Sports play a central part in our daily lives and are a huge part of popular culture in France. To discuss sports in French, you’ll need to learn the right vocabulary. To help you along, we’ve selected 100 important words related to French sports, broken down by categories, that you can learn fast.
- A list of the most popular French sports
- French vocabulary for different types of athletes
- Vocabulary about sports staff and fans
- Words to describe sports equipment
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A list of the most popular French sports
While it’s simply impossible to list all the existing sports names in French, we have focused on the most popular and most common ones in France. To make things easier, we divided them into two categories, depending on whether they involve a ball.
13 ball sports in French
As it turns out, quite a few of these ball sports come from English-speaking countries and as such, they share the same words and pronunciation in both French and English. The only difference is the pronunciation of “handball”, due to its German origin.
Some of those sports also have a short version, without the word “ball” at the end.
| French | English |
| le football Short form: le foot | soccer |
| le basketball Short form: le basket | basketball |
| le football américain Short form: le foot américain | football |
| le rugby | rugby |
| le tennis | tennis |
| le tennis de table le ping-pong | table tennis ping-pong |
| le volleyball Short form: le volley | volleyball |
| le handball | handball |
| le hockey sur gazon | field hockey |
| le hockey sur glace | ice hockey |
| le baseball | baseball |
| le golf | golf |
Since all these sports are played with a ball, the main phrase involves the er verb jouer (to play) followed by the preposition au (the masculine form of à, since all ball sports are masculine words in French):
Je joue au foot >> I play football.
20 sports without a ball in French
Though maybe not so media-friendly as some ball sports, especially football, these sports are still very popular and commonly practiced in France:
| French | English |
| la boxe | boxing |
| le judo | judo |
| la danse | dancing |
| la gymnastique | gymnastics |
| la randonnée | hiking |
| l’escalade | climbing |
| l’équitation, le cheval | horseriding |
| le cyclisme | cycling |
| le vélo | biking |
| le VTT (Vélo Tout Terrain) | mountainbiking |
| le patin à roulettes, le roller | roller skating |
| le skateboard, le skate | skateboarding |
| le patin à glaces | iceskating |
| le ski | skiing |
| le ski nautique | water skiing |
| la voile | sailing |
| la planche à voile | windsurfing |
| l’aviron | rowing |
| la natation | swimming |
| la plongée | diving |
You may have guessed that they won’t require the verb jouer since there’s no ball. Instead, the verb faire (to do) is used with the preposition de at the relevant form:
| Characteristic of the word | Sport name | Full phrase |
| Masculine word | le judo | Je fais du judo |
| Feminine word | la gymnatisque | Je fais de la gymnatisue |
| Word starting with a vowel | l’escalade | Je fais de l’escalade |
French vocabulary for different types of athletes
Do you want to be able to talk about the people who play certain sports — for example, a footballer? Below, you’ll find a list of the most common athlete-related vocabulary, using the same two categories in the section above.
21 words of players of ball sports
For most of these sports, you will have two versions: one with the word joueur or joueuse (player) and one without:
| French – Masculine | French – Feminine | English |
| un joueur de football/foot un footballeur | une joueuse de football/foot une footballeuse | a soccer player |
| un joueur de basketball/basket un basketballeur | une joueuse de basketball/basket une basketballeuse | a basketball player |
| un joueur de football américain/de foot américain | une joueuse de football américain/de foot américain | a football player |
| un joueur de rugby un rugbyman | une joueuse de rugby | a rugby player |
| un joueur de tennis un tennisman | une joueuse de tennis une tenniswoman | a tennis player |
| un joueur de tennis de table un joueur de ping-pong | une joueuse de tennis de table une joueuse de ping-pong | a table tennis playera ping-pong player |
| un joueur de volleyball/volley un volleyeur | une joueuse de volleyball/volley une volleyeuse | a volleyball player |
| un joueur de handball un handballeur | une joueuse de handball une handballeuse | a handball player |
| un joueur de hockey sur gazon un hockeyeur sur gazon | une joueuse de hockey sur gazon une hockeyeuse sur gazon | a field hockey player |
| un joueur de hockey sur glace un hockeyeur sur glace | une joueuse de hockey sur glace une hockeyeuse sur glace | an ice hockey player |
| un joueur de baseball un baseballeur | une joueuse de baseball une baseballeuse | a baseball player |
| un joueur de golf un golfeur | une joueuse de golf une golfeuse | a golf player |
15 words for athletes in sports without a ball
Most of the words for athletes will bear some resemblance with the sports they are related to. But a few, namely in the case of escalade (climbing), équitation (horseriding), voile (sailing) and aviron (rowing), are a little more particular.
