flocons de piment
The English phrase "chilli flakes" is translated into French as flocons de piment.
The term refers to small pieces of dried, crushed red chili peppers used as a spice in cooking.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of flocons (flakes) and de piment (of chili).
How does it change in a sentence?
The plural form flocons de piment is the standard way to refer to the spice. You may use the singular form flocon de piment when referring to a single flake or the substance as a singular mass.
Did you know?
- The word flocons is most commonly associated in French with 'snowflakes' or 'cornflakes', making the phrase sound like 'pepper snowflakes' to a native speaker.
- While we use 'chili' to describe the heat, the French word piment is a linguistic relative of 'pigment', stemming from the Latin 'pigmentum' which originally referred to any coloring matter or substance.
- Because piment can refer to any hot pepper, some French chefs specify piment d'Espelette to denote the famous Basque variety often used as flakes.
Examples in context
- J'ai besoin de flocons de piment pour cette recette.I need chilli flakes for this recipe.
- J'utilise souvent le piment d'Espelette au lieu des flocons de piment.I often use piment d'Espelette instead of chilli flakes.
- Ajoutez quelques flocons de piment sur votre pizza.Add some chili flakes to your pizza.
- Je déteste les flocons de piment.I hate chilli flakes.
- Il reste des flocons de piment dans le placard ?Are there any chilli flakes left in the cupboard?
Example conversation
Hugo and Chloé are cooking pizza together.
- HugoChloé, tu veux des flocons de piment sur ta pizza ?Chloé, do you want chilli flakes on your pizza?
- ChloéOui, j'adore ça, merci Hugo !Yes, I love that, thanks Hugo!
- HugoJe vais en mettre juste un peu.I'm going to put just a little bit on.
- ChloéParfait, les flocons de piment donnent beaucoup de goût.Perfect, chilli flakes add a lot of flavor.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries de, piment, CC BY-SA 4.0.
