pain rassis
Stale bread in French is pain rassis.
pain rassis is used to describe bread that is no longer fresh and has become hard or dry.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of pain (bread) and the past participle rassis (stale or hardened). The word rassis is the adjective form of the verb rassir, which means to become stale.
Which one should you use?
The term pain rassis specifically refers to bread that has become hard or dry due to aging. It is not used for bread that is simply old (vieux) or spoiled (moisi).
How does it change in a sentence?
In the phrase pain rassis, the adjective rassis is masculine singular to agree with the masculine noun pain. To make the phrase plural, you add an 's' to both the noun and the adjective, resulting in pains rassis.
Did you know?
- In French culinary tradition, pain rassis is not seen as waste but as a key ingredient for dishes like pain perdu (lost bread), which English speakers call French toast.
- The word pain shares an ancestor with the English word 'pan', as both stem from the Latin 'panis' meaning bread.
- The adjective rassis can be used metaphorically in French to describe a person or an idea that has lost its freshness or original spark.
Examples in context
- Je ne veux pas manger ce pain rassis.I don't want to eat this stale bread.This sentence is useful for expressing a refusal to eat the pain rassis.Tatoeba #12386093 by menaud, translation #10054876 by AlanF_US
- Je n'ai pas envie de manger ce pain rassis.I don't feel like eating this stale bread.This sentence is useful for expressing a lack of desire to eat the pain rassis.Tatoeba #12386087 by menaud, translation #12386095 by menaud
- Certains jours j'ai l'impression d'être un croûton et certains jours j'ai l'impression d'être du pain rassis.There are days when I feel like a crouton, and there are days when I feel like stale bread.This sentence uses the pain rassis as a metaphor for how one feels.Tatoeba #12246845 by menaud, translation #12245458 by menaud
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lucas and Manon are in the kitchen looking at the leftovers.
- LucasCe pain rassis est devenu très dur.This stale bread has become very hard.
- ManonOn peut en faire des croûtons, Lucas.We can make croutons with it, Lucas.
- LucasC'est une bonne idée pour ne pas gaspiller.That is a good idea so we don't waste it.
- ManonOui, je vais préparer la salade maintenant.Yes, I am going to prepare the salad now.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries pain, rassis, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
