The year has come for a new Olympics and Paralympics games. This time they’re happening in the city of love. How exciting is this! France is a beautiful city with a lot of culture. We’re sure the games here will pass on to history. Picture this: A multicultural city hosting one of the most important events worldwide? That’s inspirational.
We’re sure you’ll watch the Olympics motivated by both the beautiful city they’re happening in, and the amazing athletes. So, to help you get more into the mood of it all, here’s some French words and phrases for this year’s Olympics.
40 French Words about the Olympics
The Olympic games can be a semantic field of their own, as there’s a lot of jargon specifically for this event. France can be another semantic field. But this time, for this year’s Olympics they go hand in hand.
So to help you gather the vocabulary around it all, here are some words in French related to the Olympics. They go from the traditions these games carry, like the Olympic flame, to things you might need to attend these games, like tickets.
- Olympic Games – Les Jeux Olympiques
- Paralympic Games – Les Jeux Paralympiques
- Youth Olympic Games – Jeux Olympiques de la Jeunesse
- Olympic flame – Flamme olympique
- National anthem – Hymne national
- Delegation – Délégation
- Sports – Sports
- Athletes – Athlètes
- Coach – Entraîneur (male) / Entraîneuse (female)
- Athletics – Athlétisme
- Torch bearer – Porteur de flambeau / porteuse de la flamme (female)
- Medal – Médaille
- Medal winner – Médaillé (male) / Médaillée (female)
- Opening ceremony – Cérémonie d’ouverture
- Closing ceremony – Cérémonie de clôture
- Summer – Été
- Winter – L’hiver / Hiver
- International Olympic Committee – Comité international olympique
- Competition – Compétition
- Countries – Pays
- Flag – Drapeau
- Flag-bearer – Porte-drapeau
- Podium – Podium
- Gold – L’or / Or
- Silver – Argent
- Bronze – Bronze
- Honor – Honneur
- Champion – Champion (male) / Championne (female)
- Winner – Gagnant (male) / Gagnante (female)
- Loser – Perdant (male) / Perdante (female)
- Greek – Grec
- Greece – Grèce
- Referee – Arbitre
- Sportsman / Sportswoman – Sportif / Sportive
- Team – Équipe
- Event – Événement
- Schedule – Horaire
- Public – Public
- Ticket – Billet
- Olympic rings – Anneaux olympiques
22 Names of Sports in French
There are many sports in the Olympics; that’s why you see way too many athletes from all around the world. They are all kinds of sports, from artistic ones to combat sports. We’re sure you have your favorite one that you can’t miss.
So here are the French names of various Olympic sports; of course, there are more. Who knows? You might find a new hobby in this list:
- Soccer – Football
- Basketball – Basket-ball
- Volleyball – Volley-ball / Volleyball
- Beach volleyball – Volley-ball de plage / Volleyball de plage
- Tennis – Tennis
- Golf – Golf
- Cycling – Cyclisme
- Athletics – Athlétisme
- Swimming – Natation
- Synchronized Swimming – Natation synchronisée
- Diving – Plongeon
- Gymnastics – Gymnastique
- Rhythmic Gymnastics – Gymnastique rythmique
- Artistic gymnastic – Gymnastique artistique
- Boxing – Boxe
- Taekwondo – Taekwondo
- Judo – Judo
- Rowing – Aviron
- Fencing – Escrime
- Archery – Tir à l’arc
- Rugby – Rugby
- Shooting – Tir
10 French Phrases & Expressions for the Olympics
If you’re a fan of the Olympics, maybe you’re planning to travel to Paris for the big event. Or maybe you’ll be watching at home with friends. Whatever the case, you’ll need some phrases in French about the Olympics. So you can discuss everything, cheer on athletes, and engage in conversations:
1. Bravo! – Bravo!
If your favorite athlete just won or did an amazing game and you want to celebrate him/her, just say this word. If you scream it while clapping your hands, it’s even more enthusiastic.
2. Oh, too bad! – Oh, dommage!
If a sportsman/sportswoman lost or something happened to him/her, you can express your sadness for them with this phrase.
3. Go! – Allez!
This is the perfect expression to cheer on someone that’s still playing. It’ll make you seem super passionate about what’s happening.
4. She won. / Elle a gagné.
If someone asks you who won, you can answer with this phrase to let them know. If you add an exclamation mark and some enthusiasm, it can be more of a celebration that your favorite female player just won!
5. What’s your favorite sport? / Quel est votre sport préféré?
If you’re traveling to Paris and want to engage in a conversation with people, this is a good question to ask them.
6. My favorite sport is soccer. / Mon sport préféré est le football.
If, on the contrary, somebody asks you the question above first, you can answer with this phrase. Just add the name of your favorite sport. Then you can ask them the same question. It’ll ignite an interesting sports conversation.
7. I practice gymnastics. / Je fais de la gymnastique.
Are you a gymnast yourself? Awesome! That’s no easy thing and you should be proud. You can tell this to someone you’re talking about the Olympics with, so they know you’re also a great athlete. Who knows? Maybe that person loves this sport and will ask you more things about it. The conversation will flow naturally.
