cuisinière
/kɥi.zi.njɛʁ/
The French word for stove is cuisinière. Wiktionary also lists fourneau.
Meaning: device for heating food (noun)
Ways to say it
| French | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| cuisinière | /kɥi.zi.njɛʁ/ | |
| fourneau | /fuʁ.no/ | masculine |
The term refers to a device used for heating food. While cuisinière is the standard word for the appliance, you should use le poêle à bois specifically when referring to a wood-burning stove.
Which one should you use?
Cuisinière refers to the entire kitchen appliance. In contrast, fourneau is a masculine noun that often refers specifically to a single heating element, a burner or a large industrial stove.
How does it change in a sentence?
fourneau is a masculine noun.
How do you pronounce it?
/kɥi.zi.njɛʁ/
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers may mistakenly use poêle to mean a kitchen stove. However, in French, poêle usually refers to a frying pan or a small wood-burning stove.
Did you know?
- The term poêle creates a common trap for learners because it can mean a frying pan or a heating stove depending on the context.
- The word cuisinière shares its root with the word for a 'cook', meaning the appliance itself is linguistically linked to the person who uses it.
- The word fourneau has many linguistic cousins across Europe, such as the Italian fornello, all tracing back to the same Latin root for a furnace.
Examples in context
- Éteins la cuisinière !Turn off the stove!This sentence is useful for practicing the command to turn off the cuisinière.Tatoeba #11684064 by lbdx, translation #9130372 by rafaeldejesus8199
- As-tu éteint la cuisinière ?Did you turn the stove off?This sentence is useful for asking if someone turned off the cuisinière.Tatoeba #2787552 by Rovo, translation #2356194 by Hybrid
- Ne touche pas la cuisinière.Don't touch the stove.This sentence is useful for a warning not to touch the cuisinière.Tatoeba #5389678 by Aiji, translation #2270540 by CK
- 18 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Emma and Hugo are in their kitchen preparing dinner.
- EmmaLa cuisinière est très sale.The stove is very dirty.
- HugoJe vais la nettoyer, Emma.I will clean it, Emma.
- EmmaMerci, Hugo, c'est gentil.Thanks, Hugo, that is kind.
- HugoEst-ce que la cuisinière fonctionne ?Does the stove work?
Sources
- Wiktionary, “stove” translations and entries cuisinière, fourneau, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries cuisinière, fourneau, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
