# chocolate milk



## Hugolienne7

Bonjour,
Je voudrais savoir comment dire "chocolate milk" en français. Ce n'est pas du chocolat chaud, c'est un type de lait américain qui a un goût de chocolat, car on ajoute du chocolat au lait pour le créer. J'aimerais savoir aussi si cette boisson existe en France et si on en boit souvent ou rarement.

Merci bien,
Hugolienne


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## bloomiegirl

C'est du lait au chocolat. Yum!


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## Mikamocha

WR translates this as lait chocolaté. Is this a synonym or a mistake on the part of WR dictionary? I have personally always used lait au chocolat...


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## Kakikako

I have a feeling that most people talk about "lait au chocolat" but when it is sold "ready-made" in bottles, cartons etc. it is called "lait chocolaté".


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## ain'ttranslationfun?

Sometime people use the brand name, "Cacolac".


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## Mikamocha

Mmm...makes sense. Thanks!


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## EpicBacon

All right, so, I'm a tad confused here. The word reference dictionary says "chocolate milk" translates to "lait chocolaté", but the French Wikipedia says it is "lait au chocolat".


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## ph_l

these are two different ways of saying the same thing, with different constructs: an adjective or a noun's complement.


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## Michelvar

Hi, 

those two expressions are quite synonyms. You can also use only "un chocolat", when the context makes it obvious, like in "j'ai bu un chocolat pour le goûter".


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## EpicBacon

Which one of the two is more common?


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## Michelvar

It depends on what context. Do you have a full sentence and some context?


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## atcheque

Bonjour,

Je dis même facilement ‟chocolat au lait‟, tout comme ‟café au lait‟, ou simplement ‟chocolat (chaud)‟.


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## pointvirgule

Michelvar said:


> [...] You can also use only "un chocolat", when the context makes it obvious, like in "j'ai bu un chocolat pour le goûter".


I've always understood _un chocolat_ (tout court) as meaning a hot beverage made with cocoa (i.e. _hot chocolate_ or _hot cocoa_). But EB is talking about actual ready-made chocolate milk as sold in North America, like this (_lait au chocolat,_ _lait chocolaté_, bonnet brun, brun bonnet), which is drunk cold. I'm not sure if that can be found in France.


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## Michelvar

I agree, but what is the difference once poured in a cup? a hot chocolate is made with milk and cocoa, and a chocolate milk is made with milk and cocoa all the same, no?

That's why I ask for context, as, like atcheque, I would more use "chocolat chaud".


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## pointvirgule

Like I said before, the product sold as "chocolate milk" is drunk cold, in a glass, Mv. It's not the same as a chocolat chaud. Look at the name of the product in the picture.


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## Michelvar

Ah pardon, en effet, c'est une différence de taille. Un chocolat frappé, alors, ou un lait chocolaté.


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## pointvirgule

Bien, ce n'est pas _un _chocolat (frappé ou pas), ni _un _lait chocolaté, mais _du_ lait chocolaté/au chocolat. C'est du lait. Du lait aromatisé au chocolat. Qui se vend au litre. Est-ce que tu dirais : _J'ai bu un lait pour le goûter ?_ Pareil pour le lait au chocolat. 
(On va finir par se comprendre, bonyenne.  Bonne soirée.)


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## EpicBacon

Michelvar said:


> It depends on what context. Do you have a full sentence and some context?



I can't think of why context would be relevant here, but if it helps, the sentences that I would most use concerning this word are:

I like chocolate milk.

Do you have chocolate milk? (At a store or at one's home)

EDIT: Chocolate milk is DEFINITELY completely different from hot chocolate. (chocolat chaud) No native English speaker would confuse the two.


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## Michelvar

pointvirgule said:


> Est-ce que tu dirais : _J'ai bu un lait pour le goûter ?_


 Oui, ça ne me gène pas, ça dépend du contexte, suivant que je suis chez moi (du lait, parce que j'en verse autant que je veux, directement depuis la bouteille) ou dans un commerce (un lait, qui est le nom que je donne au verre de boisson qu'on m'apporte).

