The cinematic French people stereotype shows them as “bons vivants”, fond of good eating, good drinking and good discussions. For example, French people love skiing, the national winter sport, they also enjoy watching the French Open “Roland Garros”, encouraging cyclists during the “Tour de France”, and let’s not forget that the French football team won the 2018 FIFA World Cup! And these are only some of the sports French people love and practice. So, in order to learn more about French lifestyle, this article will allow you to widen your knowledge about the following aspects:
- different kinds of outdoor sports : ball games, water sports, winter sports, mountain or Alpine sports, extreme or adventure sports and martial arts
- the participants or game players
- vocabulary used to talk about different kinds of matches
- free time activities and hobbies
Well, are you ready to handle vocabulary about sports and hobbies in French? Let’s not waste time!
If you wish to take the tests DELF, DALF or TCF, or simply improve your French skills, revising all our french vocabuary worksheets is always a great idea!
Some Classic and Fun Ball Games
Balls games are popular all over the world and France is not an exception. Among the ball games, football remains the most popular sport, but there are also many others. Indoors and outdoors, ball games allow people to develop team values, agility and keep in good shape. Check out the following classification of ball sports we have prepared for you. Notice how the English word remains, but it is accompanied by “le”, the definite article.Sometimes,to sound more familiar, the words are shortened.
Classification Of Ball Games
Ball Games List
| Ball Games | Sports de balle et ballon |
|---|---|
| a. Goal games: | a. Sports où il faut marquer des buts pour gagner: |
| football or soccer | le football, le foot (familier) |
| basketball | le basket |
| rugby | le rugby |
| b. Racket And Ball Games: | b. Sports de raquette et balle: |
| tennis | le tennis |
| badminton | le badminton |
| table tennis or ping-pong | le table tennis ou ping-pong |
| c. Net Games: | c. Sports joués avec un filet: |
| volleyball | le volley-ball, le volley |
| footvolley | le footvolley |
| d. Bat And Ball Games: | d. Sports de balle et de batte: |
| baseball | le baseball |
| cricket | le cricket |
The Players and Participants in Ball Games
Let’s see how to talk in French about some of the players of the sports already mentioned.
List Of Ball Games Players
| Goal Games Players | Les joueurs des sports de balle où il faut marquer des buts pour gagner |
|---|---|
| player | un joueur, une joueuse |
| substitute | remplaçant |
| team | une équipe |
| referee | un arbitre |
| coach | un entraineur |
| goalkeeper | un gardien |
| fan, supporter | un fan, un supporteur |
| spectator | un spectateur |
| teammate | un coéquipier, une coéquipière |
| rookie | un débutant, une nouvelle recrue |
| opponents | les adversaires |
| Football Players | Joueurs de foot |
| defender | un défenseur |
| forward | un attaquant |
| striker | un buteur |
| winger | un ailier |
| Basketball players | Joueurs de basket |
| point guard | un meneur |
| small forward | un ailier |
| the sixth man | le sixième homme, le remplaçant |
| Rugby Players | Joueurs de rugby |
| captain | un capitaine |
| fullback | un arrière |
| hooker | un talonneur |
| Tennis players | Les joueurs de tennis |
| tennis player | le joueur, la joueuse de tennis |
| ball catcher | le ramasseur de balles |
| Volleyball Players | Un volleyeur, une volleyeuse |
| setter | le passeur |
| volleyball hitter | l’attaquant, l’attaquante |
| libero player | e libéro |
| Baseball Players | Les joueurs de baseball |
| batter | frappeur |
| pitcher | lanceur |
| Cricket Players | Les joueurs de cricket |
| batsman | batteur |
| bowler | lanceur |
| fielder | chasseur |
The competitions
Sport matches are so much fun. In football, for instance, there are two main kinds: exhibition games, also called “friendlies,” and regular games. Friendlies allow players to train, keep in shape and experiment different tactics. Watching games on TV or live allows fans to encourage their team, enjoy how their favorite players make awesome moves, tasting victory and the magic of unpredictability. Let’s see some vocabulary to talk about ball game competitions:
List Of Vocabulary Related to Matches and Competitions
| Some General Terms | Vocabulaire général |
|---|---|
| goal | le but |
| field | le terrain |
| to score | marquer |
| score | le résultat |
| to win | gagner |
| to lose | perdre |
| to tie/to draw | faire match nul |
| foul, infraction | une faute |
| offside | hors jeu |
| header | une tête |
| to score a header | marquer de la tête |
| The World Cup (soccer) | La Coupe du Monde |
| Basketball terms | Mots pour parler du basket |
| a shot | un tir |
| basket | le panier |
| hoop | l’anneau |
| out of bounds | hors jeu |
| to shoot | tirer |
| to bounce | faire rebondir |
| to jump | sauter |
| Tennis terms | Mots pour parler du tennis |
| first week/ second week | la première/ la deuxième semaine |
| first/ second/ third /round | le premier tour/ le deuxième/le troisième tour |
| Round of 16 | les huitièmes de final |
| Quarter finals/Semi finals | les quarts de finale les demi-finales |
| The trophy | le trophée |
| Volleyball | Volley-ball |
| ace | ace |
| attack | attaque |
| a serve/ to serve | le service, servir |
| Baseball | Baseball |
| to run | courir |
| strike | une prise |
| baseball diamond | un terrain de base-ball |
| inning | tour de batte |
| infield/outfield | champ intérieur/extérieur |
| Cricket | Cricket |
| umpire | arbitre |
| wicket | guichet |
| bowling crease | ligne de retrait |
| popping crease | limite du batteur |
Water Sports
Some terms that can be useful when talking about this kind of sport:
| Water Sports | Sport Nautiques |
|---|---|
| In The Water | Sports nautiques dans l’eau |
| swimming | la natation |
| diving | le plongeon |
| scuba diving | la plongée sous-marine |
| water aerobics | l’aquagym |
| On The Water | Sur l’eau |
| water skiing | le ski nautique |
| surfing | le surf |
| sailing | faire de la voile |
| kiteboarding | le kitesurf |
Winter Sports
In winter, people can practice skiing, ice skating and many variations of these sports. Those are activities that demand lots of physical stamina and that will lead you to push your limits. Let’s study some of them.