8. I play rugby. / Je joue au rugby.
Here’s another example of another sport you might practice. When saying this phrase out loud, just change “rugby” for whichever sport you play.
9. I adore swimming. / J’adore la natation.
Whether you’re a player or just an avid Olympics watcher, you probably have a sport you love very much. Use this phrase to let everyone know it.
10. I love taekwondo. / J’aime le taekwondo.
This is another example of how to express your love for your truly favorite sport.
How to Practice Your French Olympics Vocabulary
All right, congrats! You’ve learned a good amount of French vocabulary for the Olympics. We’re proud of you. It’s time for the next step. Becoming bilingual is not just about memorizing; you need to practice what you’ve learned. Here are some tips on how to practice the French words and phrases above:
Play with your friends
What’s your favorite sport? Is it football? Basketball? Maybe it’s more artistic, like gymnastics. Or is it a combat sport? Oh, we got it! It’s judo, right? Well, whatever it is, all sports are fascinating. So choose your favorite Olympic sport and invite some friends to play it with you.
Your friends can be native French speakers, which will help you improve a lot. But they can also be friends from your French class, so people that are learning alongside you. And you can play in your backyard or in a park; you don’t need a huge stadium.
It doesn’t have to be anything too professional. You can play for the fun of it. Some of you can even be the judges and others the athletes!
Just make sure you and all your friends are speaking French while playing (you can show them the list above).
It’s all right if you’re not fluent yet and you make mistakes. You’re learning. You’ll see that even though you’re not perfect, it’s always more fun to learn through a cool activity like sports.
Watch interviews of your favorite French athletes
Watching videos is always one of the coolest ways to learn. This is because you won’t feel like you’re studying. Rather, it’ll feel like another evening spent on social media or watching YouTube videos. You probably love doing that already.
So, think about your favorite French athletes. If you don’t know many, you can simply Google some that represent your favorite sport. For example: French gymnasts. Then, look up on YouTube some of their interviews.
This way, you’ll hear the correct pronunciation of words and since they’re athletes you’ll learn a lot of Olympics vocabulary. You’ll probably even recognize some of the words above.
If you’re not fluent yet, you can turn on the YouTube subtitles; reading what’s being said might help you a bit. And it’s a plus for your reading and writing skills.
Basically, a lot of your language skills will improve through YouTube interviews in French. From your listening to your reading to your pronunciation.
Make an Olympics watch party
If you have friends, family, neighbors or loved ones in general that love the Olympics, it’s time for a reunion. It’s even better if they speak French, are learning it or are willing to learn.
There are so many sports in different schedules, you might not be able to watch them all. So, choose your favorite ones. Or choose to watch the sports that are scheduled when everyone you’re inviting has free time.
Prepare popcorn and any other snack you and your people love. Don’t forget the beverages. You can send some cute invitations or simply a WhatsApp message to let everyone know when it’s happening. There you go, you’re ready for the watch party.
As the games are happening, discuss everything with your invites. What’s going on, who’s your favorite athlete, what are you liking the most, and anything that comes to your mind. Make sure you and everyone speak in French; use the vocabulary above.
We recommend you watch the Olympics in complete French. This means no narrators from any other country or language. This way you’ll be fully immersed in the language. If you can’t do this, that’s okay.
Language Exchange Apps
There are some apps and websites created for language exchange. This means that you’ll connect with a native speaker of the language you’re learning. At the same time, they’ll be learners of your mother tongue.
During the time you’re connected you’ll speak half of the time in your native language. And half of the time in his first language (your target language). This way you both practice both languages.
You can create an account in one of those apps and look for a native French speaker. If he or she is also a fan of sports and the Olympics, even better. You can talk to this person in full French using the vocabulary you just learned, so you practice it.
Prepare for the Language Podium with TruFluency
You’re ready to impress French people with your sporty skills and your knowledge of the Olympics. And if you keep preparing you might be ready to attend the Olympics one day. Why not? But do you know how else you can keep impressing people? With your language skills!
Though you just learned a lot of French words, you can keep on learning more. Not just for the Olympics, but for real life in general. You might also have to work on your French fluency. Don’t worry, we can help you with that!
TruFluency offers French classes with native teachers, who will make sure you learn truly useful things. They don’t neglect any language area (reading, listening, writing…) But they do make sure you also learn things you might not learn in a regular school, like idioms and everyday expressions. They especially focus on speaking, so you achieve language fluency.
Oh, and our lessons are customized to your language goals and needs. So whatever you need to learn, tell us. Is it more vocabulary for sports? We got you! Or do you have to work on your pronunciation? We can do that.
Wait! Here’s the best: We have many languages besides French! So if you want to expand your language catalog and become a polyglot, contact us. Or if you want to prepare for the next Summer Olympics in L.A., we can also help you improve your English.
Look, why don’t you take two trial classes of 1 hour each now? It’s completely online and you can choose a flexible schedule. You’ll see we’re the best for your language journey.
See you on the language podium!
