Dîner vs. souper
The French words dîner and souper can both be translated as dinner or supper, but their usage depends heavily on the region and the time of the meal. While one is standard in modern France, the other is common in other French-speaking areas or refers to a different kind of meal.
Dîner
A1In modern standard French, dîner is the main meal eaten in the evening. It is the most common term used throughout France for dinner. It can be used as a noun for the meal itself or as a verb meaning to have dinner.
À quelle heure le dîner est-il servi ?
(At what time is dinner served?)
Nous allons dîner au restaurant ce soir.
(We are going to have dinner at the restaurant tonight.)
J'ai un dîner d'affaires mardi prochain.
(I have a business dinner next Tuesday.)
Le dîner était absolument délicieux.
(The dinner was absolutely delicious.)
Elle aime dîner en famille tous les soirs.
(She likes to have dinner with her family every evening.)
Souper
B1The word souper is primarily used in Québec, Belgium, and Switzerland to refer to the main evening meal. In France, its use is now rare and refers to a very late and often light meal eaten after an evening out, such as after the theater. Historically, it was a light meal often based on soup.
Au Québec, on dit souper pour le repas du soir.
(In Québec, we say supper for the evening meal.)
Après le spectacle, nous sommes allés souper.
(After the show, we went to have a late supper.)
En Belgique, les enfants demandent : « On soupe à quelle heure ? »
(In Belgium, children ask: What time are we having supper?)
Je n'ai pas très faim, je vais juste souper avec un bol de céréales.
(I'm not very hungry, I'm just going to have a bowl of cereal for supper.)
Autrefois, le souper était un repas léger pris avant de se coucher.
(In the past, supper was a light meal eaten before going to bed.)
Summary
To summarize, use dîner for the evening meal in most of France. Use souper for the standard evening meal when you are in Québec, Belgium, or Switzerland. In France, souper is reserved for a very late or very light meal and is not the common term for dinner.