confiture
/kɔ̃.fi.tyʁ/feminine
The English word "jam" is translated into French as confiture.
confiture is a feminine noun used to describe a sweet mixture of fruit boiled with sugar. You can use the phrase faire de la confiture to mean "to make jam" or tartiner de la confiture to mean "to spread jam". Common varieties include la confiture de fraises (strawberry jam), la confiture d'abricots (apricot jam), la confiture de framboises (raspberry jam) and la confiture d'oranges (orange marmalade).
Meaning: sweet mixture of fruit boiled with sugar (noun)
Which one should you use?
While confiture is the general term for fruit preserves, use gelée specifically when referring to jelly, which is a clear fruit-juice-based spread without pulp or fruit chunks.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
When you are referring to an unspecified quantity of jam, use the partitive article de la (as in de la confiture) instead of the definite article la. The plural form of the noun is Les confitures.
How do you pronounce it?
The word has three syllables and is pronounced /kɔ̃.fi.tyʁ/.
Did you know?
- In French, if you want to describe a traffic jam, you should never use the word confiture, but instead use bouchon, which literally means 'cork'.
- The word confiture shares a root with confit, a traditional French method of preserving meat or fruit in its own fat or sugar.
- While English distinguishes between 'jam' and 'marmalade', French uses confiture for almost all fruit preserves, only using marmelade as a direct loanword for citrus-specific varieties.
Examples in context
- Où est la confiture ?Where is the jam?This sentence is useful for asking for the location of the confiture.Tatoeba #6796045 by felix63, translation #6796144 by Eccles17
- Aimes-tu la confiture ?Do you like jam?This sentence is useful for asking if someone likes confiture.Tatoeba #10467412 by Julien_PDC, translation #10481508 by sundown
- Marie fait de la confiture.Mary is making jam.This sentence is useful for stating that someone is making confiture.Tatoeba #5669744 by Scorpionvenin14, translation #5669115 by Hybrid
- Je vais déguster de la confiture de fraises ce matin.I will enjoy some strawberry jam this morning.
- J'adore essayer différentes confitures lors de mes voyages.I love trying different jams during my travels.
- J'ai acheté une belle gelée de coing à la ferme du coin.I bought a lovely quince jelly at the local farm.
- La confiture d'abricots avec du pain briochéApricot jam with brioche bread
- La confiture de fraises avec des crêpesStrawberry jam with crepes
- 48 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Manon and Nathan are having breakfast at home.
- NathanTu veux de la confiture sur ton pain ?Do you want some jam on your bread?
- ManonOui, s'il te plaît, elle est délicieuse.Yes, please, it is delicious.
- NathanC'est une nouvelle confiture de fraises.It is a new strawberry jam.
- ManonElle est vraiment très bonne, Nathan.It is really very good, Nathan.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “jam” translations and entries confiture, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries confiture, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
