je veux de la glace
The French phrase for "I want ice cream" is je veux de la glace.
This phrase is used to express a desire to have or eat ice cream. You can customize your request using words like vanille (vanilla), pistache (pistachio), cornet (cone) or garnitures (toppings).
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
While je veux de la glace is grammatically correct, it can sound blunt or demanding. In a restaurant or shop, it is standard and polite to use the conditional form je voudrais de la glace to mean "I would like some ice cream."
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Canada, especially in Quebec, people often refer to ice cream as crème glacée.
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase uses the partitive article de la to mean "some" or an unspecified amount of ice cream.
Did you know?
- The word glace is a linguistic chameleon that can mean 'ice', 'ice cream', or even 'mirror' and 'glass'.
- The word glace shares an ancestral connection with the English word 'glass' through the Frankish word *glas.
- While 'ice' is just frozen water, in French, glace can also refer to the 'radiance' or brightness of a surface.
Examples in context
- En attendant, je veux de la glace.Meanwhile, I want ice cream.This sentence is useful for seeing how to use je veux de la glace in a context.Tatoeba #11352657 by carlosalberto, translation #11352632 by carlosalberto
- Je voudrais de la glace, s'il vous plaît.I would like some ice cream, please.
- Pourriez-vous me servir de la glace, s'il vous plaît?Could you serve me some ice cream, please?
- Je veux de la glace.I want some ice cream.
- J'aimerais une glace, s'il vous plaît.I would like an ice cream, please.
- Maman, je veux de la glace !Mom, I want ice cream!
Example conversation
Two friends are walking past a dessert shop.
- ChloéRegarde, Lucas ! Je veux de la glace.Look, Lucas! I want some ice cream.
- LucasBonne idée, Chloé. On y va ?Good idea, Chloé. Shall we go?
- ChloéOui, je veux de la glace au chocolat.Yes, I want chocolate ice cream.
- LucasMoi, je vais prendre une vanille.I'm going to have a vanilla one.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries de, glace, je, la, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
