How to Say "Onion" in French - How To Say Guide

oignon

/ɔ.ɲɔ̃/masculine

The French word for onion is oignon.

oignon is a masculine noun used to refer to the vegetable bulb.

Meaning: bulb (noun)

How do you pronounce it?

The word has two syllables: /ɔ.ɲɔ̃/.

English speakers often try to pronounce the g in oignon, but the g is silent in standard French.

If you are looking for a 'pearl onion' in a French market, you should look for oignon grelot. The word grelot literally refers to a small bell, describing the onion's tiny, round shape.
In professional French kitchens, the verb ciseler is used specifically for dicing an oignon into tiny, precise cubes rather than just using a general word for cutting.
The silent g in oignon is a linguistic fossil. Although it is not pronounced, it remains in the spelling to reflect the word's historical development from the Latin ūniōnem.

Elle n'aime pas la soupe à l'oignon.
She doesn't like onion soup.
This sentence shows how to use oignon in the context of soup.
Tatoeba #9130417 by Julien_PDC, translation #13885772 by tieguy
Mamie a ajouté un oignon à la farce.
Grandma added an onion to the filling.
This sentence shows how to use oignon when adding an ingredient to a filling.
Tatoeba #10519996 by lbdx, translation #10504834 by AlanF_US
Pour cette recette, un seul oignon est nécessaire.
For this recipe, only one onion is necessary.
This sentence shows how to use oignon when specifying a quantity for a recipe.
Tatoeba #1403441 by sacredceltic, translation #6840014 by Eccles17
Soupe à l'oignon
Onion Soup
Quiche aux oignons
Onion Quiche
deux oignons, s'il vous plaît
Two onions, please
9 more sentences on Tatoeba

Nathan and Emma are in the kitchen preparing a salad.

Sources

Wiktionary, “onion” translations and entries oignon, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
Word origins: Wiktionary entries oignon, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.

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