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👉 See also: French food vocabulary (with audio) »
Level A1 (Beginner)
Published February 3, 2026 — 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 fruits de mer, meaning “seafood.” This is an extremely useful term for ordering meals in restaurants. More importantly, we’ll answer the question of why the word “fruits” is used with seafood.
📘 Fruits de mer meaning in French
Fruits de mer (literally fruits of the sea) means “seafood” in French. You’ll often see un plateau de fruits de mer, which refers to a large seafood platter — usually served on ice with lemon, vinegar, and sauces — featuring an assortment of shellfish and crustaceans such as l’huître (oysters), la moule (mussels), la crevette (shrimp), le crabe (crab), une langoustine (langoustines), la palourde (clams), and sometimes le homard (lobster). The word “fruits” is used because these foods are seen as natural “harvests of the sea,” much like fruit is harvested from the land.
🎧 Fruits de mer pronunciation in French
The pronunciation of fruits de mer is /fʁɥi də mɛʁ/ (IPA), which sounds roughly like “frwee duh mehr.”
📝 Fruits de mer usage examples
Je commande un plateau de fruits de mer.
I’m ordering a seafood platter.
Mes fruits de mer préférés sont les crevettes et les moules.
My favorite seafood includes shrimp and mussels.
Je suis allergique aux fruits de mer.
I’m allergic to seafood.
👉 See also: Être (to be) conjugation chart – with audio »
Ce vin blanc accompagne très bien les fruits de mer.
This white wine goes very well with seafood.
Real fluency starts with building a strong vocabulary.
👉 See also: French food vocabulary (100 words with audio) »
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🔗 Related words and expressions
- un plateau de fruits de mer — seafood platter
- la crevette — shrimp
- la moule — mussel
- la palourde — clam
- l’huître — oyster
- le coquillage — shellfish
- le crabe — crab
- le homard — lobster
- une langoustine — Norway lobster / Dublin Bay prawn
- la coquille saint-jacques — scallop
📚 Related lessons on FrenchLearner!
👉 French food vocabulary (with audio) »
👉 l’huître — oyster »
👉 Restaurant phrases and vocabulary »
