tir
/tiʁ/
The English phrase "basketball shot" is translated into French as tir.
In the context of basketball, tir refers to the act of shooting the ball toward the basket.
How does it change in a sentence?
The noun tir is masculine, so it is used with the indefinite article un (e.g., un tir).
How do you pronounce it?
/tiʁ/
Did you know?
- While tir is the standard term, French basketball commentators often use the English word 'shoot' as a verb, turning it into the anglicism shooter to describe a player with a great shot.
- If a player misses a tir, a French speaker might say the ball a frappé le cercle, meaning it 'hit the circle' rather than 'hit the rim'.
- The word tir comes from the verb tirer, which means 'to pull' as well as 'to shoot'.
Examples in context
- J'ai réussi un superbe tir de basketball dans le dernier quart-temps du match.I made an amazing basketball shot in the last quarter of the game.
- Wow, quel panier incroyable! Tu es vraiment doué au basketball!Wow, what an incredible shot! You're really talented at basketball!
- Son tir était très précis.His shot was very precise.
- Quel beau tir de trois points !What a beautiful three-point shot!
Example conversation
Nathan and Chloé are practicing basketball at a park.
- NathanRegarde mon tir, Chloé !Watch my shot, Chloé!
- ChloéC'est presque dedans !It's almost in!
- NathanJe vais réessayer ce tir.I'm going to try this shot again.
- ChloéTu vas réussir cette fois.You will succeed this time.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry tir, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries tir, CC BY-SA 4.0.
