chips
/ʃips/
In French, the English word 'chips' is translated as chips.
The word chips refers to thin slices of potato that have been deep-fried or baked until they are crunchy.
Which one should you use?
In French, chips refers specifically to thin, crunchy potato crisps. This is distinct from frites, which refers to thick-cut French fries.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Belgium, the term for chips is les frites. In Québec, Canada, the term les croustilles is used to refer to chips.
How does it change in a sentence?
Because chips is treated as a plural noun in French, you use the partitive plural article des when talking about eating or having some, such as in the phrase des chips.
How do you pronounce it?
/ʃips/
Did you know?
- Although chips is a loanword from English, it is treated as a feminine noun in French grammar.
- In Québec, the word croustilles comes from the French word croustiller, which means 'to crunch'.
- In Belgium, calling frites by the name chips would be a mistake, as the Belgian culture treats the fried potato as a primary national dish with its own strict identity.
Examples in context
- Où sont mes chips ?Where are my potato chips?This sentence is useful for asking about the location of your chips.Tatoeba #6916901 by Micsmithel, translation #6703987 by Micsmithel
- Tom mange des chips.Tom is eating potato chips.This sentence shows how to describe someone eating chips.Tatoeba #6821231 by Rockaround, translation #6664272 by CK
- J'ai mangé des chips.I ate some potato chips.This sentence shows how to describe having eaten chips in the past.Tatoeba #1082058 by nimfeo, translation #2609654 by WestofEden
- Je vais commander un hamburger avec des frites, s'il vous plaît.I will order a burger with fries, please.
- Tu veux des chips pour regarder le match ce soir ?Do you want some chips to watch the game tonight?
- 13 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Léa and Hugo are sitting on the sofa watching a movie.
- LéaTu veux des chips, Hugo ?Do you want some chips, Hugo?
- HugoOui, s'il te plaît.Yes, please.
- LéaTiens, voilà ton paquet de chips.Here, here is your bag of chips.
- HugoMerci beaucoup, Léa.Thank you very much, Léa.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry chips, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
