sauce tomate
/sos tɔ.mat/
The English phrase "tomato sauce" is sauce tomate in French.
sauce tomate refers to a savory sauce made primarily from tomatoes.
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase is feminine, so it takes the feminine definite article la in the form la sauce tomate (the tomato sauce). When referring to an unspecified amount of tomato sauce, use the partitive article de la before the phrase, resulting in de la sauce tomate (some tomato sauce).
How do you pronounce it?
The pronunciation is /sos tɔ.mat/. It consists of 2 syllables.
Did you know?
- Because sauce comes from the root for salt, it is a linguistic relative of the English word 'salary', which originally referred to salt money paid to Roman soldiers.
- The word tomate actually has roots in the Nahuatl word tomatl, meaning the fruit arrived in Europe via Spanish influence from the Americas.
- In France, asking for sauce tomate at a restaurant may lead to a misunderstanding if you actually want ketchup, which is almost always called le ketchup.
Examples in context
- Ce n'est pas du sang. C'est de la sauce tomate.It's not blood. It's tomato sauce.This sentence is useful for clarifying that a substance is sauce tomate rather than blood.Tatoeba #7773586 by Rockaround, translation #2514125 by Hybrid
- Les enfants aiment bien les pâtes à la sauce tomate.Kids love pasta in tomato sauce.This sentence shows how children enjoy pasta served with sauce tomate.Tatoeba #839774 by sacredceltic, translation #501195 by swagner
- Plus tu laisseras mijoter la sauce tomate, plus elle sera savoureuse.The longer you let the tomato sauce simmer, the tastier it will be.This sentence describes how simmering sauce tomate improves its flavor.Tatoeba #9852518 by lbdx, translation #5119623 by honestlang
- Je voudrais de la sauce tomate, s'il vous plaît.I would like some tomato sauce, please.
- La sauce tomate est délicieuse.The tomato sauce is delicious.
- Quelle est la meilleure sauce à la tomate selon vous?What is the best tomato sauce in your opinion?
- Connaissez-vous une recette de sauce tomate maison?Do you know a recipe for homemade tomato sauce?
- Je préfère la sauce tomate épicée.I prefer spicy tomato sauce.
- Je n'aime pas la sauce à la tomate trop sucrée.I don't like tomato sauce that is too sweet.
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Emma and Lucas are cooking dinner in their kitchen.
- EmmaEst-ce qu'il reste de la sauce tomate ?Is there any tomato sauce left?
- LucasOui, j'en ai acheté hier.Yes, I bought some yesterday.
- EmmaSuper, on peut en mettre sur les pâtes.Great, we can put some on the pasta.
- LucasD'accord, je vais la chauffer.Okay, I will heat it up.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry sauce tomate, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries sauce, tomate, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
