Vocabulary: Sports and Fitness in French

If you want to talk about sports and fitness in French, it’s important to know some key words. This guide will help you learn useful terms and phrases for your conversations about sports and fitness.

Key Vocabulary

Here are some important words and phrases related to sports and fitness:

| French | English | |--------------------|---------------------| | le sport | sport | | faire du sport | to play sports | | l'exercice (m) | exercise | | s'entraîner | to train | | le fitness | fitness | | la santé | health | | un athlète | athlete | | une équipe | team | | le joueur | player | | gagner | to win | | perdre | to lose | | le match | match | | le champion | champion | | la compétition | competition | | l'entraînement (m) | training |

Common Sports

Knowing the names of popular sports in French will help you talk about them. Here’s a list of some common sports:

| French | English | |---------------------|---------------------| | le football | soccer | | le basket-ball | basketball | | le tennis | tennis | | la natation | swimming | | le cyclisme | cycling | | le rugby | rugby | | la danse | dance | | le golf | golf | | le volley-ball | volleyball | | l'athlétisme (m) | athletics |

Describing Sports Activities

When you want to talk about what you or someone else does in sports, you can use these simple sentences:

1. Subject + verb + activity

   • Example: Je fais du foot. (I play soccer.)
   • Example: Elle s'entraîne tous les jours. (She trains every day.)

2. Expressing likes and dislikes

   • Example: J'aime le rugby. (I like rugby.)
   • Example: Je n’aime pas la natation. (I don’t like swimming.)

Discussing Fitness

When talking about fitness, you might want to share routines and goals:

1. Talking about fitness routines

   • Example: Je vais à la salle de sport trois fois par semaine. (I go to the gym three times a week.)
   • Example: Nous faisons de l'exercice ensemble le samedi. (We work out together on Saturdays.)

2. Setting goals

   • Example: Mon objectif est de perdre cinq kilos. (My goal is to lose five kilos.)
   • Example: Je veux gagner un match. (I want to win a match.)

Grammar Tips

1. Verbs used in sports:

   • Use faire (to do) with many sports: faire du vélo (to ride a bike).
   • Use jouer (to play) for team sports: jouer au football (to play soccer).

2. Articles:

   • Use le or la for specific sports (e.g., le tennis).
   • Use un or une when talking about a player or type of sport generally (e.g., un athlète).

Practice Sentences

You can practice your French skills with these sentences:

1. Je vais faire du sport cet après-midi. (I am going to play sports this afternoon.)
2. Nous avons gagné le match hier. (We won the match yesterday.)
3. Il préfère le basket-ball au football. (He prefers basketball to soccer.)

Conclusion

Learning the words and phrases about sports and fitness will help you have better conversations in French. Use these terms when you talk, and don’t be afraid to ask questions if you need help. Bon entraînement! (Happy training!)