micro-ondes
/mi.kʁo.ɔ̃d/
The French word for microwave is micro-ondes.
micro-ondes is an ellipsis of the full term for a microwave oven. In spoken French, you may also hear people say four micro-ondes, dropping the article à found in the full term.
Meaning: ellipsis of microwave oven (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The term is a compound of micro (micro) and ondes (waves), literally meaning microwaves.
How does it change in a sentence?
The noun is masculine and is used with the masculine article le. Even when referring to a single appliance, the word is almost always used in its plural form. When expressing that something is being cooked or heated in the microwave, the contraction au (a combination of à and le) is used.
How do you pronounce it?
The pronunciation is /mi.kʁo.ɔ̃d/. It has 3 syllables.
Did you know?
- In very informal spoken French, some people shorten micro-ondes even further to just micro. However, this can be confusing as micro is also the common shorthand for microphone.
- The word ondes (waves) is used in French for both water waves and radio waves. This makes micro-ondes a linguistic relative of ondes radio, the term for radio waves.
- The prefix micro in micro-ondes comes from the Greek word for 'small', reflecting the short wavelength of the radiation used to heat food.
Examples in context
- Tom, mets le bol dans le micro-ondes.Tom, put the bowl into the microwave.This sentence is useful for showing how to direct someone to put an object into the micro-ondes.Tatoeba #4959189 by franlexcois, translation #4121227 by danepo
- Passe-le trente secondes au micro-ondes.Zap it in the microwave for thirty seconds.This sentence is useful for showing how to use the contraction au micro-ondes to describe heating something.Tatoeba #2000778 by sacredceltic, translation #1999927 by FlamingTofu
- Elle décida de décongeler la viande au micro-ondes.She decided to thaw the meat in the microwave.This sentence is useful for demonstrating the use of the phrase au micro-ondes in the context of thawing food.Tatoeba #12956751 by lbdx, translation #10017776 by ddnktr
- Je vais réchauffer le plat au four à micro-ondes.I will heat up the dish in the microwave.
- Passe ton assiette au micro-ondes pour qu'elle soit bien chaude.Put your plate in the microwave so it gets nice and hot.
- Je vais réchauffer ces restes au micro.I'll heat up these leftovers in the microwave.
- 4 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
A young man and woman are in a kitchen during lunch.
- HugoChloé, tu peux utiliser le micro-ondes ?Chloé, can you use the microwave?
- ChloéOui, il est juste là.Yes, it is right there.
- HugoEst-ce qu'il fonctionne encore bien ?Does it still work well?
- ChloéOui, Hugo, il marche très bien.Yes, Hugo, it works very well.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry micro-ondes, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
