Chanson pour enfants sur les couleurs en dansant

What does “le goûter” mean in French?

Le goûter is the French afternoon snack, eaten around 4 p.m. — so beloved it’s also called le quatre-heures. Officially it belongs to children, who have it after school: a pain au chocolat, bread and jam, or a piece of fruit. Tellingly, it’s traditionally sweet rather than savoury — the crisps an English child might grab aren’t really part of it. The verb goûter means “to taste,” but as a noun it’s this one specific ritual.

The custom goes back centuries and was formally written into French schools in 1941, which is why nurseries and after-school centres still serve it while offices don’t. In this children’s song the snack pops up as la banane dans ton goûter — the banana in your snack. Knowing le goûter explains why a French four-o’clock looks nothing like a grown-up coffee break.