Say How Food Tastes in French: Sweet, Salty, Sour, Bitter, Spicy
Learn to describe a food's inherent taste in French with c'est and ça a un goût de, plus the five basic taste words: sucré, salé, acide, amer, épicé.
By MarcusFood & cafés · Yapr Learn
To talk about how food tastes in French, you describe the food itself, not your opinion of it. The basic pattern is c'est plus a taste adjective, as in C'est sucré (It's sweet). For a stronger, more precise statement, use ça a un goût de plus a noun: Ça a un goût de citron (It tastes of lemon). This lesson gives you the five core taste words and shows you how to use them without confusing them with saying you like or dislike something.
By the end, you can…
- name the five basic tastes in French: sucré, salé, acide, amer, épicé.
- say 'This is sweet/salty/sour/bitter/spicy' using c'est.
- say 'It tastes of ___' using ça a un goût de ___.
- distinguish describing a food's taste from saying whether I like it.
Listen once. Try it slowly. Then say it without looking.
Checking available voices…
C'est sucré.
It's sweet.
say sew-KRAY
Use for a food that contains sugar or tastes naturally sweet, such as a ripe peach or a dessert.
C'est salé.
It's salty.
say sa-LAY
Use for food with a lot of salt, such as crisps, olives or a salty sauce.
C'est acide.
It's sour.
say ta-SEED
Use for a sharp, sour taste, such as a lemon or vinegar. In everyday French, acide is the standard word for this taste.
C'est amer.
It's bitter.
say ta-MAIR
Use for a bitter taste, such as strong coffee, dark chocolate or grapefruit peel.
C'est épicé.
It's spicy.
say tay-pee-SAY
Use for food with hot spices, such as chilli or curry. The adjective agrees with the noun: épicé for masculine nouns, épicée for feminine nouns.
Pronunciation guides are approximate. Slow playback keeps the original pitch.
Make it make sense
Useful pattern
The simplest pattern is c'est + taste adjective: C'est sucré. C'est salé. C'est acide. C'est amer. C'est épicé. The adjective agrees with the thing you are describing. If the food noun is feminine, use the feminine form: la sauce est épicée, la soupe est salée. For a taste of a specific ingredient, use ça a un goût de + noun: Ça a un goût de citron (It tastes of lemon). Ça a un goût de miel (It tastes of honey).
When to use it
Use c'est + adjective when you are making a general statement about the food in front of you: C'est sucré. Use ça a un goût de + noun when you want to name what the taste reminds you of: Ça a un goût de noix (It tastes of walnut). These sentences describe the food's inherent quality. They do not mean 'I like it'. To say you like it, use J'aime ça or C'est bon. To say you dislike it, use Je n'aime pas ça or C'est mauvais.
Listen to each line, then take one part and reply out loud.
Goûte cette sauce. C'est sucré ou salé ?
Taste this sauce. Is it sweet or salty?goo-tuh set sos. say sew-KRAY oo sa-LAYC'est salé. Ça a un goût de citron aussi.
It's salty. It tastes of lemon too.say sa-LAY. sa a un goo duh see-TRON oh-SEEEt ce chocolat ? C'est amer ?
And this chocolate? Is it bitter?ay suh sho-ko-LA? say ta-MAIROui, c'est très amer. Ce n'est pas sucré.
Yes, it's very bitter. It isn't sweet.wee, say tray ta-MAIR. suh nuh pah sew-KRAYA little context goes a long way
In France, acide is the normal word for a sour taste in food, while aigre often describes something that has turned sour, such as milk or wine. In Quebec and other francophone regions, you may also hear sure or surette for sour, especially for sweets and drinks. Standard written French generally prefers acide for a neutral description of taste.
One thing to watch for
Using J'aime ça to mean 'It tastes good' or 'It's sweet'.
Try this instead: J'aime ça means 'I like it', not 'It tastes sweet'. To describe the taste, say C'est sucré. To say you like it, add a separate sentence: C'est sucré. J'aime ça.
Your turn
Try answering out loud before checking a possible answer.
1How do you say 'It's bitter' in French?
Show a sample answer
C'est amer.
C'est amer uses the masculine adjective amer after c'est. If you are describing a feminine noun, use amère: La bière est amère.
2You taste a soup and it reminds you of lemon. What sentence can you use?
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Ça a un goût de citron.
Ça a un goût de + noun names the taste you notice. You could also say C'est acide if you only want to describe the sour quality.
3A friend asks if the dish is sweet. You want to say no, it's spicy. What do you say?
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Non, c'est épicé.
C'est épicé describes the dish's taste. If the dish noun is feminine, use épicée: Non, la sauce est épicée.
Use c'est + taste adjective to describe what a food is like, and ça a un goût de + noun to say what it tastes of. Keep taste separate from liking: C'est sucré is not J'aime ça.
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