| Winter sports | Sports d'hiver |
|---|---|
| Individual Sports | Sports Individuels |
| Alpine skiing | le ski alpin |
| ice skating | le patinage sur glace |
| snowboarding | le snowboard (le surf de neiges) |
| luge | la luge |
| Team Sports | Sports en équipe |
| ice hockey | le hockey sur glace |
| bandy | le bandy ou le hockey russe |
Mountain sports
France has some famous mountain ranges: the Alps, the Pyrenees, The Jura, The Vosges Mountains, The Massif Central and the Auvergne Mountains. These gorgeous landscapes offer the opportunity to practice both winter and summer sports.
List of Mountain Sports
| Mountain sports | Sports de montagne |
|---|---|
| mountaineering | alpinisme |
| climbing | l’escalade |
| mountain biking | faire du vélo tout-terrain |
| hiking | la randonnée pédestre |
| canyoning | le canyonisme |
Adventure Sports
Well, some of the sports we have previously mentioned will quench your thirst for adventure. But if you want some more, you can add the following extreme challenging activities to your list.
List Of Adventure Sports
| Extreme /Adventure Sports | Sports extrêmes |
|---|---|
| Motorized Sports | Sports mécaniques |
| wakeboarding | le wakeboard |
| rallying | le rallye automobile |
| air racing | la course aérienne |
| Non-motorized sports | Sports extrêmes sans véhicule |
| bungee jumping | le saut à l'élastique |
| parachuting | le parachutisme |
| skateboarding | le skateboard |
| BMX racing | BMX Supercross |
Combat Sports And Martial Arts
Martial arts and combat sports teach you to defend yourself, to control your anger and to develop self-confidence.
List Of Combat Sports And Martial Arts
| Combat Sports And Martial Arts | Sports de combats et arts martiaux |
|---|---|
| fencing | l’escrime |
| wrestling /professional wrestling | la lutte / le catch |
| judo | le judo |
| karate | le karaté |
| capoeira | la capoeira |
Hobbies and Free Time Activities
Do you like reading comics, going jogging or going to museums? In the chart below, you will find some sentences that will help you talk about some free time activities.
List Of Hobbies and Free Time Activities
| Hobbies and free time activities | Activités quotidiennes et passe-temps |
|---|---|
| I like watching documentaries on tv. | J’aime regarder des documentaires à la télé. |
| I really miss going to the movies! | Ça me manque d’aller au cinéma. |
| In France, the first Sunday of every month, museums are free. So I always go to see art exhibitions. | En France, le premier dimanche de chaque mois, l’entrée aux musées est gratuite. Donc, j’y vais toujours pour regarder des expositions d'art. |
| When I’m stressed out, I like going shopping. | Quand je suis stressée, j’aime bien faire du shopping. |
| Going jogging makes me feel relaxed. | Faire du jogging me fait me sentir apaisée. |
| I bought a camera because I am starting photography lessons. | Je me suis acheté un appareil photo car je vais commencer un cours de photographie. |
| Kevin is playing a new video game and has invited me to play online with him. | Kevin est en train de jouer à un nouveau jeu vidéo et il m’a invité à jouer en ligne avec lui. |
| My friend Bob often goes to the countryside in order to take a break from his routine | Mon ami Bob va souvent à la campagne pour se dépayser. |
| Mrs. Smith loves taking long walks with her dog. | Madame Smith aime beaucoup faire de longues promenades avec son chien. |
| I downloaded a vegan recipe book because cooking is my passion. | J’ai téléchargé un livre de recettes véganes car faire la cuisine est ma passion. |
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