Drinks can be described by what they contain, how they are served, and the container they come in. In French, you can distinguish still from sparkling water, ask for a glass or bottle, and specify details such as ice.
The general word for a drink is une boisson. For coffee, tea, and ordering at a café, see At a café. For beer and wine, see Alcoholic drinks.
Common drinks
These are common names for drinks in French:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| une boisson | drink / beverage |
| l'eau | water |
| l'eau plate | still water |
| l'eau gazeuse | sparkling water |
| le jus | juice |
| le jus d'orange | orange juice |
| le jus de pomme | apple juice |
| la limonade | lemon soda / lemonade |
| le soda | soda / soft drink |
| le lait | milk |
| le chocolat chaud | hot chocolate |
Be careful with la limonade. In France, it is usually a clear, carbonated lemon soft drink, not the still lemon-and-sugar drink called lemonade in North America.
Jus d'orange and jus de pomme use de to indicate the type of fruit. See À or de between nouns.
Asking for water
At a restaurant in France, you can ask for tap water, bottled water, still water, or sparkling water:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| une carafe d'eau | a pitcher of tap water |
| une bouteille d'eau | a bottle of water |
| de l'eau plate | still water |
| de l'eau gazeuse | sparkling water |
| un verre d'eau | a glass of water |
If you want tap water with your meal, ask for une carafe d'eau. If you want bottled water, you can specify de l'eau plate for still water or de l'eau gazeuse for sparkling water:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Une carafe d'eau, s'il vous plaît. | A pitcher of water, please. |
| Je voudrais une bouteille d'eau gazeuse. | I'd like a bottle of sparkling water. |
| Vous avez de l'eau plate ? | Do you have still water? |
Containers and quantities
You will often see drinks described by the container they come in:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| un verre | glass |
| une bouteille | bottle |
| une carafe | pitcher / carafe |
| une canette | can |
| une tasse | cup |
To specify a container, use the container followed by de and the drink:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| un verre d'eau | a glass of water |
| une bouteille d'eau | a bottle of water |
| une bouteille de jus de pomme | a bottle of apple juice |
| une canette de soda | a can of soda |
| une tasse de chocolat chaud | a cup of hot chocolate |
The form of de changes before a vowel, as in un verre d'eau.
How drinks are served
You can specify details such as ice, sugar, or temperature:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| avec des glaçons | with ice |
| sans glaçons | without ice |
| avec du sucre | with sugar |
| sans sucre | without sugar |
| frais / fraîche | chilled / cool |
| chaud / chaude | hot |
Add these details to the drink or container:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| un soda avec des glaçons | a soda with ice |
| un jus d'orange sans glaçons | an orange juice without ice |
| un thé sans sucre | tea without sugar |
| une bouteille d'eau fraîche | a bottle of chilled water |
The same drink can include more than one piece of information. Une bouteille d'eau gazeuse specifies both the container and the type of water, while un jus de pomme sans glaçons specifies the drink and how it is served.
From learning to practice
When you see or ask for a drink, look for the words that tell you what you are getting. Eau gazeuse tells you the type of water, une bouteille d'eau tells you the container, and sans glaçons tells you how it is served. You can combine the same pieces to describe the drink you want.