| French – Masculine | French – Feminine | English |
| un boxeur | une boxeuse | a boxer |
| un judoka | une judoka | a judoka |
| un danseur | une danseuse | a dancer |
| un gymnaste | une gymnaste | a gymnast |
| un randonneur | une randonneuse | a hiker |
| un grimpeur | une grimpeuse | a climber |
| un cavalier | une cavalière | a horse rider |
| un cycliste | une cycliste | a cyclist |
| un patineur | une patineuse | a skater |
| un skieur | une skieuse | a skier |
| un plaisancier | une plaisancière | a pleasure sailor |
| un planchiste | une planchiste | a windsurfer |
| un rameur | une rameuse | a rower |
| un nageur | une nageuse | a swimmer |
| un plongeur | une plongeuse | a diver |
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Vocabulary about sports staff and fans
During a championship game or a sporting event, like the world-famous tour de France, you’ll catch a glimpse of a variety of people, both on and off the pitch. Here is how they’re called in French:
| French – Masculine | French – Feminine | English |
| un arbitre | une arbitre | a referee |
| un entraîneur | une entraîneuse | a coach |
| un coach | une coach | a coach |
| un capitaine d’équipe | une capitaine d’équipe | a team captain |
| un coéquipier | une coéquipière | a teammate |
| un adversaire | une adversaire | an opponent |
| N/A | une équipe rivale | a rival team |
| un journaliste sportif | une journaliste sportive | a sport journalist |
| un sponsor | une sponsor | a sponsor |
| un supporteur | une supportrice | a supporter, a fan |
| un spectateur | une spectatrice | an audience member |
| le public | N/A | the audience |
Words to describe sports equipment
Finally, no sport would be able to exist without the necessary équipement sportif (sports equipment). Here are the most common ones, depending on the sport you’re playing:
| French | English |
| une chaussure de sport/des chaussures de sport | a sport shoe/sport shoes |
| une basket/des baskets | a sneaker/sneakers |
| un short | shorts |
| un survêtement | tracksuit |
| un maillot | a jersey |
| un gant | a glove |
| un ballon | a ball (the big kind, for soccer, basketball, rugby, football etc) |
| une balle | a ball (the small kind, for tennis, golf, baseball etc) |
| un volant | a shuttlecock |
| un palet | a puck |
| une raquette | a racket |
| une crosse | a stick (for hockey) |
| un club de golf | a golf club |
| un vélo | a bike |
| un patin | a skate |
| un gymnase | a gymnasium |
| un stade | a stadium |
| un terrain | a pitch (for soccer, basketball, rugby, football etc) |
| un court de tennis | a tennis court |
Challenge yourself and learn the vocabulary around French sports
Yes, learning the 100 words in our list may seem like a sporting feat, but it’s worth the effort! Be it to talk about your favorite athletes or team, follow a live game or answer questions about your sporting habits, the vocabulary of French sports is one you’re likely to enjoy learning and find useful to know in your daily life.
Learn languages at your pace
Anne-Lise is a translator and copywriter working for various industries, such as hospitality and travel, as well as health and well-being. Settled down in London since the end of her university years, she cannot get enough of the exceptional cultural life in the English capital city, starting with theater, be it to see a new West End show or to roll up her sleeves with her amateur drama group. She is also interested in photography, as her Instagram profile shows. She indulges her passion for languages in a translation blog she writes with other linguist friends. Go to her Linkedin page to know more about her background and her professional experience.
