Ways to say it
| French | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| restes | /ʁɛst/ | masculine, plural |
| rabe | /ʁab/ | masculine |
| restes (de nourriture) | masculine, plural |
In a culinary context, restes refers specifically to food remaining after a meal. While the word can generally refer to any remains, such as ruins or the remains of a person, it is the standard term for food scraps or extra portions kept for later.
What does it mean word for word?
The word restes comes from the verb rester, which means to stay or to remain.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Quebec, Canada, the term Les restants is used to refer to leftovers.
How does it change in a sentence?
When referring to food remaining from a meal, the word is almost always used in its plural form, les restes.
How do you pronounce it?
/ʁɛst/
What mistakes should you avoid?
Avoid using the singular form reste to mean leftover food. In French, the plural restes is the standard way to refer to the food itself.
When do people say it?
A colloquial way to refer to leftovers is les fonds de frigo, which literally translates to "fridge bottoms."
Did you know?
- In France, the word restes can describe both edible leftovers and the 'remains' of a deceased person or an ancient civilization.
- While restes is the standard term, French has a concept called cuisine anti-gaspi specifically dedicated to the art of using leftovers to reduce waste.
- Using les restants to mean leftovers is a linguistic marker of Quebec French and would be considered an anglicism or unusual in mainland France.
Examples in context
- Dan a mangé les restes.Dan ate the leftovers.This sentence is useful for showing how to use restes with the verb to eat.Tatoeba #5594303 by nimfeo, translation #3932521 by Amastan
- Il y a des restes dans le frigo.There are some leftovers in the fridge.This sentence shows how to use restes when stating there is food in the fridge.Tatoeba #7699561 by Maxence, translation #10092696 by ddnktr
- J'ai mis les restes dans le frigo.I put the leftovers in the refrigerator.This sentence demonstrates how to use restes when talking about putting food into the refrigerator.Tatoeba #11691516 by lbdx, translation #10098193 by CK
- On mange les restes ce soirWe're eating leftovers tonight.
- Ça fait plusieurs jours que je mange des fonds de frigoI've been eating fridge bottoms for several days.
- Je vais réutiliser les restes du déjeuner pour le dînerI'll reuse the leftovers from lunch for dinner.
- 23 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Manon and Gabriel are deciding what to eat for dinner.
- ManonOn commande une pizza ce soir ?Shall we order a pizza tonight?
- GabrielNon, on peut manger les restes du dimanche.No, we can eat the leftovers from Sunday.
- ManonC'est vrai, j'avais presque oublié les restes.That's true, I had almost forgotten about the leftovers.
- GabrielSuper, je vais les réchauffer pour nous.Great, I will heat them up for us.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “leftovers” translations and entries restes, rabe, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
