Ways to say it
| French | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| pain grillé | /pɛ̃ ɡʁi.je/ | masculine |
| toast | /tɔst/ | |
| rôtie | /ʁo.ti/ | Quebec, feminine |
If you wish to express the action of lightly cooking something by browning it over fire, you can use the verb griller. To describe the appliance used to make toast, use the term grille-pain.
Which one should you use?
While pain grillé is the standard term, the form toast is also used. In Quebec, the feminine form rôtie is a frequent choice for this meaning.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Switzerland, the term toast is used to refer to toast. In Quebec, the word rôtie is frequently used to mean toast, whereas in France this specific meaning is much less common for that word.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The standard form pain grillé is a masculine noun. The Quebec form rôtie is feminine.
How do you pronounce it?
/pɛ̃ ɡʁi.je/
When do people say it?
In an informal gathering, you can propose a toast using the phrase Trinquons à… If you wish to engage in a salutation, you can use the verbs porter un toast or trinquer.
Did you know?
- The French word pain for 'bread' is a linguistic relative of the English word 'companion', which comes from the Latin roots for 'bread' and 'with'.
- The word tôt shares the same linguistic roots as the English word 'toast', forming a historical pair known as doublets.
- Though toast is borrowed from English, it is used in France specifically to describe the square slices of sandwich bread rather than any toasted loaf.
Examples in context
- J'aimerais porter un toast.I'd like to make a toast.This sentence shows how to use the verb phrase involving the word toast to express a desire to make a toast.Tatoeba #6443924 by Aiji, translation #1936405 by CK
- Il nous faut porter un toast.We must toast.This sentence demonstrates the necessity of making a toast using the phrase involving toast.Tatoeba #4779615 by sacredceltic, translation #2718076 by Hybrid
- Le toast est sorti du grille-pain.The toast popped up.This sentence shows the use of the word toast when referring to the bread coming out of a grille-pain.Tatoeba #14036360 by Myrano_, translation #7899875 by Hybrid
- Je vais manger une tartine au petit-déjeuner.I'm going to eat some toast for breakfast.
- Trinquons à notre amitié !Let's toast to our friendship!
- J'aime mes rôties bien croustillantes.I like my toast crispy.
- Pourriez-vous me passer la tartine, s'il vous plaît ?Could you pass me the toast, please?
- 29 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Léa and Hugo are having breakfast in the kitchen.
- LéaHugo, tu veux du pain grillé ?Hugo, do you want some toasted bread?
- HugoOui, j'adore le pain grillé.Yes, I love toasted bread.
- LéaD'accord, je t'en prépare un peu.Okay, I will prepare a little for you.
- HugoMerci Léa, c'est très gentil.Thanks Léa, that is very kind.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “toast” translations and entries pain grillé, toast, rôtie, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries pain, pain grillé, toast, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
