popcorn
masculine
To say popcorn in French, use popcorn, a masculine noun. If unsure, use popcorn. Wiktionary also lists maïs soufflé and maïs éclaté.
Meaning: a snack food made from corn kernels popped by dry heating (noun)
Ways to say it
| French | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| popcorn | masculine | |
| maïs soufflé | /ma.is su.fle/ | masculine |
| maïs éclaté | /ma.i.s‿e.kla.te/ | Canadian French, masculine |
popcorn is the English word adopted into French and is widely used and understood in France. The descriptive standard term is maïs soufflé. Uncooked popcorn kernels are Le maïs à éclater.
What does it mean word for word?
maïs soufflé literally means puffed corn, and maïs éclaté means burst corn.
Which one should you use?
popcorn is the everyday word. maïs soufflé is the more descriptive and more formal term.
Is it said differently in some regions?
maïs éclaté is the term commonly used in Quebec.
How does it change in a sentence?
All three terms are masculine, so some popcorn is du popcorn.
Did you know?
- In French slang, être éclaté can mean to be exhausted or completely wasted, using the same root word as maïs éclaté.
- The word éclaté in maïs éclaté is the same word used in technical drafting for a vue éclatée, which is an exploded view diagram.
- The word maïs actually traces its roots back to the Taíno people of the Caribbean. It entered French via the Spanish word 'maíz', marking the linguistic journey of the crop from the Americas to Europe.
Examples in context
- Veux-tu du popcorn ?Do you want popcorn?du popcorn offers some popcorn.Tatoeba #5798120 by Toynop, translation #5797548 by Eccles17
- Qui veut du popcorn?Who wants popcorn?du popcorn again means some popcorn.Tatoeba #11881112 by Quolonel, translation #8115513 by Hybrid
- John a commencé à manger du popcorn.John started to eat popcorn.manger du popcorn means to eat popcorn.Tatoeba #11756982 by Amastan, translation #11513604 by Amastan
- Je voudrais un grand paquet de maïs soufflé, s'il vous plaîtI would like a large bag of popcorn, please
- Avez-vous du maïs éclaté ?Do you have any popcorn?
- J'ai besoin de maïs à éclater pour faire du popcornI need popcorn kernels to make popcorn
- Je suis un grand fan de pop-cornI am a big fan of popcorn
- Je vais préparer du maïs pop pour ce soirI am going to make popcorn for tonight
- Qui veut un bol de popcorn ?Who wants a bowl of popcorn?
- Je voudrais du maïs soufflé, s'il vous plaîtI would like some popcorn, please
- Je veux du pop-cornI want some popcorn
- Quels sont les parfums disponibles pour le maïs soufflé ?What flavors are available for popcorn?
- Comment fait-on du pop-corn ?How do you make popcorn?
- Quelle est la meilleure manière de préparer du maïs soufflé ?What is the best way to make popcorn?
- Prends un peu de maïs souffléTake some popcorn
- 6 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Gabriel and Chloé are at the cinema.
- GabrielOn achète du popcorn pour le film ?Shall we buy some popcorn for the movie?
- ChloéOui, j'adore le popcorn.Yes, I love popcorn.
- GabrielTu veux du sel dessus ?Do you want salt on it?
- ChloéNon merci, j'aime le popcorn nature.No thanks, I like plain popcorn.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “popcorn” translations and entries popcorn, maïs soufflé, maïs éclaté, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries maïs, maïs éclaté, popcorn, éclaté, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