Mais je ne suis pas en contradiction avec tes propositions, qui sont excellentes . J'aimerai juste que EB nous donne un peu de contexte, parce que, justement, je n’appelle pas ça de la même façon suivant que c'est chaud ou froid, ou servi chez moi ou dans un café.



EpicBacon said:


> I like chocolate milk.
> Do you have chocolate milk? (At a store or at one's home)
> EDIT: Chocolate milk is DEFINITELY completely different from hot  chocolate. (chocolat chaud) No native English speaker would confuse the  two.


So, no problem you can say what you want, "du lait au chocolat" or "du lait chocolaté"


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## pointvirgule

Michelvar said:


> Mais je ne suis pas en contradiction avec tes propositions, qui sont excellentes . J'aimerai juste que EB nous donne un peu de contexte, parce que, justement, je n’appelle pas ça de la même façons suivant que c'est chaud ou froid, ou servi chez moi ou dans un café.


Mais, comme l'a dit EB, il n'y a aucun besoin de contexte pour comprendre ce qu'est du _chocolate milk_, quand on sait de quoi il s'agit. On a affaire ici à une réalité outre-France, c'est tout.


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## Nicomon

EpicBacon said:


> [...] I like chocolate milk.
> 
> Do you have chocolate milk? (At a store or at one's home)


 Alors, c'est comme pv le dit depuis le début :   

_J'aime *le* lait au chocolat _/ _Avez-vous *du *lait au chocolat?
 Si t'as du lait au chocolat, bien froid, j'en prendrais bien un verre. 

_Pour moi _un chocolat frappé _= _ (a glass of) ice chocolate  _par opposition à  _un chocolat chaud = (a) hot chocolate.   
_Le « un » sous-entend que  je les commande au verre/à la tasse.  Je ne les achète pas dans un carton comme _*du *lait au chocolat.   
_
 @ atcheque :  si j'entendais _chocolat au lait_, je comprendrais  "milk chocolate"  (je le mange, je ne le bois pas).  
 Là c'est l'inverse :  _chocolate milk. 

_*Ajout : * J'ai mis tellement de temps à écrire tout ça que je n'avais pas lu les posts 13 à 15.  
D'accord avec pv.  On comprend sans contexte quand on sait de quoi il s'agit.     Perso, je préfère « au chocolat ».  Je ne dirais pas spontanément « chocolaté ».


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## EpicBacon

pointvirgule said:


> Well, I think you should be able to translate that by now. Wanna try?



Still struggling with the difference between lait chocolaté and lait au chocolat. Translating this sentence would be simply having "J'aime le" proceed one of those two words.


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## Michelvar

EpicBacon said:


> Still struggling with the difference between lait chocolaté and lait au chocolat.


No difference.

"lait chocolaté" : 58.600 google hits
"lait au chocolat" : 231.000 google hits

So it looks like "lait au chocolat" is more used.


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## pointvirgule

Michelvar said:


> No difference.


We are in agreement.  _Lait chocolaté_ means the same thing, although _lait au chocolat_ is more common in my, and Nico's, neck of the woods. It is the more "official" term here.


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## EpicBacon

Michelvar said:


> No difference.



I'd like to reiterate the question posed earlier of which one is more common? Previously, you requested context, but as we've learned, the word itself makes it crystal clear that there is no confusion as to what it is. Are they really both 100% synonymous?


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## ph_l

De ce côté-ci de la mare, on parle plutôt de lait chocolaté, AMHA. Si vous demandez un lait au chocolat dans un café, on va vous prendre pour un touriste


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## Nicomon

I have yet to hear «_ lait chocolaté _».   In my neck of the woods, it is  « _lait au chocolat_ ».   As in the picture that pointvirgule gave a link to in post #7.  

Just as you say  « _gâteau au chocolat _»  for  "_chocolate cake_".

*Ajout :  * @ ph_#1 :   On ne demande pas *un* lait au chocolat.   On demande un *verre *de lait au chocolat  ou  *du* lait au chocolat. 
 Si j'avais envie de boire du lait (tout court) je ne demanderais pas « *un* lait ».


