Scale
Eating in French: from grignoter and manger to déguster and se goinfrer
Grignoter, manger, se régaler, déguster, dévorer, se goinfrer, bouffer: a scale of French eating verbs by how much and how politely you eat.
- B1
- 8 steps
- a little → a lot
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In short
Manger is neutral. Grignoter is to nibble, déguster to savour, se régaler to really enjoy, dévorer to devour, se goinfrer to stuff yourself, and bouffer is slang for eating. Choosing the right one adds colour and the right register.
Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learnRed watch out
a lot
- boufferto eat (slang)Casual; avoid in polite company.
- se goinfrerto stuff yourselfGreedy, informal.
- dévorerto devour
- se régalerto have a great mealOn s'est régalés !
- dégusterto savourSlow, appreciative.
- mangerto eatNeutral.
- goûterto taste; to have the afternoon snack
- grignoterto nibble, snackJe grignote devant la télé.
a little
Hear it in use
- Hôte
Alors, ça vous a plu ?
So, did you enjoy it?
- Toi
On s'est régalés ! J'ai dévoré le gratin.
We loved it! I devoured the gratin.
- Hôte
Il en reste, ne te gêne pas !
There's some left, help yourself!
On s'est régalé(s) is the best compliment to a cook: it means you really enjoyed the meal. Bouffer (and la bouffe, food) is very common among friends but sounds rough in formal settings. Le goûter is the French children's afternoon snack.
Il a dégusté un vieux comté avec un verre de vin jaune.
He savoured an aged comté with a glass of vin jaune.
Arrête de grignoter, on mange dans une heure !
Stop snacking, we're eating in an hour!
- J'ai régalé.Je me suis régalé(e).
Se régaler is pronominal.
- Merci, j'ai bien bouffé. (to your host's parents)Merci, je me suis régalé(e).
Keep bouffer for friends.