épinards
/e.pi.naʁ/masculine, plural
The French word for spinach is épinards.
épinards refers to the edible plant Spinacia oleracea. You may encounter specific culinary variations such as Épinards frais for fresh spinach, Épinards hachés for finely chopped spinach or épinards à la crème to mean cream-spinach.
Meaning: a particular edible plant, Spinacia oleracea (noun)
How does it change in a sentence?
In French, the word for spinach is almost always used in the plural form, les épinards.
How do you pronounce it?
/e.pi.naʁ/ (3 syllables)
Did you know?
- Despite being a singular plant species, épinards is a 'plurale tantum' in French, meaning it exists almost exclusively in the plural form.
- The word épinards shares an etymological root with the word 'spinach' in English. Both stems trace back to the Old French 'epinard' and likely a term for 'spinach' from the Mediterranean region.
- The pronunciation of épinards features a nasal 'in' sound, which sounds more like the 'an' in the English word 'sang' than the 'in' in 'pin'.
Examples in context
- Mange tes épinards !Eat your spinach.This sentence is useful for telling someone to eat their épinards.Tatoeba #1850264 by sacredceltic, translation #1847839 by CK
- Tu aimes les épinards ?Do you like spinach?This sentence is useful for asking if someone likes épinards.Tatoeba #12444371 by lbdx, translation #5034000 by Hybrid
- Mange tous tes épinards.Eat up all your spinach!Tatoeba #1521423 by sacredceltic, translation #327277 by CM
- Je cuisine souvent des épinards à la crème pour un dîner raffiné.I often cook cream-spinach for an elegant dinner.
- 18 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
At a grocery store, Gabriel and Chloé are shopping.
- GabrielEst-ce qu'il y a des épinards frais ?Are there any fresh spinach?
- ChloéOui, regarde, les épinards sont ici.Yes, look, the spinach is here.
- GabrielChloé, est-ce que tu veux les acheter ?Chloé, do you want to buy them?
- ChloéOui, je vais prendre ces épinards.Yes, I will take this spinach.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “spinach” translations and entries épinards, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries épinards, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
