nouilles

Generally when you hear about nouilles in French, they are referring to long thin noodles from Asia such as ramen or rice noodles (nouilles de riz) which are the same asvermicelles de riz. Glass noodles made of mungo beans are vermicelle de soja, often sold in ‘nests’ (nids).

The most important distinction between noodles and pasta lies in how they are made: pasta dough is usually extruded, like squeezing a tube of toothpaste, while noodles are made using the roll-and-cut method.

Pâtes nouilles à l'ancienne are little egg noodles.

Useful expression

Noodles make up one of the funniest of all French expressions: ‘Le cul bordé de nouilles’ ‘your bottom is surrounded with noodles’ meaning you’re extremely lucky!

However, if someone calls you une nouille, they’re calling youan idiot.