Le repas: the ten phrases you'll use every day

Mealtime in French

Audio for this is coming. The phrases work now.

À table ! Time to eat! The announcement. Two words, said daily for a decade.

Tu as faim ? Are you hungry? Answerable with a nod.

Voilà ton assiette. Here's your plate. Voilà plus a noun covers half of mealtime.

C'est chaud, attention. It's hot, careful. Pair with a gesture.

Tu veux de l'eau ? Do you want water? Point at the cup as you say it.

Encore un peu ? A bit more? Encore, again. It's everywhere.

Miam, c'est bon ! Yum, that's good! Enthusiasm carries meaning better than translation.

On goûte, juste une bouchée. We try it, just one bite. You will say this more than any other sentence.

Tu as fini ? Are you finished? The closing question.

On débarrasse ensemble. Let's clear up together. Ends the ritual with a shared action.

Print the le repas card Prop it by the high chair or tape it inside a kitchen cupboard, so the script is there at every meal

Mealtime is the most repetitive twenty minutes you have, the same objects, the same requests, the same refusals, three times a day. That repetition is exactly what language acquisition runs on.

Why le repas works

Three meals a day means three repetitions a day, no other ritual gives you that frequency.

The vocabulary is concrete and visible. Every noun is on the table in front of you.

Refusals and negotiations at the table are the richest recast material in the whole day.

When they answer in English

"I don't like it"

Tu n'aimes pas ça ? D'accord, tu n'es pas obligé.

"more please"

Encore ? Bien sûr, voilà.

Don't correct. Don't ask them to repeat. Just say the thing back in French and carry on. That's a recast, and it's the single most effective move in parent-led bilingualism. More on La Reprise.

By age

18 months – 3 years

Name what's on the plate. One noun at a time, as you hand it over.

3 – 5 years

Ask what they want and accept the English answer, then recast it as you serve.

The full le repas module is coming. Start with Le Dodo, complete now, with audio on every line.

See Le Dodo