French word

ciseler

Pronunciation

IPA/sizəle/

Meaning

  • verbfinely chop

Example

Je vais ciseler le persil pour la sauce.

I am going to finely chop the parsley for the sauce.

Illustration for ciseler (finely chop)

More examples

Je peux ciseler la ciboulette pour l'omelette.

I can finely chop the chives for the omelet.

Core concept

A blade turns herbs or garnishes into a neat scatter of tiny, even pieces that release their aroma.

Common phrases

  • ciseler la ciboulette

    finely chop the chives

  • ciseler du basilic

    finely chop some basil

Similar words

hacher: To chop food into small pieces.
émincer: To cut food into thin, even slices.
couper: To cut something with a knife or scissors.
tailler: To cut food or material into a desired shape.

Definition in French

Réduire en petits morceaux très fins et réguliers, surtout des herbes et des garnitures, afin d'en libérer le parfum.

Word origin

Ciseler is formed from ciseau, a cutting-tool word ultimately related to Latin caedere, 'to cut', and its culinary sense specializes that cutting action.

Usage tips

  • In the present tense, ciseler changes to je cisèle and ils cisèlent, but keeps the unaccented stem in nous ciselons.

Other meanings

  • chiselverb

Word lists with this word