French · Home, Clothes & Daily Life

"Oven" in French: four

le four

Say it: foormasculine · le fournoun/fuʁ/

Oven in French is le four, masculine. Au four means in the oven / baked. Préchauffe le four is preheat the oven. Micro-ondes is the microwave, not four.

Following a recipe

Enfourne le gâteau et laisse cuire au four.
Put the cake in and let it bake in the oven.
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How to pronounce four

Say it

foor

/fuʁ/

Four is foor, like English poor with an f, one short syllable. The r is a light French r.

"Oven" in French: quick reference

FrenchEnglish
le fourthe oven

Kitchen appliance.

au fourin the oven / baked

Cooking method on recipes.

préchauffer le fourto preheat the oven

Recipe step.

le four à micro-ondesmicrowave oven

Full name; often just micro-ondes.

How to use four in real life

  1. 1Following a recipe

    Enfourne le gâteau et laisse cuire au four.

    Put the cake in and let it bake in the oven.

    Au four = oven-baked.

  2. 2Kitchen help

    Tu peux préchauffer le four à 180 degrés ?

    Can you preheat the oven to 180 degrees?

    Common recipe temperature.

  3. 3Burnt toast smell

    Il y a quelque chose qui brûle dans le four !

    Something's burning in the oven!

    Everyday alarm call.

Mistakes English speakers make with four

Incorrect: Mets ça dans l'oven.

Correct: Mets ça dans le four.

Oven is le four.

Incorrect: Cuire à le four.

Correct: Cuire au four.

À + le contracts to au: au four.

Good to know

French recipes almost always say préchauffer le four and give Celsius. Au four on a menu means oven-baked, not fried or grilled.

Try it in a ChatPal conversation

Baking cookies together

  1. ChatPal

    Le four est assez chaud ?

    Is the oven hot enough?

  2. You

    Oui, le four affiche 180. J'enfourne.

    Yes, the oven shows 180. I'm putting them in.

  3. ChatPal

    Parfait. On surveille dans dix minutes.

    Perfect. We'll check in ten minutes.

  4. You

    Ok, je chronomètre.

    Okay, I'll set a timer.

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"Oven" in other languages

FAQ

Common questions about "Oven" in French

What is oven in French?

Le four (masculine).

How do I say bake in the oven?

Cuire au four.

How do I say preheat the oven?

Préchauffer le four.

Is four the microwave?

No; that's (four à) micro-ondes.

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