sans oignon
The English phrase "no onions" is expressed in French as sans oignon.
You use this phrase to request that onions be excluded from a food order. When ordering in a restaurant, it is more polite and natural to add s'il vous plaît (please) to the end of the phrase, making it sans oignon, s'il vous plaît.
What does it mean word for word?
The word sans literally means "without".
How does it change in a sentence?
While the singular form sans oignon is common, using the plural form sans oignons is also grammatically correct and frequently used to refer to onions in general.
Did you know?
- In French culinary culture, an oignon is often categorized separately from échalotes (shallots), so requesting 'no onions' might not automatically exclude shallots from your dish.
- The word oignon contains a silent 'i', making the pronunciation sound more like 'on-yon' than the spelling suggests.
- While you might use 'sans' to mean 'without', the word 'sens' looks almost identical but refers to 'direction' or 'meaning'.
Examples in context
- Je voudrais mon plat sans oignons, s'il vous plaît.I would like my dish without onions, please.
- Pourriez-vous préparer le plat sans oignons, s'il vous plaît?Could you prepare the dish without onions, please?
- Je suis allergique aux oignons, pourriez-vous vérifier si c'est possible de les exclure du plat?I am allergic to onions, could you please check if it's possible to exclude them from the dish?
- Pas d'oignons, s'il te plaît!No onions, please!
- Ça me va, mais pas d'oignons dans mon plat, s'il te plaît!Sounds good to me, but no onions in my dish, please!
- Je voudrais ce burger sans oignon.I would like this burger without onions.
- C'est possible sans oignon, s'il vous plaît ?Is it possible without onions, please?
- Un sandwich sans oignon, s'il vous plaît.A sandwich without onions, please.
Example conversation
Lucas and Emma are ordering food at a counter.
- LucasJe vais prendre le sandwich au poulet.I'll have the chicken sandwich.
- EmmaVoulez-vous des oignons dedans ?Do you want onions in it?
- LucasNon, je le veux sans oignon.No, I want it without onions.
- EmmaC'est noté, Lucas.Noted, Lucas.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries oignon, sans, CC BY-SA 4.0.
