légume
/le.ɡym/masculine
The French word for vegetable is légume.
légume is a masculine noun used to refer to a plant raised for an edible part. If you are speaking in a formal context about vegetables grown specifically in gardens or kitchen gardens, you may encounter the term Légume potager.
Meaning: a plant raised for some edible part of it (noun)
Which one should you use?
While légume is the noun for a vegetable, végétal is an adjective used to describe things related to plants in a general or biological sense. If you want to describe something as relating specifically to vegetables, you would use légumier.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The plural form of légume is légumes.
How do you pronounce it?
/le.ɡym/ (two syllables)
What mistakes should you avoid?
Do not use végétal as a noun to mean 'a vegetable'. In French, végétal is primarily an adjective, while légume is the correct noun for food.
Did you know?
- In French slang, calling a person a légume is a harsh insult implying they are completely passive, mindless or in a vegetative state.
- The word légume comes from the Latin legūmen, which originally referred to seeds or pods.
Examples in context
- Ce légume est sans goût.This vegetable is tasteless.This sentence uses légume to describe a tasteless vegetable.Tatoeba #11383391 by saillier, translation #8996107 by mccarras
- Une tomate est un légume.A tomato is a vegetable.This sentence uses légume to identify a tomato as a vegetable.Tatoeba #10707324 by AutoBot, translation #10707323 by AutoBot
- C'est une soupe de légumes.This is vegetable soup.This sentence uses légumes to refer to the vegetables in a soup.Tatoeba #11383381 by saillier, translation #6271263 by CK
- Les légumes sont bons pour la santéVegetables are good for health
- Je cultive plusieurs légumes potagers dans mon jardinI grow several vegetables in my garden
- Les légumes verts sont riches en vitamines et minérauxGreen vegetables are rich in vitamins and minerals
- Je vais préparer des crudités pour l'apéritifI'm going to prepare some raw vegetables for the appetizer
- 24 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Léa and Gabriel are grocery shopping together.
- LéaEst-ce que tu veux un légume vert ?Do you want a green vegetable?
- GabrielOui, je préfère les brocolis.Yes, I prefer broccoli.
- LéaD'accord, je les prends pour nous.Okay, I'll take them for us.
- GabrielMerci, Léa, c'est très gentil.Thank you, Léa, that is very kind.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “vegetable” translations and entries légume, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries légume, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
