café à emporter
The English phrase "coffee to go" is translated into French as café à emporter.
In a cafe, you can use the phrase un café à emporter as a noun phrase to specify your order type.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase à emporter literally means "to take away" or "to carry away."
Which one should you use?
If you want to drink your coffee inside the shop, you should say sur place instead of à emporter.
How does it change in a sentence?
The adjective phrase à emporter remains unchanged regardless of whether the noun it modifies is singular or plural.
Did you know?
- In France, ordering un café usually results in a small espresso, so if you want a larger coffee to go with milk, you should specify un café allongé or un café au lait.
- The word café shares a distant ancestor with the Arabic word qahwa, which originally referred to a type of wine before being applied to coffee.
- While café à emporter is the standard term, you might see café nomade on modern menus in France to sound more trendy or sophisticated.
Examples in context
- Je peux avoir une tasse de café à emporter ?Can I get a cup of coffee to go?This sentence is useful for asking for a cup of coffee to go.Tatoeba #7960275 by Micsmithel, translation #3329722 by CK
- Je voudrais un café à emporter, s'il vous plaît.I would like a coffee to go, please.
- Puis-je avoir un café à emporter, s'il vous plaît?May I have a coffee to go, please?
- Salut, est-ce que je peux avoir un café à emporter, s'il te plaît?Hi, can I have a coffee to go, please?
- Un café à emporter, s'il vous plaît.A coffee to go, please.
- Est-ce que vous faites du café à emporter ?Do you do coffee to go?
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Nathan and Emma are at a bakery in the morning.
- NathanEmma, tu veux un café à emporter ?Emma, do you want a coffee to go?
- EmmaOui, je veux bien, merci Nathan.Yes, I would love one, thanks Nathan.
- NathanD'accord, je vais en commander deux.Okay, I'm going to order two.
- EmmaC'est gentil, merci beaucoup !That's kind, thank you very much!
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries café, emporter, à, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
