viande
/vjɑ̃d/feminine
The French word for meat is viande.
The term refers to animal flesh used as food.
Meaning: animal flesh used as food (noun)
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Canadian French, the slang term Bidoche is used to refer to meat.
How does it change in a sentence?
The noun viande is feminine. When you want to refer to meat as a general category or a specific piece, use the definite article la viande. If you are expressing an unspecified quantity, such as 'some meat', use the partitive article de la viande.
How do you pronounce it?
/vjɑ̃d/
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly say de viande when they intend to mean 'some meat'. Instead, you should use de la viande.
Did you know?
- In Spanish, the relative word vivienda has shifted meaning entirely and now refers to a 'dwelling' or 'home' instead of food.
- While viande means 'meat', the French have a specific word, charcuterie, for a whole category of processed meat products like ham and salami that does not translate to a single English word.
- When ordering viande in France, you will be asked for a 'cuisson' level, such as à point or saignant, which describes the degree of cooking rather than just 'doneness'.
Examples in context
- Viande ou poisson ?Meat or fish?This example shows how to offer a choice between viande and fish.Tatoeba #129669 by Aiji, translation #4097549 by hickeety
- Tu as de la viande.You have meat.This sentence demonstrates the use of viande to state possession.Tatoeba #7204266 by Micsmithel, translation #3648947 by Jesse
- Mange de la viande.Eat meat.This is a command to eat viande.Tatoeba #8984237 by Micsmithel, translation #8108701 by haukie
- Est-ce qu'il y a de la viande dans ce plat?Is there meat in this dish?
- Je voudrais de la viande de porcI would like pork meat
- Je prendrai un steak saignantI'll have a rare steak
- Je voudrais un steak bien cuitI would like a well-done steak
- J'adore manger de la viande grillée.I love eating grilled meat.
- 317 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Léa and Nathan are deciding what to cook for dinner.
- LéaEst-ce qu'on achète de la viande ?Are we buying meat?
- NathanNon, je préfère manger des légumes.No, I prefer to eat vegetables.
- LéaD'accord, Nathan, on fait une salade.Okay, Nathan, let's make a salad.
- NathanC'est une excellente idée.That is an excellent idea.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “meat” translations and entries viande, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
