Ways to say it
| French | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| football | /fut.bol/ /fut.bal/ |
masculine |
| foot | /fut/ | masculine |
| soccer | /sɔ.kœʁ/ (Europe) /sɔ.kɚ/ |
Canada, masculine |
The term refers to association football. To distinguish the sport from American football, you should use the specific term football américain. Other related terms include le maillot for jersey, marquer un but for to score a goal and le gardien de but for goalkeeper.
Which one should you use?
While le football is the standard term, the shortened version foot is much more frequent in casual conversation.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
football is the standard form, whereas foot is a colloquial, shortened version used widely in informal settings and everyday spoken French.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In French-speaking Canada, particularly in Quebec, soccer is used to refer to the sport to distinguish it from American football.
How does it change in a sentence?
The noun is masculine and is almost always preceded by the definite article le when used in a general sense.
How do you pronounce it?
The pronunciation of football is /fut.bol/.
Did you know?
- The word foot is a linguistic doublet of pied, meaning that French has two different words for 'foot' that carry the same original meaning but come from different languages.
- French fans often use the phrase faire du foot to describe playing the sport, which literally translates to 'doing some foot'.
Examples in context
- Il aime le foot.He likes football.This sentence uses the colloquial form foot.Tatoeba #3634408 by sacredceltic, translation #6687530 by deniko
- Il adore le foot.He loves football.Tatoeba #2136850 by sacredceltic, translation #6548849 by deniko
- Il est bon au foot.He is good at football.Tatoeba #4706477 by sacredceltic, translation #815917 by heranje
- Je joue au football tous les jeudis avec mes amis.I play football with my friends every Thursday.
- On va regarder le foot chez moi ce soir.We're going to watch football at my place tonight.
- 264 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lucas and Léa are talking at a park.
- LucasTu veux jouer au football ?Do you want to play football?
- LéaOui, je suis prête.Yes, I am ready.
- LucasLéa, tu es très forte au football.Léa, you are very good at football.
- LéaMerci, c'est gentil.Thanks, that's kind.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “football” translations and entries football, foot, soccer, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries foot, football, soccer, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
