milk-shake
/milk.ʃɛk/masculine
The English phrase milkshake is expressed in French as milk-shake. Wiktionary also lists lait frappé and (Suisse romande)/(New England) frappé.
Meaning: milk and ice cream beverage (noun)
Ways to say it
| French | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| milk-shake | /milk.ʃɛk/ | masculine |
| lait frappé | /lɛ fʁa.pe/ | Quebec, masculine |
| (Suisse romande)/(New England) frappé | masculine |
The term refers to a beverage made of milk and ice cream. In many contexts, you may hear the informal shortening Un shake used to refer to a milkshake.
What does it mean word for word?
The Quebec term lait frappé literally means 'struck milk' or 'beaten milk', which describes the process of mixing the ingredients.
Which one should you use?
While milk-shake is widely understood in France because of the influence of English, it is considered an anglicism.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Quebec, the term lait frappé is used to avoid the anglicism milk-shake. In French-speaking Switzerland (Suisse romande) and in New England, the word frappé is used.
How does it change in a sentence?
All forms of this word are masculine nouns.
How do you pronounce it?
The word is pronounced /milk.ʃɛk/ and has 2 syllables.
Did you know?
- The term frappé creates a linguistic bridge between the French-speaking regions of Switzerland and the English-speaking region of New England.
- The word lait shares a common ancestor with the English word 'lactate' and the Latin 'lac', which is why you see the 'lac-' root in many scientific terms involving milk.
- While frappé refers to a milkshake in New England and parts of Switzerland, in other French contexts it can refer to any chilled drink or even 'chilled' food.
Examples in context
- Je vais prendre un milkshake à la fraise. Et toi ?I am going to have a strawberry milkshake. And you?
- Qu'est-ce que tu aimerais boire ?What would you like to drink?
- Un lait frappé à la noix de coco, s'il te plaît.A coconut milkshake, please.
- Je voudrais un milk-shake à la vanille.I would like a vanilla milk-shake.
- Ce milk-shake au chocolat est délicieux.This chocolate milk-shake is delicious.
- Est-ce que tu veux un milk-shake ?Do you want a milk-shake?
Example conversation
Two friends are at a dessert shop.
- NathanEmma, tu veux commander un milk-shake ?Emma, do you want to order a milk-shake?
- EmmaOui, j'aimerais un milk-shake à la fraise.Yes, I would like a strawberry milk-shake.
- NathanMoi, je prends un milk-shake au caramel.As for me, I'll take a caramel milk-shake.
- EmmaC'est une excellente idée, Nathan.That is an excellent idea, Nathan.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “milkshake” translations and entries milk-shake, lait frappé, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries lait, CC BY-SA 4.0.
