What does “l’eau à la bouche” mean in French?

French describes a mouth-watering thought as l’eau à la bouche, “water in the mouth.” It works both ways: ça me donne l’eau à la bouche (“that makes my mouth water”) or j’en ai l’eau à la bouche (“my mouth is watering”). It is not only about dinner. You can say it about any tempting prospect, though food is by far the most common use.

The Biodôme’s promo lists a tasting of Québec forest products and produce from the Gulf of St. Lawrence, then adds a cheerful ça me donne l’eau à la bouche. The idiom is the same one English speakers know, which makes it an easy one to remember. The verb form saliver (“to salivate”) exists, but it sounds clinical, so people keep the “water” version for everyday speech.