26 Comments
French people often drink their coffee from a bowl. It could mean you're asking for a coffee pot, and you would rather drink it from a bowl.
As an American married to a French woman and newly installed in France, I can confirm that super-moi is right. In fact, I enjoy drinking coffee from a (small) bowl myself.
1754
At home, French people are likely to drink coffee from a bowl, not a cup. True.
Our daughter lives in a Sydney suburb called Rose Bay. When we visit we always enjoy bowls of coffee from a little café called 'C'est si Bon' run by a lovely French couple. Of course we must also have pain au chocolat for a little dipping. They always tell us 'Pas de calories'
- 512
I have been surprised and intrigued to see people drinking coffee from bowls in a few French movies
And in real life! There are bowls made specifically for drinking coffee, though in my experience they're more commonly used in suburban/rural areas, and for coffee as opposed to espresso. (This sentence is still a bit silly.)
It's still common in rural areas, but not as much as it once was. I love a bowl of cafe au lait.
Wait... so when I drink my coffee by the bowl... there are others who drink this much coffee? I thought I was just an addict.
Du is the contraction on 'de' and 'le'. It is the partative article referring to 'some' quantity. (As far as i have learnt so far)
'a' would be the indefinite masculine article 'un'; '... et un café'
- 1754
Here, "du" is the partitive article referring to an undetermined amount. "Some" is used but nearly always omitted in English. See here: https://www.thoughtco.com/du-de-la-des-1368977
- 348
We normally use some in positive clauses for a limited amount. It sounds unnatural to omit it here.
a bowl and coffee is not a correct sentence. In order to do it the right way you have to write a "bowl and some coffee", or "a bowl and a coffee"
- 329
The bowl, the hot milk, and the coffee might be brought separately, to be poured into the bowl by the customer. (I'm not making this up!)
I do agree that "A bowl and some coffee" is a nicer translation than "A bowl and coffee." (Both are accepted.)
Ok, even if French drink coffee from the bowl... still doesn't make sense. A bowl and coffee ???. Can't see what it means in English. A bowl of coffee probably would be the closest English phrase to describe this specific French custom.
- 348
"A bowl and coffee" is going to be messy. Does it mean a bowl with coffee in it?
How do we know it doesn't mean "A bowl (of something, like porridge or soup, for instance) and two coffees"? I never heard of "a bowl" of coffee.
