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'Déjeuner', 'dîner', 'souper': meal words that change with the map

In English you have lunch or have dinner. In French the name of the meal is also a verb: déjeuner, dîner and souper mean both the meal and the act of eating it. So you simply say nous déjeunons (we are having lunch), with no extra verb and no object.

There is a second trap. The same word names a different meal depending on where you are. In Paris, dîner is the evening meal. In Montreal, Brussels or Geneva, dîner is lunch, and the evening meal is souper. If a Quebec friend invites you to dîner and you turn up at 8 p.m., you have missed the meal by about seven hours.

Word list
déjeunermA1 lunch France: le déjeuner est prêt = lunch is ready dînermA1 lunch Quebec, Belgium, Switzerland: dîner = lunch dînermA1 dinner France: dîner = evening meal petit déjeunermA1 breakfast France: prendre le petit déjeuner = to have breakfast déjeunermA2 breakfast Quebec, Belgium, Switzerland: déjeuner = breakfast déjeunerA2 to have lunch France: nous déjeunons à midi = we have lunch at noon dînerA2 to have lunch Quebec, Belgium, Switzerland: on dîne à midi = we have lunch at noon dînerA2 to have dinner France: on dîne à 20 h = we have dinner at 8 p.m. soupermA2 dinner Quebec, Belgium, Switzerland: souper = evening meal souperA2 to have dinner Quebec, Belgium, Switzerland: on soupe le soir = we have supper in the evening
How it works

Each meal word is a regular -er verb, conjugated like parler: je déjeune, nous dînons, ils soupent. The verb already contains the idea of eating a meal, so it stands on its own. Do not copy English with avoir le dîner. That is a direct translation of have dinner, and French does not use it.

Nous déjeunons à midi.
(We have lunch at noon.)

Because the verb means eating the meal, you do not put the food straight after it. To say what you ate, add a second sentence with manger.

J'ai déjeuné à midi : j'ai mangé un sandwich.
(I had lunch at noon: I ate a sandwich.)

The noun forms work like any masculine noun: le déjeuner, un bon dîner, au souper.

The words, region by region

In France the day goes petit déjeuner (breakfast), déjeuner (lunch), dîner (evening meal). The verbs follow the same pattern: déjeuner means to have lunch and dîner means to have dinner.

Je prends mon petit déjeuner à 7 heures.
(I have breakfast at 7 o'clock.)
Le déjeuner est prêt !
(Lunch is ready!)
Nous dînons chez des amis ce soir.
(We are having dinner at friends' tonight.)
À Paris, on déjeune à midi et on dîne vers 20 h.
(In Paris, people have lunch at noon and dinner around 8.)

In Quebec, Belgium and Switzerland every word moves one meal earlier: déjeuner (breakfast), dîner (lunch), souper (evening meal). Here the verb dîner means to have lunch, and the verb souper means to have dinner.

Mon déjeuner, c'est des céréales et un café.
(My breakfast is cereal and a coffee.)
On se voit pour dîner demain midi ?
(Shall we meet for lunch tomorrow at noon?)
Qu'est-ce qu'on mange pour souper ?
(What are we having for dinner?)
À Montréal, on dîne à midi et on soupe le soir.
(In Montreal, people have lunch at noon and dinner in the evening.)
Watch out

The most common mistake is putting the food right after the verb, as in j'ai dîné une pizza. Use manger for the food and keep the meal word for the time of day.

J'ai mangé une pizza au dîner.
(I had a pizza for dinner.)

Petit déjeuner is only a noun. There is no verb petit-déjeuner in careful French, so say prendre le petit déjeuner. People in Belgium and Switzerland also know petit déjeuner, and many use it.

When the region is unclear, the clock tells you which meal is meant. An invitation à dîner à midi is clearly lunch. If there is no time given, just ask: à quelle heure ? Two related words you may hear are goûter, the afternoon snack French children eat after school, and brunch. They follow the same logic: on goûte à 16 h.

Summary

Meal words in French are verbs as well as nouns: say on déjeune, not have lunch word for word, and use manger to name the food. Then check the map. In France it is petit déjeuner, déjeuner, dîner. In Quebec, Belgium and Switzerland it is déjeuner, dîner, souper. When in doubt, look at the time.