bol
/bɔl/masculine
The English word "bowl" is translated into French as bol.
bol refers to a container for food. To specify a quantity of food in a container, such as "a bowl of [food]", you can use the construction un bol de followed by the name of the food.
Meaning: container for food (noun)
Which one should you use?
While bol is used for a simple, often deep vessel like a cereal bowl, if you are referring specifically to a large salad bowl, you should use un saladier.
How does it change in a sentence?
The plural form of bol is bols.
How do you pronounce it?
/bɔl/
Did you know?
- In French slang, the phrase avoir le bol means to be very lucky.
- The French word bol actually traces its roots back to the Ancient Greek word bôlos, which meant a 'clod of earth' or a 'lump'.
Examples in context
- Ce bol est trop petit.This bowl is too small.This example shows how to describe the size of a bol.Tatoeba #6867414 by felix63, translation #6900280 by kaiperkins271
- Je suis un bol de porridge.I am a bowl of porridge.This sentence demonstrates using bol to describe a quantity of food.Tatoeba #6593676 by GB3, translation #6593669 by Eccles17
- Ce bol de soupe me suffira.This bowl of soup will be enough.This example uses bol to express satisfaction with an amount of food.Tatoeba #10215843 by lbdx, translation #2890380 by sharptoothed
- Pourriez-vous me passer le bol, s'il vous plaît?Could you pass me the bowl, please?
- Tu peux me passer le bol de céréales?Can you pass me the bowl of cereal?
- J'ai acheté un p'tit bol sympa pour la nouvelle cuisine.I bought a nice little bowl for the new kitchen.
- 39 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Léa and Nathan are having breakfast in the kitchen.
- LéaNathan, tu veux utiliser ce bol ?Nathan, do you want to use this bowl?
- NathanOui, merci pour le bol, Léa.Yes, thank you for the bowl, Léa.
- LéaEst-ce que le bol est propre ?Is the bowl clean?
- NathanOui, je l'ai lavé ce matin.Yes, I washed it this morning.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “bowl” translations and entries bol, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries bol, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
