baseball
/bɛz.bɔl/masculine
The French word for baseball, the ball game, is baseball. You may also see it spelled base-ball. If unsure, use baseball.
Meaning: ball game (noun)
Ways to say it
| French | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| baseball | /bɛz.bɔl/ | masculine |
| base-ball | /bɛz.bɔl/ | masculine |
French simply borrowed the English name of the sport, so baseball is the word you will hear and read for the game.
Which one should you use?
baseball and base-ball mean the same thing. The spelling with a hyphen is an older variant, and the single word baseball is the usual one today.
How does it change in a sentence?
baseball is a masculine noun, so it takes the article le, as in le baseball. To say that someone plays baseball, use the verb jouer with au, the contraction of à and le: Je joue au baseball.
How do you pronounce it?
baseball is pronounced /bɛz.bɔl/, in two syllables.
What mistakes should you avoid?
Do not put le straight after jouer when you talk about playing the sport. The verb needs au, as in joue au baseball.
Did you know?
- Despite using the English word baseball, French commentators often use the term coup de circuit to describe a home run, which literally translates to 'circuit hit'.
- In France, baseball is often grouped under the broader term sports de batte et de balle, which covers various bat-and-ball games including cricket.
- The French word for 'pitcher' in baseball is often lanceur, which comes from the verb lancer meaning 'to throw'.
Examples in context
- Je joue au baseball.I play baseball.Je joue au baseball uses au after the verb to talk about playing the sport.Tatoeba #180832 by Aiji, translation #1841664 by CK
- Il aime le baseball.He loves baseball.le baseball uses the masculine article when the sport is the object of a verb like loving.Tatoeba #5367124 by Scorpionvenin14, translation #5367090 by Mateon1
- Tom joue au baseball.Tom plays baseball.Tom joue au baseball follows the same pattern with a named person.Tatoeba #9623747 by Julien_PDC, translation #6663204 by CK
- 172 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Nathan and Chloé are talking about their favorite sports.
- NathanEst-ce que tu aimes le baseball ?Do you like baseball?
- ChloéOui, je regarde souvent le baseball à la télé.Yes, I often watch baseball on TV.
- NathanMoi aussi, c'est mon sport préféré !Me too, it's my favorite sport!
- ChloéOn devrait aller voir un match ensemble.We should go see a game together.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “baseball” translations and entries baseball, base-ball, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
