raisins sans pépins
The English phrase "seedless grapes" is translated into French as raisins sans pépins.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of raisins (grapes), sans (without) and pépins (seeds/pits).
Which one should you use?
The direct opposite of raisins sans pépins is raisins avec pépins, which means grapes with seeds.
How does it change in a sentence?
If you are referring to a single seedless grape, the noun becomes singular as raisin sans pépins, but pépins remains plural because the concept refers to the absence of the category of seeds.
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly use graines instead of pépins when talking about grape seeds. pépins is the specific term for small fruit seeds like those in grapes or citrus.
Did you know?
- The word raisin in French specifically refers to the fruit on the vine, whereas in English, 'raisin' almost always refers to the dried version.
- The word pépins is also used in the French expression avoir des pépins, which means to have mechanical problems or small hitches in a plan.
- The word sans is a cognate of the Spanish 'sin' and Italian 'senza', reflecting a shared Latin ancestry across the Romance languages.
Examples in context
- Ce sont des raisins sans pépins.These are seedless grapes.Tatoeba #12450671 by zogwarg, translation #10472681 by sundown
- On peut manger ces raisins sans pépins, tu vois ?We can eat these seedless grapes, you see?
- Je préfère acheter des raisins sans pépins.I prefer to buy seedless grapes.
- Il y a des raisins sans pépins dans le frigo.There are seedless grapes in the fridge.
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Emma and Lucas are grocery shopping together.
- EmmaLucas, on prend des raisins sans pépins ?Lucas, shall we get some seedless grapes?
- LucasOui, c'est beaucoup plus pratique.Yes, it is much more convenient.
- EmmaRegarde, ils sont en promotion aujourd'hui.Look, they are on sale today.
- LucasParfait, mets-en un kilo dans le panier.Perfect, put a kilo of them in the basket.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries sans, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
