Level A1-A2 (Beginner)
Lesson written by French teacher David Issokson for students who want to learn French online, with native audio by Marie Assel Cambier, a voice artist from France.
The French Word of the Day is café allongé, an espresso with added hot water. I created this lesson after getting confused ordering coffee on my last trip to France in 2023 — a common experience for many English speakers. French coffee names can be confusing at first, and this lesson shows the easiest way to order something close to an “Americano” or filtered coffee — not a tiny espresso. Listen to the audio examples and everything will make sense.
✅ Meaning
✅ Pronunciation
✅ Example sentences
✅ Related Words & Expressions
✅ Related lessons
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📘 Café allongé meaning
A café allongé is an espresso with extra hot water added to make it milder. It’s similar to an Americano, but not exactly the same, because it isn’t filtered coffee and the taste remains closer to an espresso. It’s called a “café allongé” because the verb allonger means “to lengthen” or “to stretch out.” The strength of the original espresso is therefore diluted or “stretched out,” making it more like an Americano.
☕ Cultural tip (ordering coffee in France)
Many English-speaking North Americans are surprised when ordering coffee in France, because café customs are a bit different. If you order a café allongé, you’ll get something close to an Americano — usually with a little less liquid and a stronger taste. Ordering un americano may confuse some servers, as it isn’t universally recognized on French café menus. Also note that milk isn’t automatically added: if you want milk, you need to order it separately as une dosette de lait.
How to order your coffee:
➜ Un café allongé, s’il vous plaît.
An allongé, please.
➜ Un café allongé avec une dosette de lait, s’il vous plaît.
An allongé with a portion of milk, please.
🎧 Café allongé pronunciation in French
The pronunciation of café allongé is /ka.fe a.lɔ̃.ʒe/ (IPA), which sounds like “ka-FAY ah-lon-ZHAY.”
📝 Café allongé examples & usages
Un café allongé est un espresso avec un peu d’eau chaude pour le rendre plus léger.
An allongé is an espresso with a little hot water to make it lighter.
Je vais prendre un café allongé, s’il vous plaît.
I’ll have an allongé, please.
Sophie boit un allongé le matin parce qu’elle n’aime pas le café trop fort.
Sophia drinks an allongé in the morning because she doesn’t like very strong coffee.
Paul et Claire commandent deux cafés allongés après le déjeuner.
Paul and Claire order two allongés after lunch.
Want to take a deeper dive into the word café (coffee)? I cover all the kinds of coffee on the menu in France.
👉 Café — Meaning, pronunciation, examples »
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🔗 Related words and expressions
- commander un café — to order a coffee
- un americano — espresso diluted with hot water
- un expresso — a small, strong coffee
- un café serré — very strong espresso
- un café noisette — espresso with a little milk
- un café crème — coffee with more milk
- un café filtre — filtered coffee
📚 Related lessons on FrenchLearner!
👉 French beverages vocabulary
👉 How to order food in French
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