[Vocabulary] bun/roll

[Alimdul]

Can you explain me the difference between a bun and a roll, please?

 

[SoothingDave]

Not much, if anything. There is surely regional variation in terms used.

I would generally call something you make a sandwich on a "bun." So you have sandwich buns and hamburger buns and hot dog buns.

Something served with dinner that you put butter on and eat alongside your meal I would call a "roll."

That said, if I make sausages, I put them on a "sausage roll." So it's not an absolute rule.

 

[Alimdul]

Thank you for your tiny details. I had to explain this sentence to nine-year-old learners: "At the baker's you can buy bread, buns, rolls, biscuits, cakes or pies." The source is an English textbook written by a person who isn't a native speaker.

 

[5jj]

At a British baker's, buns are likely to be like this.