
102.21b Elle /ɛl/ she.NOM.3SG enveloppe /ɑ̃vlɔp/ wrap.PRES.3SG le /lə/ the.M.SG pain /pɛ̃/ bread.M.SG dans /dɑ̃/ in un /œ̃/ a.M.SG sac /sak/ bag.M.SG en /ɑ̃/ made-of papier /papje/ paper.M.SG
102.22a Ici here le the pain bread de of campagne countryside coûte costs plus more cher dear que than la the baguette baguette
102.22b Ici /isi/ here le /lə/ the.M.SG pain /pɛ̃/ bread.M.SG de /də/ of campagne /kɑ̃paɲ/ countryside.F.SG coûte /kut/ cost.PRES.3SG plus /ply/ more cher /ʃɛʁ/ dear.M.SG que /kə/ than la /la/ the.F.SG baguette /bagɛt/ baguette.F.SG
102.23a Je I paie pay je I dis say merci thank-you et and je I sors go-out avec with le the pain bread sous under le the bras arm
102.23b Je /ʒə/ I.NOM.1SG paie /pɛ/ pay.PRES.1SG je /ʒə/ I.NOM.1SG dis /di/ say.PRES.1SG merci /mɛʁsi/ thank-you et /e/ and je /ʒə/ I.NOM.1SG sors /sɔʁ/ go-out.PRES.1SG avec /avɛk/ with le /lə/ the.M.SG pain /pɛ̃/ bread.M.SG sous /su/ under le /lə/ the.M.SG bras /bʁa/ arm.M.SG
102.24a Chez at-the-home-of moi me nous we mangeons eat le the pain bread avec with du some beurre butter et and de of la the confiture jam
102.24b Chez /ʃe/ at-the-home-of moi /mwa/ me.STRESSED.1SG nous /nu/ we.NOM.1PL mangeons /mɑ̃ʒɔ̃/ eat.PRES.1PL le /lə/ the.M.SG pain /pɛ̃/ bread.M.SG avec /avɛk/ with du /dy/ of-the.M.SG.PARTITIVE beurre /bœʁ/ butter.M.SG et /e/ and de /də/ of.PARTITIVE la /la/ the.F.SG confiture /kɔ̃fityʁ/ jam.F.SG
102.25a Le the dimanche Sunday mon my père father prépare prepares du some pain bread perdu lost avec with le the pain bread de of la the veille eve
102.25b Le /lə/ the.M.SG dimanche /dimɑ̃ʃ/ Sunday.M.SG mon /mɔ̃/ my.M.SG père /pɛʁ/ father.M.SG prépare /pʁepaʁ/ prepare.PRES.3SG du /dy/ of-the.M.SG.PARTITIVE pain /pɛ̃/ bread.M.SG perdu /pɛʁdy/ lose.PTCP.M.SG avec /avɛk/ with le /lə/ the.M.SG pain /pɛ̃/ bread.M.SG de /də/ of la /la/ the.F.SG veille /vɛj/ eve.F.SG
102.26a Ma my grand-mère grandmother dit says toujours always qu’ that on one ne not jette throws-away pas not le the pain bread
102.26b Ma /ma/ my.F.SG grand-mère /gʁɑ̃mɛʁ/ grandmother.F.SG dit /di/ say.PRES.3SG toujours /tuʒuʁ/ always qu’ /k/ that.COMP on /ɔ̃/ one.IMPERS ne /nə/ NEG jette /ʒɛt/ throw-away.PRES.3SG pas /pa/ NEG le /lə/ the.M.SG pain /pɛ̃/ bread.M.SG
102.27a Quand when il it reste remains du some pain bread elle she en of-it fait makes de of la the chapelure breadcrumbs
102.27b Quand /kɑ̃/ when il /il/ it.IMPERS.3SG reste /ʁɛst/ remain.PRES.3SG du /dy/ of-the.M.SG.PARTITIVE pain /pɛ̃/ bread.M.SG elle /ɛl/ she.NOM.3SG en /ɑ̃/ of-it.PRON fait /fɛ/ make.PRES.3SG de /də/ of.PARTITIVE la /la/ the.F.SG chapelure /ʃaplyʁ/ breadcrumbs.F.SG
102.28a Pour for les the sandwichs sandwiches nous we préférons prefer le the pain bread de of mie crumb
102.28b Pour /puʁ/ for les /le/ the.PL sandwichs /sɑ̃dwitʃ/ sandwich.M.PL nous /nu/ we.NOM.1PL préférons /pʁefeʁɔ̃/ prefer.PRES.1PL le /lə/ the.M.SG pain /pɛ̃/ bread.M.SG de /də/ of mie /mi/ crumb.F.SG
