beurre
/bœʁ/masculine
Butter in French is beurre.
beurre is the most widely used term for the soft foodstuff made from milk in France. You can specify the type of butter by adding adjectives: beurre doux for unsalted butter, beurre salé for salted butter and beurre clarifié for the clarified version often used in professional kitchens. To describe the action of spreading butter on something, use the verb beurrer.
Meaning: soft foodstuff made from milk (noun)
Is it said differently in some regions?
In the region of Brittany, you will commonly find beurre salé (salted butter).
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
When you want to express an unspecified quantity of butter, such as 'some butter', use the partitive article du (making it du beurre) instead of the indefinite article un.
How do you pronounce it?
/bœʁ/
Did you know?
- The word beurre is the root of the French slang term beurré, which is used to describe someone who is very drunk.
- The French expression avoir le beurre et l'argent du beurre describes wanting two contradictory things at once, similar to 'having your cake and eating it too'.
- The word beurre traces back to the Ancient Greek word boútūron, which literally translates to 'cow-cheese'.
Examples in context
- Où est le beurre ?Where's the butter?This sentence is useful for asking for the location of the beurre.Tatoeba #3627763 by fleur74, translation #1841526 by CK
- Ils ont du beurre.They have butter.This sentence is useful for stating that they have some beurre.Tatoeba #10098536 by Micsmithel, translation #12421163 by zogwarg
- Y a-t-il du beurre ?Does it contain butter?This sentence is useful for asking if a food item contains beurre.Tatoeba #8679853 by Micsmithel, translation #6588601 by Eccles17
- J'ai besoin de beurre pour faire cette délicieuse tarte.I need butter to make this delicious pie.
- Mon grand-père aime manger son pain avec du beurre salé.My grandfather likes to eat his bread with salted butter.
- Pour cuisiner à haute température, il est préférable d'utiliser du beurre clarifié.For high-heat cooking, it's better to use clarified butter.
- Je cherche un beurrier pour garder mon beurre frais.I am looking for a butter dish to keep my butter fresh.
- 114 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Emma and Gabriel are making breakfast in the kitchen.
- EmmaGabriel, est-ce qu'il reste du beurre ?Gabriel, is there any butter left?
- GabrielNon, je n'ai plus de beurre.No, I don't have any butter left.
- EmmaD'accord, je vais en chercher au magasin.Okay, I am going to get some at the store.
- GabrielMerci, tu es très gentille, Emma.Thanks, you are very kind, Emma.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “butter” translations and entries beurre, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries beurre, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