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## EpicBacon

I'm very confused, in in the television series Foster, La Maison Des Amis Imaginaires episode "Mac Papa" chocolate milk is referred to as "chocolat au lait". I believe direct linking is not allowed, but perhaps a loophole can be done if someone Googles it? 3:26 in the video, it is called by the aforementioned, which contradicts what everyone else has been saying.

Your help is much appreciated!


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## Michelvar

EpicBacon said:


> I'd like to reiterate the question posed earlier of which one is more common?



"lait chocolaté" : 58.600 google hits
"lait au chocolat" : 231.000 google hits

So it looks like "lait au chocolat" is more used.



EpicBacon said:


> Are they really both 100%  synonymous?


The only difference could come from a law stating that, "au chocolat" is for more that XX% of chocolate, and "chocolaté" is for less than XX%. But such a law doesn't exist (yet) to my knowledge.



EpicBacon said:


> I'm very confused, in in the television series  Foster, La Maison Des Amis Imaginaires episode "Mac Papa" chocolate  milk is referred to as "chocolat au lait".


Yes, you can also call it "un chocolat au lait" (but this name is more often for a hot chocolate), or "un chocolat frappé".



Nicomon said:


> I have yet to hear «_ lait chocolaté _».



En voici 



Nicomon said:


> On ne demande pas *un* lait au chocolat.   On demande un *verre *de lait au chocolat  ou  *du* lait au chocolat. Si j'avais envie de boire du lait (tout court) je ne demanderais pas « *un* lait ».


De ce côté de la mare, on n'a aucun problème à demander un whisky, un café, un Ricard, ou un lait, chocolaté ou pas.


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## Nicomon

> En voici


  Je n'ai pas écrit que ça ne se disait nulle part.  J'ai écrit que moi, je ne l'ai pas entendu  (bien que ce serait compris). 
Pas ma faute si « chocolat au lait » est plus courant chez nous.


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## In Absentia

EpicBacon said:


> I'm very confused, in in the television series Foster, La Maison Des Amis Imaginaires episode "Mac Papa" chocolate milk is referred to as "chocolat au lait". I believe direct linking is not allowed, but perhaps a loophole can be done if someone Googles it? 3:26 in the video, it is called by the aforementioned, which contradicts what everyone else has been saying.
> 
> Your help is much appreciated!



"Chocolat au lait" can mean _milk chocolate_ as well as _chocolate milk_. So if you just say _j'aime le chocolat au lait_ people are probably going to think you like milk chocolate.


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## EpicBacon

We seem to agree le lait au chocolat is the most common, but is chocolat au lait more common than lait chocolaté to mean "chocolate milk"?


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## Michelvar

As written by In Abstentia, "chocolat au lait" could lead to misunderstandings, so it is less used.


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## EpicBacon

Less than lait chocolaté?


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## Michelvar

I really guess, but I can not measure it, as a "chocolat au lait" Google search would bring a majority of "milk chocolate" related hits.

"chocolat au lait" : 629.000 google hits, but mostly about milk chocolate.


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## pointvirgule

I would forget about _chocolat au lait_. For most people, that's a bar of Hershey's.


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## Michelvar

Also my idea. In the 100 first google hits for "chocolat au lait", only 2 are for chocolate milk.


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## In Absentia

Michelvar said:


> Also my idea. In the 100 first google hits for "chocolat au lait", only 2 are for chocolate milk.



A google image search for "chocolat au lait" will also mostly return images of milk chocolate or things made with milk chocolate (cakes etc). There are very few images of chocolate milk.


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## ph_l

Michelvar said:


> The only difference could come from a law stating that, "au chocolat" is for more that XX% of chocolate, and "chocolaté" is for less than XX%. But such a law doesn't exist (yet) to my knowledge.



French law only knows about  " lait chocolaté " ou " lait cacaoté " (cf. Legifrance, Decret du 19 mars 1924 -modified since...-, Art 5; quater)

In my view, "chocolait au lait" is a legitimate, albeit american, way of naming what we Froggies call (or should call) "lait chocolaté".

my 0.02¥​


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## Nicomon

Michelvar said:


> De ce côté de la mare, on n'a aucun problème à demander un whisky, un café, un Ricard, ou un lait, chocolaté ou pas.


