pâtes
/pat/
The English phrase 'pasta' is pâtes in French.
The word refers to a dish or serving.
Meaning: dish or serving (noun)
How does it change in a sentence?
The word for pasta is always used in the plural form in French.
How do you pronounce it?
/pat/
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly use the singular form une pâte, but in French, une pâte refers to a single piece of dough or a pie crust rather than the dish of pasta.
Did you know?
- The term pâte refers to any malleable paste. This means the same word is used for 'dough' in bread making, 'clay' for sculpting, and 'paste' for glue.
- The word pâtisserie comes from the same root as pâtes. It literally refers to the art of working with 'pâte' or dough.
- The word pâte is the same word used for 'pastry' in French, which is why a baker and a chef might use the same term for very different things.
Examples in context
- Tu manges des pâtes ?Do you eat pasta?Tatoeba #8718907 by Micsmithel, translation #7702267 by Yanahma
- J'ai trop cuit les pâtes.I overcooked the pasta.Tatoeba #4435816 by sacredceltic, translation #3821572 by CK
- Je mange souvent des pâtes.I often eat pasta.Tatoeba #11027113 by lbdx, translation #11615689 by tieguy
- 31 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Léa and Lucas are deciding what to cook for dinner.
- LéaLucas, qu'est-ce qu'on mange ce soir ?Lucas, what are we eating tonight?
- LucasJe pense que je vais cuisiner des pâtes.I think I'm going to cook some pasta.
- LéaEst-ce que tu as assez de pâtes ?Do you have enough pasta?
- LucasOui, il en reste une boîte entière.Yes, there is a whole box left.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry pâtes, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
