gousse
/ɡus/feminine
The English phrase legume translates to French as gousse or légume.
Meaning: fruit or seed of leguminous plants (noun)
Ways to say it
| French | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| gousse | /ɡus/ | feminine |
| légume | /le.ɡym/ | dated |
The term refers to the fruit or seed of leguminous plants. In a botanical context, gousse refers specifically to the pod of a legume. In common usage, légume is the standard word for vegetable.
Which one should you use?
While légume can mean legume in a botanical sense, it is the standard word for vegetable in everyday French. For botanical precision, gousse refers specifically to the pod, whereas légume refers to the plant or the vegetable category. Additionally, gousse is used to translate 'clove' when referring to garlic, such as in une gousse d'ail.
How does it change in a sentence?
The plural form of légume is légumes.
How do you pronounce it?
/ɡus/
Did you know?
- Calling someone un légume in French is a slang term for a person who is completely passive or in a vegetative state.
- The term caïeu for a clove of garlic comes from the Latin word for puppy catellus.
Examples in context
- Le fruit de la vesce est un légume au sens strict.The seed of vetch is a legume in the strict sense of the word.This sentence is useful for showing how légume is used in a strict botanical sense.
- Chaque gousse de pois contient des graines.Every pea pod contains seeds.
- Il a ouvert une gousse de fève.He opened a broad bean pod.
Example conversation
Chloé and Hugo are cooking in the kitchen.
- ChloéHugo, peux-tu ouvrir cette gousse de pois ?Hugo, can you open this pea pod?
- HugoOui, je m'en occupe tout de suite.Yes, I'll take care of it right away.
- ChloéMerci, il faut préparer tous les légumes.Thanks, we need to prepare all the vegetables.
- HugoC'est presque terminé, Chloé.It's almost finished, Chloé.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “legume” translations and entries gousse, légume, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries gousse, légume, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Wiktionary CC BY-SA 4.0.
