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How to Say ‘Starter, main course and dessert’ in French

Entrée, plat et dessert

ahn-TRAY plah eh day-SEHR

[ahn-TRAY plah eh day-SEHR]

💬 Usage Tip: Entrée means the starter here, not the main course as in American English. The main dish is le plat.

Phrase Breakdown

Entrée,

ahn-TRAY

Starter,

In France, 'entrée' means the starter, not the main course. Say 'ahn-TRAY' and pause briefly at the comma.

Example

Je prends une entrée.

I'll have a starter.

Words in this phrase

Entrée

[ahn-TRAY]

starter

In French menus, 'entrée' is the first course, not the main dish.

Example

Comme entrée, je voudrais une soupe.

As a starter, I'd like a soup.

plat et dessert

plah eh day-SEHR

main course and dessert

The final T in 'plat', 'et' and 'dessert' is silent: 'plah ay day-SEHR'.

Example

Un plat et dessert, s'il vous plaît.

A main course and dessert, please.

Words in this phrase

plat

[plah]

main course

The main dish of a meal; also means 'dish' generally.

Example

Le plat du jour est du poisson.

The dish of the day is fish.

[eh]

and

Joins two thoughts or questions together.

Example

Et vous êtes venu aussi?

And did you come too?

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

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.Hello in French: Greetings, Good Evening and How to Answer "How Are You?"How to say hello in French, when to switch to good evening, how to ask how are you and what to answer, with tu vs vous and native audio.

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