A List of 6 Podcasts to Help You Learn the English Language
The best thing about podcasts is that they can educate and entertain you without you needing to pay attention to them.
3 minute read
Drinking coffee and eating croissants in a Parisian bar sounds like a dream come true. It's not only for the purpose of getting a caffeine boost or a break. It is much more than that.
There's a whole culture around the ritual of drinking coffee. What's even better is that you can even practice your French language skills there!
Therefore, in this post, we've provided you with useful words and phrases on how to order coffee in French and what you can order with coffee.
Let's dive in.
Sitting Vs. Standing in The Cafés
French cafès are nothing like the American ones.
The first thing you do when you enter the café is to choose where you would like to sit.
You can choose between sitting at a bar, standing actually, choose to sit inside, or outside, on the terrace.
Sitting on the terrace is, undoubtedly, the best option but we have to admit that standing at the bar also has its advantages.
Unlike in America, here, you can just simply choose where you want to sit, take a coffee and sit down.No, no; in France prices vary depending on where you want to sit and drink your coffee.
If you choose to stand at the bar, the price of coffee is cheaper than sitting on the terrace. Mainly the price of the coffee you want to drink on the terrasse may be even 50% more expensive than standing at the bar.
So, you're not only paying for the coffee, but the whole 'ritual'- the view, the place, even the feeling of enjoying the coffee while you're sitting on the terrace.
These options in French are called as follows:
-
au comptoir/au bar — at the counter/at the bar
-
(assis) à l’intérieur — (seated) inside
-
(assis) à l’extérieur/en terrasse — (seated) outside/on the terrace
How to Order Coffee in French
When you decide where you want to drink your coffee the next step is ordering one.
There are many coffee variations, from the black espresso go crème which includes a minimum of the coffee.
Here are different coffees in French:
-
un café — a coffee;
In France, if you ask for 'un csfé' it means an espresso
-
un expresso — espresso;
If you want to be certain that you'll get espresso, you can always use this word.
-
un café au lait — a coffee with milk
-
un café latte — a coffee with a little steamed milk
-
un macchiato — steamed milk with a little coffee
-
un café allongé — longer espresso
-
un café court/café serré — a short espresso;
-
un café filtre/café américain — brewed coffee,
This type of coffee you can’t order anywhere in France; you will instead usually be served diluted espresso (un café allongé)
-
un cappuccino — coffee with hot milk and steamed milk
-
un thé — a tea
une infusion — an infusion
This is caffeine-free coffee.
Ordering a coffee is a simple thing.
Just only have to name the type of the coffee you want and at the end of the sentence add 's'il vous plait' which means 'please.'
You can also use the phrase 'Je prends,' which means 'I'll take' and add the coffee name and 's'il vous plait' at the end.
Being polite is important to the French, so don't forget to say 'merci.' (Thank you)
Ordering Pastries With Coffee
In France, coffee in the morning is usually accompanied with croissants and it is called ‘le petit déjeuner’ (little breakfast). In every bar, even the simple ones, you can find croissants you can take with coffee.
-
Un croissant- croissant
-
Un pain au chocolat- a chocolate croissant
The word people from the southern part of France use for the chocolate croissant is ‘chocolatine.’
In case you are up to the bakery, you have more dejeuner to choose:
-
Une baguette- a long loaf of bread
-
Une brioche- light, swede bread made with butter and eggs
-
Un canele- a little cake with a custard center
-
Une chausson aux pommes- an apple tart
-
Un croissant aux amandes- a very sweet almond croissant
-
Une part de flan- a slice of flan
-
Un éclair au chocolat- a chocolate eclair
-
Un pain aux raisins- a sweet raisin roll
In some, well-equipped cafes, you can even find ‘bigger’ breakfast for those really, really hungry people:
-
Une omelette- an omelette
-
Un croque- monsieur- a grilled ham and cheese sandwich
-
Un croque-madame- a grilled ham and cheese sandwich with a fried egg on top
Morning Tradition in France
Besides enjoying the favorite taste of coffee, for which French are like Italians, there are some more interesting morning traditions in France.
You should know that in France the onion soup, or ‘soupe á l’oignon,’ which seems like a complicated dish is actually really simple to prepare, and also one of the post-party dishes to help you get some more energy.
It dates back to the 18th century in Paris, made from beef broth and caramelized onions.
You can also enjoy its delicious taste on a cold day. Is there anything better than sitting on a cozy sofa and enjoying the warm onion soup?
Final Thoughts
When you arrive in France, you will surely be tired and you’ll be desperate for extra caffeine.
In cases like this, along with French phrases for everyday life, coffee-related words and phrases are necessary, so if you want your first day in France to be a total success, don’t forget to learn them.
To learn the words and phrases more quickly and efficiently, you can use some tips and tricks, such as learning with flashcard apps, French movies, or with French tutors, who can give you some extra suggestions on where the best coffee in Paris is, for example.
