Level A2 (Upper 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 huître (f.), meaning “oyster.” Raw oysters are a quintessential French Christmas and holiday food, often served at family meals across France. I still remember the exquisiteness of tasting fresh oysters with champagne and a buttered baguette at Christmas dinner when I was an exchange student in France in 1991–92. Listen to Marie’s native audio to learn how to pronounce huître naturally and confidently.
✅ Meaning
✅ Pronunciation
✅ Example sentences
✅ Related Words & Expressions
✅ Related lessons
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📘 Huître meaning
Huître (f.) means “oyster” in French, the edible shellfish commonly eaten raw and frequently served in France during festive meals like Christmas and New Year’s. Raw oysters (les huîtres crues) are a classic part of French cuisine and are often enjoyed on a seafood platter with lemon, baguette, and butter. Interestingly, the word huître comes from Latin ostrea, the same root as the English word oyster.
🎧 Huître pronunciation in French
The pronunciation of huître is /ɥitʁ/ (IPA), which sounds roughly like “weet-r” (with a quick w-like sound and a soft French r).
The plural of huître is les huîtres. The h is non-aspirated, which means liaison is required: /le.z‿ɥitʁ/ or
les (z) huîtres.
📝 Huître examples & usages
Les huîtres sont un plat que l’on mange souvent à Noël en France.
Oysters are a dish that people often eat at Christmas in France.
Nous achetons des huîtres fraîches pour le réveillon.
We buy fresh oysters for Christmas Eve dinner.
Ils servent des huîtres avec du citron et du pain.
They serve oysters with lemon and bread.
Elle goûte des huîtres pour la première fois.
She is tasting oysters for the first time.
Discover more French Christmas foods (with audio)
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🔗 Related words and expressions
- les huîtres — oysters
- une huître fraîche — a fresh oyster
- des huîtres crues — raw oysters
- des huîtres frites — fried oysters
- un plateau d’huîtres — a platter of oysters
- ouvrir une huître — to open (shuck) an oyster
- des huîtres au citron — oysters with lemon
- les huîtres de Noël — Christmas oysters
- les moules — mussels
- les palourdes — clams
- les fruits de mer — shellfish / seafood
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