basketteur
/bas.kɛ.tœʁ/masculine
The French phrase for basketball player is basketteur.
basketteur refers to a person who plays basketball. Another way to express this is joueur de basket, which uses an abbreviated form of the sport.
Meaning: person who plays basketball (noun)
Which one should you use?
joueur de basket is a way to say basketball player using the abbreviated form of basketball.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Belgium and Switzerland, the forms basketteur and basketteuse are widely used.
How does it change in a sentence?
The masculine singular form is basketteur. The plural masculine form is basketteurs. To refer specifically to a female basketball player, use the feminine form basketteuse.
How do you pronounce it?
/bas.kɛ.tœʁ/. The word has 3 syllables.
Did you know?
- In France, the term basket is also the common word for a sneaker, meaning a basketteur is literally a 'basketballer' and someone who wears 'baskets'.
- The term basketteur is a Gallicization of the English word 'basketball', following a pattern where English sports terms are adapted with French suffixes.
- While basketteur is common in Belgium and Switzerland, people in France are much more likely to use joueur de basket to describe a basketball player.
Examples in context
- Le basketteur a dunké la balle si fort que le panneau s'est brisé.The basketball player dunked the ball so hard that the backboard shattered.This sentence shows the use of basketteur in the context of a powerful dunk.Tatoeba #12969777 by lbdx, translation #12378787 by ddnktr
- L'équipe a recruté un nouveau joueur de basketball.The team recruited a new basketball player.
- Ce basketteur est incroyablement talentueux.This basketball player is incredibly talented.
- Mon ami est un très bon joueur de basket.My friend is a very good basketball player.
- Ce basketteur est vraiment très rapide.This basketball player is really very fast.
- Je veux devenir un grand basketteur professionnel.I want to become a great professional basketball player.
Example conversation
Hugo and Emma are watching a sports game on TV.
- HugoRegarde ce basketteur, il est très rapide !Look at that basketball player, he is very fast!
- EmmaOui, il marque beaucoup de points.Yes, he scores a lot of points.
- HugoJe veux devenir un basketteur comme lui.I want to become a basketball player like him.
- EmmaTu devrais t'entraîner tous les jours, Hugo.You should practice every day, Hugo.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “basketball player” translations and entries basketteur, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
