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French · Vocabulary · A2 to B2

French sport vocabulary: jouer au foot, faire du vélo, le Tour de France

jouer àgames with rules: you play against someone
JeIjoueplayauat-therugby.rugby
zhuh ZHOO oh rüg-BEE · “I play rugby.”Why: à + le = au; à + les = aux. Rugby is huge in the south-west of France.
faire deactivities you practise, alone or in a class
Elleshefaitdoesde lasomenatation.swimming
el FAY duh la na-ta-SYON · “She swims.”Why: de + la stays de la; de + le = du. In a negative it becomes de: je ne fais pas de sport.

Short answer: sport is le sport; to do sport is faire du sport. Games take jouer à, and à joins with le to make au: je joue au foot, je joue au tennis. Activities take faire de, which becomes du, de la or de l’: je fais du vélo, je fais de la natation. A match is un match, a team une équipe, a goal un but (the t is said in sport: “bute”). France’s national obsession in July is le Tour de France.

01Jouer à or faire de02A match03The Tour de France04Places and people05Watching and supporting06At the gym
Talking about a match

Marquer un but, gagner, faire match nul

marquer un butto score
Ilhea marquéhas scoredun but.a goal
eel a mar-KAY an BÜT · “He scored a goal.”Why: In sport, the t of but is usually pronounced.
gagnerto win
Onwea gagnéhas wondeux à un.two to one
on a ga-NYAY duh za AN · “We won 2–1.”Why: on = we in everyday French. Scores are read with à.
perdreto lose
Ilstheyont perduhave lostla finale.the final
eel zon pair-DÜ la fee-NAL · “They lost the final.”Why: perdre → perdu.
faire match nulto draw
Ilstheyont faithave madematch nul.match null
eel zon fay match NÜL · “It was a draw.”Why: Or simply: zéro partout (nil-nil, literally “zero everywhere”).
l’arbitrereferee
L’arbitrethe refereea siffléhas whistledun penalty.a penalty
lar-BEETR a see-FLAY an pay-nal-TEE · “The referee gave a penalty.”Why: siffler = to whistle. Officially un penalty is un tir au but.
les supportersfans
Allezgoles Bleus !the Blues
a-LAY lay BLUH · “Come on France!”Why: The national chant. Allez is the vous command of aller.
Le Tour de France

Le maillot jaune, l’étape, le peloton

Every July since 1903 (with breaks in the World Wars), cyclists race around France in about 21 étapes (stages). Tap a place on the route.

ParisAlpesPyrénéesBretagne
The route changes every year, but it always ends on the Champs-Élysées in Paris.
l’arrivéela-ree-VAYthe finish
L’arrivéethe finishestisà Paris.in Paris
la-ree-VAY ay ta pa-REE · “The finish is in Paris.”Why: The final stage is a parade on the Champs-Élysées.
Places and people

Le terrain, la piscine, la salle de sport

Watching and supporting

Tu supportes quelle équipe ?

Supporting
JeIsuisamfanfandu PSG.of-the PSG
zhuh swee FAN dü pay-es-ZHAY · “I’m a PSG fan.”Why: supporter (to support a team) is also common.
Watching
Onweregardewatchle matchthe matchce soir ?this evening
on ruh-GARD luh MATCH suh SWAR · “Shall we watch the match tonight?”Why: regarder = to watch.
Score
Ilstheymènentleaddeux à zéro.two to zero
eel MEN duh za zay-ROH · “They’re 2–0 up.”Why: mener = to be in the lead.
Losing
Onwea perduhas lostaux tirs au but.at-the penalties
on a pair-DÜ oh teer oh BÜT · “We lost on penalties.”Why: les tirs au but = the penalty shoot-out.
At the gym

À la salle de sport

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Related guides

les loisirsHobbies vocabulary →Les loisirs, from lire to jardiner.du / auArticles →Why du, de la and au change.on a gagnéPassé composé →On a gagné, ils ont perdu.les AlpesRegions →From Bretagne to the Alpes.