102.29a Pour for beaucoup many de of Français French-people un a repas meal sans without pain bread semble seems incomplet incomplete
102.29b Pour /puʁ/ for beaucoup /boku/ many de /də/ of Français /fʁɑ̃sɛ/ French-person.M.PL un /œ̃/ a.M.SG repas /ʁəpa/ meal.M.SG sans /sɑ̃/ without pain /pɛ̃/ bread.M.SG semble /sɑ̃bl/ seem.PRES.3SG incomplet /ɛ̃kɔ̃plɛ/ incomplete.M.SG
102.30a Le the pain bread reste remains un a petit small plaisir pleasure de of tous every les the jours days
102.30b Le /lə/ the.M.SG pain /pɛ̃/ bread.M.SG reste /ʁɛst/ remain.PRES.3SG un /œ̃/ a.M.SG petit /pəti/ small.M.SG plaisir /plɛziʁ/ pleasure.M.SG de /də/ of tous /tu/ every.M.PL les /le/ the.PL jours /ʒuʁ/ day.M.PL
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Part B: Natural Text with Idiomatic Translation
102.16 Chaque matin, je descends acheter du pain à la boulangerie du coin. → “Every morning I go down to buy bread at the bakery on the corner.”
102.17 L’odeur du pain chaud se sent déjà dans la rue. → “You can already smell the hot bread in the street.”
102.18 Dans la vitrine, il y a des baguettes, des pains aux céréales et des pains au chocolat. → “In the window there are baguettes, multigrain loaves and pains au chocolat.”
102.19 La boulangère me demande si je veux du pain bien cuit. → “The baker asks me if I want well-baked bread.”
102.20 Je réponds que oui, et elle choisit un pain bien doré. → “I say yes, and she picks a nicely golden loaf.”
102.21 Elle enveloppe le pain dans un sac en papier. → “She wraps the bread in a paper bag.”
102.22 Ici, le pain de campagne coûte plus cher que la baguette. → “Here, country bread costs more than a baguette.”
102.23 Je paie, je dis merci et je sors avec le pain sous le bras. → “I pay, say thank you and go out with the bread under my arm.”
102.24 Chez moi, nous mangeons le pain avec du beurre et de la confiture. → “At home we eat the bread with butter and jam.”
102.25 Le dimanche, mon père prépare du pain perdu avec le pain de la veille. → “On Sundays my father makes French toast with yesterday’s bread.”
102.26 Ma grand-mère dit toujours qu’on ne jette pas le pain. → “My grandmother always says that you don’t throw bread away.”
102.27 Quand il reste du pain, elle en fait de la chapelure. → “When there is bread left over, she makes breadcrumbs from it.”
102.28 Pour les sandwichs, nous préférons le pain de mie. → “For sandwiches we prefer sandwich loaf.”
102.29 Pour beaucoup de Français, un repas sans pain semble incomplet. → “For many French people a meal without bread seems incomplete.”
102.30 Le pain reste un petit plaisir de tous les jours. → “Bread remains a small everyday pleasure.”
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Part C: Text in French Only
Le pain du matin
Chaque matin, je descends acheter du pain à la boulangerie du coin.
L’odeur du pain chaud se sent déjà dans la rue.
Dans la vitrine, il y a des baguettes, des pains aux céréales et des pains au chocolat.
La boulangère me demande si je veux du pain bien cuit.
