lait de soja
/lɛ d(ə) sɔ.ʒa/masculine
Soy milk in French is lait de soja.
lait de soja is a masculine noun used to describe a beverage made from soybeans.
Meaning: beverage made from soybeans (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of lait (milk), de (of) and soja (soy).
How does it change in a sentence?
When you are expressing an unspecified quantity of soy milk, use the partitive article du instead of le, as in du lait de soja.
How do you pronounce it?
/lɛ d(ə) sɔ.ʒa/
What mistakes should you avoid?
Avoid using soja as an adjective by saying lait soja. In standard French, you must use the preposition de to link the noun to its source.
Did you know?
- In France, you will often see lait de soja labeled as boisson au soja because EU laws strictly reserve the word lait for animal milk.
- The word soja is actually a loanword from Japanese, having entered the French language through Portuguese traders who encountered the bean in East Asia.
- The term lait is used in French to describe any opaque white liquid, such as lait de coco for coconut milk or even lait de beauté for beauty lotion.
Examples in context
- Tom a mis du lait de soja dans son café.Tom put some soy milk in his coffee.This sentence shows how to use lait de soja when adding it to a drink.Tatoeba #6846781 by Micsmithel, translation #6838044 by Hybrid
- Le lait de soja est un excellent substitut au lait.Soy milk is a great substitute for milk.This sentence uses lait de soja to describe a substitute for dairy milk.Tatoeba #12260104 by lbdx, translation #2794029 by Hybrid
- Le lait de vache a meilleur goût que le lait de soja.Cow's milk is better tasting than soy milk.This sentence compares the taste of cow's milk to lait de soja.Tatoeba #8127721 by Rovo, translation #8125850 by Objectivesea
- Bonjour, je voudrais un café au lait de soja, s'il vous plaît.Hello, I would like a coffee with soy milk, please.
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Nathan and Manon are at a café.
- NathanEst-ce que vous avez du lait de soja ?Do you have any soy milk?
- ManonOui, nous en avons en réserve.Yes, we have some in stock.
- NathanSuper, je voudrais un latte au lait de soja.Great, I would like a soy milk latte.
- ManonC'est noté, Nathan. Je vous apporte ça.Got it, Nathan. I'll bring that to you.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “soy milk” translations and entries lait de soja, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries de, lait, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
