Vegetables in French: 40+ Words with Pronunciation Guide

Key takeaways

• Every vegetable in French has a grammatical gender, masculine or feminine, which affects the article (le/la, un/une) and any adjectives that follow.
• Many French vegetable names do not resemble their English counterparts, making pronunciation practice essential alongside memorization.
• At French markets (marchés), vendors expect you to specify quantity and ripeness; knowing the right phrases is as useful as knowing the word for the vegetable itself.
• The French mute e at the end of many words (like salade, tomate, carotte) is not pronounced, the word ends on the consonant before it.

Walking into a French market knowing the word for carrot is useful. Walking out with what you actually wanted, at the right quantity, without confusion when the vendor responds, takes more than a word list.

This guide covers 40+ vegetables in French with grammatical gender, pronunciation, and the phrases that make market and kitchen interactions work: how to request quantity, ask about ripeness, read a recipe, and understand what you hear back.

italki, operating since 2007 with 10M+ learners, connects French learners with teachers who can run realistic market dialogue scenarios, correct the pronunciation errors that crop up with silent finals and liaison, and build the fast recall that real-time conversations require. Find a French tutor and try the market phrases in a role-play before the real thing.

Common vegetables in French with gender and pronunciation

The word for “vegetable” in French is un légume (masculine). The plural is les légumes. This word covers all vegetables in general; in practice, each vegetable has its own gender that must be learned.

English	French	Gender	Pronunciation guide
Tomato	tomate	feminine (la tomate)	toh-MAHT
Carrot	carotte	feminine (la carotte)	kah-ROHT
Zucchini / courgette	courgette	feminine (la courgette)	koor-ZHEHT
Onion	oignon	masculine (l’oignon)	oh-NYOHN
Garlic	ail	masculine (l’ail)	EYE
Mushroom	champignon	masculine (le champignon)	shahm-pee-NYOHN
Pepper (bell)	poivron	masculine (le poivron)	pwah-VROHN
Eggplant / aubergine	aubergine	feminine (l’aubergine)	oh-behr-ZHEEN
Cucumber	concombre	masculine (le concombre)	kohn-KOHM-bruh
Leek	poireau	masculine (le poireau)	pwah-ROH
Broccoli	brocoli	masculine (le brocoli)	broh-koh-LEE
Cauliflower	chou-fleur	masculine (le chou-fleur)	shoo-FLUHR
Cabbage	chou	masculine (le chou)	SHOO
Corn	maïs	masculine (le maïs)	mah-EES
Green beans	haricots verts	masculine plural (les haricots verts)	ah-ree-KOH VEHR
Asparagus	asperge	feminine (l’asperge)	ah-SPEHRZH
Artichoke	artichaut	masculine (l’artichaut)	ar-tee-SHOH
Fennel	fenouil	masculine (le fenouil)	fuh-NWEE
Spinach	épinards	masculine plural (les épinards)	ay-pee-NAR
Peas	petits pois	masculine plural (les petits pois)	puh-tee PWAH
Celery	céleri	masculine (le céleri)	say-luh-REE

Notice the final letters: tomate, carotte, courgette, aubergine all end in an -e that is not pronounced. The word ends on the consonant before the silent -e. La tomate sounds like “toh-MAHT,” not “toh-MAH-tuh.”

Root vegetables and tubers

English	French	Gender	Pronunciation
Potato	pomme de terre	feminine (la pomme de terre)	pohm duh TEHR
Sweet potato	patate douce	feminine (la patate douce)	pah-TAHT doos
Turnip	navet	masculine (le navet)	nah-VEH
Radish	radis	masculine (le radis)	rah-DEE
Beet / beetroot	betterave	feminine (la betterave)	beh-TRAHV
Parsnip	panais	masculine (le panais)	pah-NEH
Celeriac	céleri-rave	masculine (le céleri-rave)	say-luh-ree RAHV

Pomme de terre (potato) literally means “apple of the earth”, the same naming logic as the Italian pomodoro (tomato = “golden apple”). French also uses patate colloquially in conversation, though pomme de terre is standard.

The -et ending in navet follows a common French pattern: the final t is silent. Navet sounds like “nah-VEH,” not “nah-VET.” The same applies to poulet (chicken), buffet, and most words ending in -et.

Leafy greens and salad vegetables

English	French	Gender	Pronunciation
Lettuce	laitue	feminine (la laitue)	leh-TÜ
Salad / salad greens	salade	feminine (la salade)	sah-LAHD
Arugula / rocket	roquette	feminine (la roquette)	roh-KEHT
Watercress	cresson	masculine (le cresson)	kreh-SOHN
Endive	endive	feminine (l’endive)	ahn-DEEV
Swiss chard	blette / bette	feminine (la blette)	BLEHT
Sorrel	oseille	feminine (l’oseille)	oh-ZEY
Kale	chou kale	masculine (le chou kale)	shoo KAHL

Salade is a broad term in French, it can refer to the lettuce itself, or to any dressed salad. Une salade verte (a green salad) usually means dressed greens. La salade de tomates means a tomato salad. Context distinguishes the ingredient from the dish.

Working through food vocabulary with a French tutor pays off quickly in practical contexts, menus, recipe descriptions, and market transactions all use these words in connected speech rather than isolated form, and a teacher can run real dialogue scenarios that a vocabulary list cannot replicate.

