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How to Say ‘I'm saving room for dessert.’ in French

Je garde de la place pour le dessert.

zhuh GARD DUH lah plahss poor luh day-SEHR

[zhuh GARD DUH lah plahss poor luh day-SEHR]

🇫🇷 In France: This is the most graceful way to turn down seconds at a French meal. It refuses while still praising what's coming.

Phrase Breakdown

Je garde de la place

zhuh GARD DUH lah plahss

I'm saving room

A common phrase for leaving space in your stomach. Say it smoothly in one breath.

Example

Je garde de la place pour plus tard.

I'm saving room for later.

Words in this phrase

[zhuh]

Pronoun used by the speaker to identify themselves.

Example

Je suis content.

I am happy.

garde

[GARD]

keep / hold

Form of 'garder' (to keep, to save a place).

Example

Je garde ta place.

I'm saving your seat.

[DUH]

some

With 'l'' forms the partitive article, meaning an unspecified amount.

Example

Je bois de l'eau.

I drink some water.

[lah]

the

A definite article preceding a noun.

Example

La porte est ouverte.

The door is open.

place

[plahss]

room / space

Here means available space, e.g. room in your stomach.

Example

Il n'y a plus de place dans le frigo.

There's no more room in the fridge.

pour le dessert.

poor luh day-SEHR

for dessert.

'Dessert' has a soft 's' and a silent final 't': 'day-sair'. Don't confuse it with 'désert' (desert).

Example

Qu'est-ce qu'il y a pour le dessert ?

What's for dessert?

Words in this phrase

pour

[poor]

for

Indicating purpose or reason.

Example

C'est pour toi.

It's for you.

[luh]

the

Used as a function word to indicate a noun and to mark the noun as definite.

Example

Le chat noir.

The black cat.

dessert

[day-SEHR]

dessert

The sweet course at the end of a meal.

Example

Vous prenez un dessert ?

Will you have a dessert?

Guides for French learners

The Most Common French Verbs: the 20 You'll Actually UseThe 20 most common French verbs, with the present-tense forms you need, real example sentences with native audio, and two shortcuts for past and future.Ordering in French: Cafés, Bakeries and Restaurants (with Menu Vocabulary)How to order in French at a café, a bakery and a restaurant: the phrases, the questions staff ask, and the menu and food vocabulary to understand the answers.

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