Common sports in French are le football or le foot, le basket, le tennis, le rugby, la natation (swimming), le vélo (cycling), l’athlétisme (athletics) and la danse. Use jouer à for games (je joue au foot) and faire de for other activities (je fais de la natation, je fais du vélo).
Sports vocabulary in French
In the pronunciation column, capitals mark the syllable to lean on slightly (French stress is light and falls on the last syllable). (n) marks a nasal vowel: air goes through the nose and the n itself is not pronounced. “zh” is the s in “measure”, “uh” is the short vowel in “the”, and “ü” is “ee” said with rounded lips.
Games: jouer à
| French | English | Say it like |
|---|---|---|
| le football, le foot | football | foot-BOL, foot |
| le basket | basketball | bas-KET |
| le tennis | tennis | te-NEESS |
| le rugby | rugby | rüg-BEE |
| le handball, le hand | handball | ah(n)d-BAL |
| le volley | volleyball | vo-LAY |
| le hockey | hockey | o-KAY |
| le badminton | badminton | bad-meen-TON |
| le golf | golf | golf |
| le ping-pong, le tennis de table | table tennis | peeng-PONG |
| la pétanque | pétanque, boules | pay-TAH(N)K |
| les échecs (m.) | chess | lay-zay-SHEK |
Activities: faire de
| French | English | Say it like |
|---|---|---|
| la natation | swimming | na-ta-SYO(N) |
| le vélo | cycling | vay-LOH |
| l’athlétisme (m.) | athletics | lat-lay-TEES-muh |
| la gymnastique, la gym | gymnastics | zheem-nas-TEEK |
| la danse | dance | dah(n)ss |
| l’équitation (f.) | horse riding | lay-kee-ta-SYO(N) |
| le ski | skiing | skee |
| le judo | judo | zhü-DOH |
| le karaté | karate | ka-ra-TAY |
| l’escalade (f.) | climbing | les-ka-LAD |
| la voile | sailing | vwal |
| le skate | skateboarding | sket |
| la randonnée | hiking | rah(n)-do-NAY |
Le football is said foot-BOL, leaning on the last syllable. The final t of basket and the final s of tennis are pronounced, but the t of le sport is silent.
Jouer à and faire de
- Jouer à for games. à + le becomes au, à + les becomes aux: je joue au rugby, je joue à la pétanque, je joue aux échecs.
- Faire de for activities. de + le becomes du: je fais du ski, je fais de la danse, je fais de l’escalade.
- Faire de also works for games. Je fais du foot and je fais du tennis are very common and suggest a regular activity, often in a club. Jouer à never works for swimming or skiing.
- Instruments take de. jouer du piano, jouer de la guitare. Compare: je joue au foot but je joue du violon.
- The negative. du, de la and de l’ become de: je ne fais pas de ski, je ne fais pas d’équitation. Au stays: je ne joue pas au tennis.
- Opinions take le, la, les. J’aime le foot, Je déteste la natation. With a verb: J’aime nager.
Some sports have their own verb: nager (to swim), courir (to run), skier (to ski), patiner (to skate), danser (to dance).
Talking about sport
Tu fais du sport ?Do you do any sport?
Je joue au foot le mercredi après-midi.I play football on Wednesday afternoons.
Ma sœur fait de la natation deux fois par semaine.My sister goes swimming twice a week.
Je ne fais pas de sport, mais j’aime regarder le rugby.I don’t do any sport, but I like watching rugby.
On a gagné le match trois à un.We won the match three-one.
Useful words: l’équipe (f., team), le match, gagner (to win), perdre (to lose), marquer un but (to score a goal), le stade, la piscine, le terrain (pitch), le gymnase (sports hall), la patinoire (ice rink).
Le ballon is a large ball (football, basketball); la balle is a small one (tennis, golf, ping-pong).
Quebec has its own sports words: le soccer for football, le hockey for ice hockey by default, and les espadrilles for trainers, which are les baskets in France. In Switzerland, le gymnase can also mean an upper secondary school.
Idioms from sport
| French | Literally | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| jeter l’éponge | to throw the sponge | to throw in the towel |
| prendre la balle au bond | to catch the ball on the bounce | to seize the opportunity |
| se renvoyer la balle | to hit the ball back to each other | to pass the buck |
| être sur la touche | to be on the touchline | to be sidelined |
| ce n’est pas du jeu | it’s not part of the game | that’s not fair |
Typical mistakes of English-speaking learners
- “Je joue le foot”: it is je joue au foot.
- “Je joue du foot”: du is for instruments with jouer. Use au, or je fais du foot.
- “Je joue la natation”: swimming is not a game: je fais de la natation.
- “Je ne fais pas du sport”: after a negative, pas de.
- “Je fais le vélo”: it is je fais du vélo.
- Baskets for basketball only: le basket is the sport, des baskets are trainers.
In class: sports as a word of the day
Sports give pupils an easy picture, a verb to choose and an opinion to give, every day.
- Show the picture (a climbing wall) and the English word: “climbing”.
- Ask Comment dit-on “climbing” en français ? Pupils write their guess on mini whiteboards.
- Reveal l’escalade with its pronunciation, and point out that it is feminine: de l’escalade hides the gender, so note it as (f.). The class repeats it.
- Show the example sentence: Je fais de l’escalade le samedi avec mon frère.
- Give the reuse task: pupils decide between jouer à and faire de, then say a sentence with a time expression: le week-end, jamais, de temps en temps.
- Recall yesterday’s sport, and ask pupils who don’t do it to answer in the negative: Je ne fais pas de ski.
That is exactly what a daily routine does: one sport a day, with its verb and article, until the choice is automatic.
Mimes and sorting
A pupil mimes a sport; the class answers Tu joues au tennis ! or Tu fais du judo ! Two columns on the board, jouer à and faire de, let pupils see the pattern before you explain it.
- A1The sport with its article: J’aime le basket.
- A2Jouer au and faire du, with frequency: Je fais du vélo le dimanche.
- B1Past matches and events: Samedi dernier, on a joué contre un autre collège et on a gagné.
- B2Sport and health: Il faut que les jeunes fassent du sport tous les jours.
At KS2, a picture and j’aime are enough. At KS3, insist on au / du and on pas de. At GCSE, sport returns with free time and healthy living: move on to the perfect tense and opinions.
The “Le mot” module does it for you
A picture and the word in the pupils’ language: the class works out how to say it, then the word is revealed with its pronunciation and an example sentence to reuse. No preparation needed: try everything free for 15 days of use.
Frequently asked questions
When do you use jouer à and faire de in French?
Jouer à is for games, usually with a ball or an opponent: je joue au tennis, je joue aux échecs. Faire de is for activities and works with almost every sport: je fais de la natation, je fais du judo, and also je fais du foot.
Is it jouer au piano or jouer du piano?
Jouer du piano. Musical instruments take de: jouer de la guitare. Sports and games take à: jouer au foot.
How do you say "I don't do any sport" in French?
Je ne fais pas de sport. After a negative, du, de la and de l’ become de or d’. But au does not change: Je ne joue pas au foot.
How do you say "football" in Quebec French?
Le soccer. In Quebec, le football usually means American football.
How do you say "I go swimming" in French?
Je fais de la natation, Je nage or Je vais à la piscine.