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Lesson 82 of 240

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Foods I love and skip in French

Saturday at the market on the boulevard, Karim holds out a taste from his stall. Sam likes the first bite, then wonders if everything here is this sweet.

By the end you can name a favorite dish, say when food is too sweet or too greasy, and skip fried plates without sounding rude.

Karim uses tu with everyone at the stall. Keep ne in je n'aime pas.

By the end of this lesson

Describe food you like and dislike with details.

  • Tu aimes quoi comme cuisine ?What kind of food do you like?
  • C'est mon plat préféré.This is my favorite dish.
  • Je n'aime pas trop le sucré.I don't like things too sweet.
  • C'est trop gras.This is too greasy.
  • J'évite les plats frits.I avoid fried food.
  • C'est bon, mais ce n'est pas mon préféré.It's good, but it's not my favorite.

Scene — a taste at the stall

Saturday on the boulevard. Karim's fruit stall is open, crates on the pavement, his cargo bike parked beside it.

The next stall fries snacks in a pan. Sam stops with his backpack. Karim already has a taste on a napkin.

The Saturday boulevard market opens around Karim's fruit stall, with pavement crates, a cargo bike, a neighbouring stall frying snacks, Sam stopped in front, and Karim holding a taste on a napkin.

Learn — favorite, sweet, and greasy

Six lines cover a favorite dish, food that is too sweet or too greasy, and fried plates you skip.

You also get a polite way to say a taste is good, but not your favorite.

  1. Karim stands at the fruit stall with a napkin taste in one hand and the other open toward Sam in a questioning gesture.

    Tu aimes quoi comme cuisine ?

    What kind of food do you like?

    When to use it: Ask a friend what kind of food they like.

    Use tu with a friend; cuisine here means a kind of food.

    Say it: The s at the end of aimes is silent.

  2. Karim lifts a taste of fruit on the napkin and looks down at it with clear pleasure.

    C'est mon plat préféré.

    This is my favorite dish.

    When to use it: Point at a dish you like more than the others.

    Mon goes with plat because plat is a masculine noun.

    Say it: The t at the end of plat is silent.

  3. Sam stands at the fruit crates in profile, turning slightly away from a darker piece of fruit sticky with juice, one hand raised in a rejecting gesture.

    Je n'aime pas trop le sucré.

    I don't like things too sweet.

    When to use it: Say this when fruit or dessert is sweeter than you like.

    Keep ne with pas even in this everyday line.

    Say it: N'aime drops the e of ne before aime.

  4. Sam holds a glistening greasy fried piece away from the body and studies the oil on it.

    C'est trop gras.

    This is too greasy.

    When to use it: Say this when a dish sits in too much oil.

    Trop before gras means too greasy, not just a bit fatty.

    Say it: The s at the end of gras is silent.

  5. Sam steps back from the fry stall, body angled away, with one palm toward the sizzling pan.

    J'évite les plats frits.

    I avoid fried food.

    When to use it: Say this when you skip fried dishes on purpose.

    Les plats frits names fried dishes as a group.

    Say it: J'évite drops the e of je before évite.

  6. Sam offers the napkin back with a polite nod and reaches toward the fruit crates while Karim watches from the near foreground.

    C'est bon, mais ce n'est pas mon préféré.

    It's good, but it's not my favorite.

    When to use it: Praise a taste, then say another dish is your favorite.

    Keep ne in n'est when you say it is not your favorite.

    Say it: N'est drops the e of ne before est.

Story — too sweet, maybe

Watch Sam taste something at Karim's stall. He likes it, then asks if everything is this sweet.

The highlighted words are the lines you just learned. Turn on Show English if you need it.

  1. The Saturday market is loud. Karim's crates are open. Sam has already said hello.
  2. KarimSalut. Tu aimes quoi comme cuisine ?Hi. What kind of food do you like?
  3. SamLes plats simples, plutôt.Simple dishes, mostly.
  4. KarimAllez, goûte. C'est mon plat préféré.Go on, taste. This is my favorite dish.
  5. SamC'est bon, mais ce n'est pas mon préféré.It's good, but it's not my favorite.
  6. Karim laughs and holds out a darker piece, sticky with juice.
  7. KarimTu aimes ça ?Do you like that?
  8. SamJ'adore ça.I love that.
  9. SamTout est sucré comme ça ? Je n'aime pas trop le sucré.Is everything this sweet? I don't like things too sweet.
  10. KarimD'accord. Et les frites, là ?Okay. And the fries, over there?
  11. SamC'est trop gras. J'évite les plats frits.This is too greasy. I avoid fried food.
  12. KarimPrends des figues, alors.Take some figs, then.
  13. SamMerci beaucoup.Thank you very much.

Practice — sweet or greasy

Eleven short exercises wait here. You will listen, pick, fill a gap, and build a line.

They stay tiny, so the round moves fast.

0 of 11 done

  1. What did you hear?

  2. Match the pairs

    French

    C'est mon plat préféré.Drop the English here
    C'est trop gras.Drop the English here
    J'évite les plats frits.Drop the English here

    English

    Drag an English line onto its French, or tap one and then the other.

  3. What do you say?

    Karim's fruit is sticky-sweet. You do not want that much sugar.

  4. Pick the reply

    Karim says:

    C'est bon, hein ? Mais c'est l'autre, ton préféré ?

    It's good, right? But the other one is your favorite?

    And you reply with:

  5. Fill the gap

    It's good, but it's not my favorite.

    C'est bon, mais ce n'est pas mon ____.

  6. Build the line

    This is my favorite dish.

    .

    Tap the words in order.

  7. Swap the word

    Oil pops at the next stall. Say you skip that kind of dish.

    J'évite les plats ____.

  8. What does it mean?

    C'est trop gras.

  9. What do you say?

    You point at a tart on the next stall and check if Karim likes it.

  10. True or false?

    This means you love the taste you just had.

  11. What do you say?

    Karim puts figs in your bag and waits.

Say it — tell him what you skip

Now you're Sam at Karim's stall. When it's your turn, tap the microphone and speak the line.

Tap ▶ first if you want to hear the line. Your recording stays on your device.

  1. Sam (you)Ask Karim what kind of food he likes.

    Tu aimes quoi comme cuisine ?

    What kind of food do you like?

0 of 6 said

Recap — what you can say now

FrenchEnglish
Tu aimes quoi comme cuisine ?What kind of food do you like?
C'est mon plat préféré.This is my favorite dish.
Je n'aime pas trop le sucré.I don't like things too sweet.
C'est trop gras.This is too greasy.
J'évite les plats frits.I avoid fried food.
C'est bon, mais ce n'est pas mon préféré.It's good, but it's not my favorite.
Next: lesson 83Sharing a table

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Keep practicing with Yak Cards

Want to keep these tastes handy? Grab the Yak Cards for this lesson and review them anywhere.

A quick round with the Yak Cards keeps favorite, too sweet, and too greasy ready for the market.

Open Yak Cards