  Moi aussi je dirais un café / un whisky / un Ricard.    Mais si je voulais du vin, je demanderais un verre de vin.  Pas  un vin.  Pour moi c'est pareil pour le lait. 



ph_l said:


> In my view, "chocolait au lait" is a legitimate, albeit american, way of naming what we Froggies call (or should call) "lait chocolaté".


  At the risk of repeating myself and what was said before...   « chocolat au lait » would usually be understood as "milk chocolate"  =  something you eat

« lait chocolaté » would be understood as  "chocolate milk" but « lait au chocolat » is more often heard in Montréal.  

Lait au chocolat =  lait aromatisé au chocolat
Chocolat au lait =  chocolat  « additionné de lait » par opposition à chocolat noir, par exemple.


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## EpicBacon

Nicomon said:


> Moi aussi je dirais un café / un whisky / un Ricard.    Mais si je voulais du vin, je demanderais un verre de vin.  Pas  un vin.  Pour moi c'est pareil pour le lait.
> 
> At the risk of repeating myself and what was said before...   « chocolat au lait » would usually be understood as "milk chocolate"  =  something you eat
> 
> « lait chocolaté » would be understood as  "chocolate milk" but « lait au chocolat » is more often heard in Montréal.
> 
> Lait au chocolat =  lait aromatisé au chocolat
> Chocolat au lait =  chocolat  « additionné de lait » par opposition à chocolat noir, par exemple.



Lait au chocolat is the most common in Montreal, but is something else more common in France or the country side of Quebec?


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## atcheque

As it was said,"your"_ chocolate milk_ is not common in France.
You can buy _"your" chocolate milk_ in can (cardboard or alu) in supermarket (with the most common name as _lait chocolaté_) but in café you would ask for _lait au chocolat_ or _chocolat (au lait)_ and it will be hot.
If you want a cool one you have to ask for "agreement" or at least for comprehension 

PS : In McDo, my brother asks for a _"boisson goût chocolat" (the official name on their menu)_. But he is my brother


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## Michelvar

Also, in France at home, this is mostly used by kids, they would seldom say "du lait au chocolat", they would use the brand. Je veux un XXX!

In café, adults will mainly ask for "un chocolat frappé" if they want a chocolate milk, because the café would very seldom have a bottle of it. So they will have to make a hot chocolate, and to chill it with a shaker. As atcheque wrote, this is not a common drink in France, except for kids snack.


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## Nicomon

I wrote Montréal because this is where I happen to live, but if a large producer like « Quebon »  calls it « _lait au chocolat _» I  think it's safe to say that it is what everybody says in Québec, be it country side or city side. 

As I wrote before « un chocolat frappé » would be  « an iced chocolate ». 

In a nutshell for this side of the Atlantic :

chocolate milk =  lait au chocolat   (« lait chocolaté », though not common, would be understood and means the same thing) 
iced chocolate = chocolat frappé
hot chocolate = chocolat chaud
milk chocolate = chocolat au lait

I think I'll move to another thread...


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## Topsie

Michelvar said:


> Also, in France at home, this is mostly used by kids, they would seldom say "du lait au chocolat", they would use the brand. Je veux un XXX!
> 
> In café, adults will mainly ask for "un chocolat frappé" if they want a chocolate milk, because the café would very seldom have a bottle of it. So they will have to make a hot chocolate, and to chill it with a shaker. As atcheque wrote, this is not a common drink in France, except for kids snack.



Some brand names have become generic terms... I'm sure if you asked for a cacolac you'd get what you want!


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## Michelvar

@ Topsie : I have been trying to remember this brand since the beginning of this thread! Thank you!


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## wildan1

EpicBacon said:


> I'd like to reiterate the question posed earlier of which one is more common? Previously, you requested context, but as we've learned, the word itself makes it crystal clear that there is no confusion as to what it is. Are they really both 100% synonymous?


Hello EB,

You have above two sets of opinions: one from Europe, the other from Canada. Like many terms we use on either side of the Atlantic, be it in English or French, the preferred terms reflect the context and culture of each continent.

Who is your audience, or with which kind of French-speaker do you want to converse? Decide that first, then choose the many suggestions above that our native-speakers from both continents have offered you.


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