cuillère à café
/kɥi.jɛ.ʁ‿a ka.fe/feminine
The English phrase "teaspoon" is translated into French as cuillère à café.
The term refers to a unit of measure.
Meaning: unit of measure (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase literally translates to spoon for coffee.
Which one should you use?
While cuillère à café refers to a teaspoon, the term cuillère à soupe is used for a tablespoon.
How does it change in a sentence?
Because the noun is feminine, you use the indefinite article une (as in une cuillère à café) rather than the masculine un.
How do you pronounce it?
/kɥi.jɛ.ʁ‿a ka.fe/
Did you know?
- The word for spoon, cuillère, shares its distant ancestry with the Latin word for 'snail', cochlea. This is because ancient spoons were often shaped like shells.
- When talking about the physical object on a dining table, French speakers often say petite cuillère instead of cuillère à café.
- In professional French recipes, you will often see the abbreviation c. à c. used to denote a cuillère à café.
Examples in context
- Il faut ajouter une cuillère à café de sucre.You must add a teaspoon of sugar.This sentence shows how to use cuillère à café when instructing someone to add a specific amount of sugar.Tatoeba #8773983 by carlosalberto, translation #8773966 by carlosalberto
- Prenez une cuillère à café de sel.Take a teaspoon of salt.
- Elle a utilisé une cuillère à café de miel.She used a teaspoon of honey.
Example conversation
Nathan and Chloé are baking a cake together.
- NathanChloé, combien de levure faut-il ?Chloé, how much baking powder is needed?
- ChloéIl faut une cuillère à café.You need one teaspoon.
- NathanD'accord, je m'en occupe.Okay, I'll take care of it.
- ChloéMerci beaucoup, Nathan.Thank you very much, Nathan.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “teaspoon” translations and entries cuillère à café, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries café, cuillère, à, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