Je réponds que oui, et elle choisit un pain bien doré.
Elle enveloppe le pain dans un sac en papier.
Ici, le pain de campagne coûte plus cher que la baguette.
Je paie, je dis merci et je sors avec le pain sous le bras.
Chez moi, nous mangeons le pain avec du beurre et de la confiture.
Le dimanche, mon père prépare du pain perdu avec le pain de la veille.
Ma grand-mère dit toujours qu’on ne jette pas le pain.
Quand il reste du pain, elle en fait de la chapelure.
Pour les sandwichs, nous préférons le pain de mie.
Pour beaucoup de Français, un repas sans pain semble incomplet.
Le pain reste un petit plaisir de tous les jours.
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Part D: Grammar Notes for the Genre Section
Pain in the text, in its three uses: as a substance, du pain (102.16, 102.19, 102.25, 102.27); as the definite le pain, for the bread already in the story (102.21, 102.23, 102.24, 102.26, 102.30); as a countable loaf, un pain (102.20), and in the plural, des pains (102.18).
Du pain, then de la confiture (102.16, 102.24): the partitive agrees with the gender of the noun: du before masculine beurre and pain, de la before feminine confiture. In 102.24 the second partitive is de la confiture, “some jam”, not the contraction du.
Pain bien cuit, un pain bien doré (102.19, 102.20): bien strengthens the participle or adjective. Both agree with the masculine pain. The adjectives follow the noun.
Des pains aux céréales, des pains au chocolat (102.18): à plus les gives aux, à plus le gives au. Pain alone takes the plural s. In the pastry name, the preposition à shows what goes with the bread.
Le pain de campagne (102.22): the whole phrase is the subject; le pain de campagne coûte plus cher que la baguette. Plus cher que is the comparative: “more expensive than”.
Du pain perdu (102.25): the French name of what English calls “French toast”, literally “lost bread”: bread that would otherwise be thrown away. That is why le pain de la veille, “yesterday’s bread”, is used for it.
On ne jette pas le pain (102.26): on, “one”, is the common way to state a general rule, as in Lesson 101. Qu’on = que on: the e of que is elided before on.
Il reste du pain (102.27): rester, “to remain”, in the impersonal construction il reste + noun, “there is … left”. Elle en fait de la chapelure: en stands for du pain, “of it”.
Le pain de mie (102.28): the mie is the crumb, the soft inside of the bread. Pain de mie is the soft, square-sliced loaf that is the sandwich loaf. Sandwichs is the plural spelling used here; sandwiches is also found.
Pour beaucoup de Français (102.29): beaucoup de + noun, “many”; Français with a capital is the people (a French person), while français without capital is the adjective or the language. Un repas sans pain: sans is followed by the noun without an article.
Le pain reste un petit plaisir (102.30): rester, “to remain”, is followed by a noun or an adjective. De tous les jours, “everyday”, is the fixed phrase.
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Pain /pɛ̃/ and pains /pɛ̃/: two spellings, one sound. The same sound is written in pin, peint and the -ain of main and demain.
Orthography: pain has no accent. Keep the i: pain, not pan (/pɑ̃/, another word).
Pain de campagne, pain de mie, pain d’épices, pain au chocolat, petit pain, pain perdu, pain complet: written as separate words, without hyphens.
The apostrophe: j’achète, l’âge, l’odeur, qu’on, n’y.
Accents and special letters: achète, âge, boulangère, céréales, café, déjà, même, père, grand-mère, réunion, préférons, répondit, écrit, Jésus, coûte, doré. The circumflex of coûte stands for an s of older French (compare English “cost”).
Days are written with a small letter: dimanche. Français with a capital is the people; français with a small letter is the language or the adjective.
Before ?, !, : and ; French typesetting leaves a space, as in Section F.
The IPA in this lesson gives standard French of Paris, each word said on its own, as the course does throughout.
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✓ Lesson 102 French complete — pain (bread)
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Course Index: [latinum.substack.com/p/index](https://latinum.substack.com/p/index)