In today’s lesson we’ll explore the word œuf (meaning egg) in detail. Specifically, we’ll look at how to pronounce egg in both the singular and plural forms (un œuf vs. des œufs) and learn the different ways you can order eggs on a menu. On y va! Let’s go!
un œuf, des œufs
one egg, some eggs
Word origin
The Modern French word œuf (egg) comes from Old French oef, which in turn comes from ovum in Latin.
Œuf (egg) pronunciation in French
The pronunciation of œuf in the sigular form is [øf] — pronounce the final -f. In the plural form, œufs, both the final letters -fs are silent. The combined -œ letter is called “l’e dans l’o” (the -e in the -o) and has an “uh” sound. In this short video, online French teacher Christophe explains how to pronounce œuf, counting from one to ten eggs and highlighting the liaisons.
Example sentences
For this first example sentence, the adverb environ means “around” or “about”. We could have used à peu près, which also means around or about, in this sentence.
Je mange environ deux œufs tous les jours.
I eat about two eggs every day.
In this second example, we use the verb aimer (to like, to love) in the inversion structure of asking questions.
Comment aimez-vous vos œufs le matin?
How do you like your eggs in the morning?
Ways of cooking eggs in French
The following is a list of how you can order your eggs in a French restaurant.
- les œufs brouillés scrambled eggs
- une omelette omelette
- les œufs au plat fried egg, sunny-side-up
- un œuf dur hard-boiled egg
- les œufs tournés eggs over-easy
- à la coque, mollets soft-boiled eggs
- un œuf poché poached egg
One more usage
In French, the gondolas on ski mountains can also be called “les œufs” (the eggs).
Quand je fais du ski, je préfère prendre les œufs que le télésiège.
When I ski I prefer taking the gondola over the chairlift.
Related lessons
References
