bouteille

bottle

noun boo-TAY Less Common

Usage Note

Bouteille can refer to any bottle but is strongly associated with wine in French culture. Mettre en bouteille means to bottle wine. The expression avoir de la bouteille ('to have some bottle') is a colourful idiom meaning a wine has aged well — or a person is experienced.

Examples

"Il a ouvert une bouteille de vin rouge."

Natural Translation

He opened a bottle of red wine.

Literal Translation

He has opened a bottle of wine red.

Free starter pack

Building your French vocabulary?

Get the 100 most common French words as a free PDF — one email, no spam.

Related Words

Explore French by topic

FrenchNow

French Object Pronouns: le, la, lui, leur Order

Le lui or lui le? Use the à-name test to pick le/la vs lui/leur, then one slot chart to order two French object pronouns — plus the command exception.

June 4, 2026 6 min read

FrenchNow

The Bonjour Rule: French Etiquette for Visitors

Always say bonjour before you ask, order, or pay in France — the unspoken rule that opens every door. A respectful visitor's guide to French etiquette.

June 4, 2026 6 min read

FrenchNow

Faire in French: To Make, To Do, and More

Faire in French means more than make and do: master faire vs rendre, weather and sports idioms, the causative, and the mistakes English speakers make.

June 4, 2026 6 min read

FrenchNow

Sorry in French: Désolé vs Pardon vs Excusez-moi

Use désolé for genuine regret, pardon to bump or squeeze past, and excusez-moi to get attention. A situation-by-situation guide to saying sorry in French.

June 4, 2026 5 min read