morue
/mɔ.ʁy/
morue is the French word for cod fish.
The term morue refers to the salt-cured, dried version of the fish used for cooking. In a culinary context, it is used to distinguish this preserved fish from the fresh variety.
Which one should you use?
While morue specifically refers to salt cod, the term cabillaud is the preferred word used for fresh cod.
How does it change in a sentence?
To form the plural of morue, add an s to the end to get morues.
How do you pronounce it?
/mɔ.ʁy/
Did you know?
- The word morue comes from a combination of the Breton word mor for 'sea' and the Old French word lus for 'pike'.
- The scientific name for Atlantic cod, Gadus morhua, retains the root found in the French morue.
- French cuisine treats morue and cabillaud as two entirely different ingredients with different cooking techniques due to the curing process.
Examples in context
- Pour notre plat principal, nous vous proposons du cabillaud frais accompagné d'une délicieuse sauce.For our main course, we offer you fresh cod fish accompanied by a delicious sauce.
- La morue est un ingrédient traditionnel dans de nombreux plats québécois.Cod fish is a traditional ingredient in many Quebec dishes.
- On va cuisiner de la morue ce soir !We're going to cook some cod fish tonight!
- morue saléeSalt cod
- Je voudrais acheter de la morue.I would like to buy some cod.
- La morue est très bonne avec des pommes de terre.Cod is very good with potatoes.
- Est-ce que ce plat contient de la morue ?Does this dish contain cod?
Example conversation
At a local fish market.
- ManonBonjour, est-ce que la morue est fraîche ?Hello, is the cod fresh?
- NathanOui, elle est arrivée ce matin.Yes, it arrived this morning.
- ManonParfait, je vais en prendre un kilo.Perfect, I will take one kilo.
- NathanTrès bien, je vous prépare ça tout de suite.Very well, I will prepare that for you right away.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry morue, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries morue, CC BY-SA 4.0.
