Water in French: Essential Vocabulary (with Audio)
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“Water” in French is Eau (pronounced /o/).
Eau often goes with a definite or an indefinite article, so you’ll mostly see it as de l’eau, d’eau, or l’eau.
It’s a useful word in many situations — whether you’re traveling in France, eating at a French restaurant, or renting a house from a French-speaking person!
As a French graduate, here is my handy vocabulary list to say water in French and use the word in different situations.
Table of contents
Still Water, Tap Water, and Sparkling Water in French
You can drink tap water in France. But if you prefer bottled water, be it still or sparkling, you’ll need to know how to order it in a restaurant or what to look for in supermarkets.
Here is a useful vocabulary list:
| English | French | Audio |
|---|---|---|
| “Still water” | L'eau plate | |
| “Sparkling water” | L'eau gazeuse | |
| “Sparkling water” | L'eau pétillante | |
| “Mineral water” | L'eau minérale | |
| “Tap water” | L'eau du robinet |
How to Order Water in French Restaurants
Une bouteille d’eau is “a bottle of water,” while un verre d’eau is “a glass of water.” So if you’re eating alone, you might want to ask for un verre d’eau, by saying Puis-je avoir un verre d’eau, s’il vous plaît? (“Can I have a glass of water, please?”) If you’re with a group of friends, you can order une bouteille d’eau, so you can share. In this case, say Peut-on avoir une bouteille d’eau, s’il vous plaît? (“Can we have a bottle of water, please?”)
Alternatively, you can also ask for une carafe d’eau, which is “a pitcher of water.” This is usually free tap water, served with complimentary bread. Got to love French restaurants!
Here is a vocabulary list for ordering water in French, including what the waiter might say when asking if you’d like some water.
| English | French | Audio |
|---|---|---|
| “A bottle of water” | Une bouteille d'eau | |
| “A glass of water” | Un verre d'eau | |
| “A pitcher of water” | Une carafe d’eau | |
| “May I offer you some water?” | Puis-je vous offrir de l'eau? | |
| “Do you prefer still or sparkling water?” | Vous préférez l'eau plate ou gazeuse? | |
| “Still water, please.” | L’eau plate, s’il vous plaît | |
| “A glass of still water, please.” | Un verre d’eau plate, s’il vous plaît | |
| “Sparkling water, please.” | L’eau gazeuse, s’il vous plaît | |
| “I’d like a glass of water.” | Je voudrais un verre d’eau | |
| “A bottle of sparkling water, please.” | Une bouteille d’eau gazeuse, s’il vous plaît | |
| “Can I have a pitcher of water, please?” | Puis-je avoir une carafe d’eau s’il vous plaît? |
Water Brands in French
Looking for a specific water brand? France has many mineral and sparkling water brands, with the most common ones being:
- Evian
- Perrier
- Vittel
- Contrex
- Badoit
If the restaurant has one of these brands and you’d like to order it, you can replace the word eau with the brand name.
- Une bouteille d’Evian, s’il vous plaît. “A bottle of Evian, please.”
- Puis-je avoir une bouteille de Vittel? “Can I have a bottle of Vittel?”
Hot Water and Cold Water in French
Imagine you’re an exchange student in France, you moved into a new apartment, and there’s no hot water. You need to call the landlord, but there’s an important phrase you should know: hot water!
Hot water is l’eau chaude in French. Notice how chaude (“hot”) comes after l’eau (“water”). This goes for all the other adjectives we use with water — be it hot, cold, warm, or boiling. And it’s l’eau chaude, not l’eau chaud. The extra -e is there because water is a feminine word in French.
| English | French | Audio |
|---|---|---|
| “Hot water” | L’eau chaude | |
| “Cold water” | L’eau froide | |
| “Lukewarm water” | L’eau tiède | |
| “Boiling water | L’eau bouillante |
Idioms with Water in French
Water is a huge part of our everyday life — so it’s only natural that many languages have expressions with “water.” French is one of them. Here are a few fun idioms to try out:
Être comme l’eau et le feu literally translates to “to be like water and fire,” but it means two people are complete opposites, like oil and water.
If you want to emphasize how similar two people are, that’s also a water-related expression in French. Se ressembler comme deux gouttes d’eau is the idiom you’re looking for — it means “to resemble each other like two drops of water,” or “to be two peas in a pod.”
Last but not least, similar to “the straw that broke the camel’s back,” describing how a small action causes a much larger reaction, is la goutte d’eau qui fait déborder le vase. It means “the drop of water that makes the vase overflow.”
Now You Know the Basics of Water in French
Whether you’re asking for water, complaining about a hot water situation, or looking for fun expressions, you’ll use the word l’eau all the time! Take a look at our list of core French words to see if you’re missing any other important French vocab.
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