Level A1-A2 (Beginner)
Published November 26, 2025 — 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 dinde, meaning “turkey.” Many of my students have asked, “Do the French eat turkey during the holidays?” The answer is oui! I’ll never forget the delicious dinde aux marrons (turkey with chestnuts) I ate when I was an exchange student in 1991–92. In this lesson, you’ll learn how to use dinde naturally in conversation with clear native audio recorded by Marie.
✅ Meaning
✅ Pronunciation
✅ Example sentences
✅ Related Words & Expressions
✅ Related lessons
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Dinde Meaning, Pronunciation and Examples
📘 Dinde meaning
Dinde (f.) means turkey in French, but with an important distinction: la dinde refers to the turkey as food (the cooked or prepared bird), while le dindon refers to the living turkey, the actual animal. In everyday French, when people talk about eating turkey, cooking turkey, or buying turkey at the store, they always use la dinde.
🦃 Cultural note
France does not celebrate Thanksgiving, but turkey still plays a major role in the holiday season. In many regions, dinde is the traditional main dish for Christmas, usually roasted and often served with classic side dishes such as roasted potatoes (pommes de terre rôties) and green beans (haricots verts). So even without Thanksgiving, turkey still shows up on many French holiday tables.
🎧 Dinde pronunciation
The pronunciation of dinde is /dɛ̃d/, which sounds like dihnd.
📝 Dinde examples & usages
On mange de la dinde pour l’Action de grâce.
We eat turkey for Thanksgiving.
La dinde est le plat principal du repas.
Turkey is the main dish of the meal.
J’ai acheté une dinde au supermarché ce matin.
I bought a turkey at the supermarket this morning.
En France, on mange souvent de la dinde à Noël.
In France, people often eat turkey at Christmas.
👉 See also: Action de grâce (Thanksgiving) »
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🔗 Related words and expressions
- le dindon — male turkey
- la tranche — slice
- la cuisse — leg (drumstick)
- les restes — leftovers
- la farce — stuffing
- le poulet — chicken
- découper — to carve
- servir — to serve
- rôtir — to roast
- faire cuire — to cook
📚 Related lessons on FrenchLearner!
👉 French food vocabulary »
👉 Action de grâce (Thanksgiving) »
👉 repas (meal) »
👉 famille (family) »
👉 apporter (to bring) »
👉 servir (to serve) »
👉 French Christmas vocabulary »
👉 French Christmas songs »
🚀 Continue learning French online on FrenchLearner!
👉 French Word of the Day »
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