pain à hamburger
The English phrase "hamburger bun" is translated into French as pain à hamburger.
The phrase refers to a soft bread roll used specifically for holding a hamburger patty. In many French-speaking contexts, if the context of a burger is already established, speakers may simply refer to them as pains.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of pain (bread), the preposition à (used here to indicate purpose or function) and hamburger.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Québec, pain à hamburger is used, while the colloquial expression bun à hamburger is also used.
How does it change in a sentence?
To make the phrase plural, add an s to the word pain to get pains à hamburger.
Did you know?
- The word pain shares its Latin root with the English word 'companion', as a 'companion' was originally someone with whom you shared 'bread'.
- While pain à hamburger is the standard term, a French person might use the word brioche to describe the bun because of the high egg and butter content common in French burger buns.
- In some high-end French gastronomy, a pain à hamburger is referred to as a bun even in France, as the English word has become a trendy culinary term for gourmet burgers.
Examples in context
- Je préfère un hamburger avec un p'tit pain, s'il te plaît.I prefer a hamburger with a bun, please.
- Il me faut un pain à hamburger.I need a hamburger bun.
- Le pain à hamburger est très moelleux.The hamburger bun is very soft.
- Est-ce que tu as acheté le pain à hamburger ?Did you buy the hamburger buns?
Example conversation
Gabriel and Chloé are shopping for a barbecue.
- GabrielAs-tu acheté le pain à hamburger, Chloé ?Did you buy the hamburger buns, Chloé?
- ChloéNon, j'ai oublié de le prendre.No, I forgot to get them.
- GabrielOn doit en acheter maintenant.We have to buy some now.
- ChloéD'accord, je vais chercher le rayon boulangerie.Okay, I'll go look for the bakery aisle.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries hamburger, pain, à, CC BY-SA 4.0.