Legumes and pods

English	French	Gender	Pronunciation
Lentils	lentilles	feminine plural (les lentilles)	lahn-TEEY
Chickpeas	pois chiches	masculine plural (les pois chiches)	pwah SHEESH
White beans	haricots blancs	masculine plural (les haricots blancs)	ah-ree-KOH BLAHN
Kidney beans	haricots rouges	masculine plural (les haricots rouges)	ah-ree-KOH ROOZH
Broad beans / fava beans	fèves	feminine plural (les fèves)	FEHV
Snow peas / mangetout	mangetout	masculine (le mangetout)	mahnzh-TOO
Runner beans	haricots à rames	masculine plural	ah-ree-KOH ah RAHM

Haricot is one of the most important food words in French. Note that the -t at the end of haricot is silent, and the h is aspirate, meaning no liaison occurs. Les haricots verts is pronounced “lay ah-ree-KOH VEHR,” not “lay-zah-ree-KOH.” This is an exception to the usual liaison rule and catches learners off guard.

Pronunciation rules for French vegetable names

Four rules cover most of the pronunciation patterns in this vocabulary set.

Rule 1, Silent final -e Words ending in -e (tomate, carotte, courgette, salade) end on the consonant before the -e. The -e is not pronounced. Tomate = toh-MAHT.

Rule 2, Silent final consonants French frequently silences final consonants. Haricot ends in a silent t. Radis ends in a silent s. Navet ends in a silent t. The pronunciation ends before the final letter.

Rule 3, The French u sound Several vegetables use the French rounded u (ü): laitue (leh-TÜ), légume (lay-GÜM), ail in some regional pronunciations. This sound is produced by saying “ee” with rounded, forward lips, not the “oo” in English “boot.”

Rule 4, Liaison with articles When a vowel-initial noun follows les or des, the final -s links: les épinards = “lay-zay-pee-NAR.” But aspirate-h words (like haricot) block this: les haricots = “lay ah-ree-KOH”, no linking s.

Pronunciation rules are more reliable when practiced aloud with feedback. A French teacher can hear immediately whether the rounded u, the silent finals, and the liaison patterns are landing; these are distinctions that are hard to self-correct from recordings alone.

At the market: phrases that get things done

Situation	French	Pronunciation guide
Asking for something	Je voudrais des tomates, s’il vous plaît.	zhuh voo-DREH day toh-MAHT seel voo PLAY
Asking the price	C’est combien les carottes?	say kohm-BYAHN lay kah-ROHT
Asking for quantity	Un kilo de pommes de terre, s’il vous plaît.	ahn KEE-loh duh pohm duh TEHR
Asking for ripe ones	Vous en avez des bien mûrs?	voo-zon ah-vay day byahn MÜR
Saying that’s all	C’est tout, merci.	say TOO mehr-SEE
Asking what’s in season	Qu’est-ce qui est de saison en ce moment?	kess kee ay duh seh-ZOHN ahn suh moh-MAHN
Selecting your own	Je peux choisir moi-même?	zhuh puh shwah-ZEER mwah-MEHM

French market vendors expect directness, Je voudrais (I would like) is the standard polite opening, more natural than Est-ce que je peux avoir… (Can I have…) in informal market contexts.

Cooking vocabulary: what happens to vegetables in French

Cooking action	French verb	Example
To chop	hacher	Hachez l’oignon finement. (Chop the onion finely.)
To slice	couper en tranches	Coupez les courgettes en tranches. (Slice the zucchini.)
To dice	couper en dés	Coupez les carottes en dés. (Dice the carrots.)
To peel	éplucher	Épluchez les pommes de terre. (Peel the potatoes.)
To wash	laver	Lavez bien les épinards. (Wash the spinach well.)
To sauté	faire revenir	Faites revenir l’ail dans l’huile. (Sauté the garlic in oil.)
To roast	rôtir	Rôtissez les légumes au four. (Roast the vegetables in the oven.)
To steam	cuire à la vapeur	Cuisez les brocolis à la vapeur. (Steam the broccoli.)
To blanch	blanchir	Blanchissez les haricots verts. (Blanch the green beans.)
To grate	râper	Râpez les carottes. (Grate the carrots.)

Recipe language in French uses the imperative verb form, the same form as a command. Hachez (chop), ajoutez (add), mélangez (mix). Recipe reading is excellent French practice because the grammar is consistent and the vocabulary is concrete.

Taking this vocabulary into the real market

A vocabulary list prepares you for the words. A real market interaction requires handling the pace, the accent, the vendor’s response, and making yourself understood when the word you need is slightly different from the one you memorized. That gap only closes with live practice.

italki, operating since 2007 with 10M+ learners, connects French learners with teachers who can simulate real shopping and kitchen conversations, correct pronunciation on the words that trip learners (liaison, silent finals, the rounded u), and build the retrieval speed that a real marché requires. Book a trial lesson and use the market phrases from this guide as the starting script.

FAQ

What is the French word for “vegetable”?

Un légume (masculine). The plural is les légumes. In everyday French, légumes often appears in phrases like un plat de légumes (a vegetable dish) or les légumes du marché (market vegetables).

Are French vegetable names masculine or feminine?

Each has its own gender that must be learned individually. Some patterns help: many -ette words (courgette, baguette) are feminine, and many -on words (champignon, poivron) are masculine, but there are exceptions.

Why is the h in haricot aspirate? Aspirate h in French means the h blocks liaison and elision, even though h is never pronounced in French. Les haricots does not link the s from les to the following vowel. This is an arbitrary grammatical property of the word, not a pronunciation rule that can be derived.

How do you ask for a kilogram at a French market?

Un kilo de [vegetable], s’il vous plaît. For smaller quantities: deux cent grammes de carottes (200 grams of carrots) or une botte d’asperges (a bunch of asparagus).

What does de saison mean on a French menu? De saison means “in season.” French restaurants and markets heavily emphasize seasonal produce, les légumes de saison are the vegetables at peak freshness for the current time of year.