vaisselle
/vɛ.sɛl/
The French word for dishes (meaning dishwashing) is vaisselle.
vaisselle is used to refer to the collective task of dishwashing or the collection of dirty dishes. The standard idiomatic expression to say "to do the dishes" is faire la vaisselle.
Meaning: dishwashing (noun)
Which one should you use?
While vaisselle refers to the collective collection of dirty dishes or the act of dishwashing, it is not used to refer to a single specific dish, such as a plate, which would be une assiette.
How does it change in a sentence?
vaisselle is a feminine singular noun, so it is almost always used with the feminine definite article la.
How do you pronounce it?
/vɛ.sɛl/
What mistakes should you avoid?
Because "dishes" is plural in English, speakers often mistakenly say les vaisselles. In French, vaisselle is an uncountable mass noun and should not be used in the plural.
Did you know?
- In a professional kitchen, the person responsible for la vaisselle is often called le plongeur, which literally means 'the diver'.
- The word vaisselle shares a common ancestor with the English word 'vessel'. Both originate from the Latin 'vas', which referred to any container for liquids.
- While vaisselle refers to the dishes to be washed, the phrase un plat refers to a specific dish of food or the physical serving platter.
Examples in context
- Lave la vaisselle !Wash the dishes.This sentence is useful for a command to wash the dishes using the verb laver.Tatoeba #8602918 by sacredceltic, translation #2253876 by CK
- Fais la vaisselle !Do the dishes!This sentence is useful for a command to do the dishes using the idiomatic expression faire la vaisselle.Tatoeba #13516066 by felix63, translation #13860628 by tieguy
- Tu fais la vaisselle.You are washing dishes.This sentence is useful for describing the action of doing the dishes.Tatoeba #2073617 by Amastan, translation #4069225 by Joseph
- Je voudrais commencer avec une entrée légère, s'il vous plaît.I would like to start with a light appetizer, please.
- En dessert, je prendrai une tarte aux fruits, s'il vous plaît.For dessert, I'll have a fruit tart, please.
- Je vais commencer avec une petite bouchée en entrée.I'll start with a little bite as an appetizer.
- 134 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lucas and Chloé are in the kitchen after dinner.
- LucasJe m'occupe de la vaisselle ce soir.I'll take care of the dishes tonight.
- ChloéC'est gentil, Lucas, merci beaucoup !That's kind of you, Lucas, thank you very much!
- LucasOù est l'éponge pour la vaisselle ?Where is the sponge for the dishes?
- ChloéElle est juste à côté de l'évier.It is right next to the sink.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “dishes” translations and entries vaisselle, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries vaisselle, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
