J'aime le foot
To say "I like soccer" in French, use J'aime le foot.
This phrase is used to express a personal fondness for the sport of soccer.
Which one should you use?
While le foot is common in conversation, le football is the more formal and complete term used in official contexts or writing.
How does it change in a sentence?
In French, when expressing a general liking for a sport, you must use the definite article le before the name of the sport.
Did you know?
- In France, le foot is the dominant term, but in Quebec, the word le soccer is used to avoid any confusion with American football.
- French has a specific word, le ballon rond, which literally means 'the round ball', used as a poetic or journalistic nickname for soccer.
- Although foot is a clipped version of the English word 'football', it is considered a pseudo-anglicism in French because it is a shortened form of a word that was already borrowed and adapted into the language.
Examples in context
- J'aime le football.I like soccer.This sentence is useful for seeing the more formal version of the phrase using J'aime le foot.Tatoeba #7355747 by felix63, translation #5840429 by CK
- J'adore le foot, surtout le Paris Saint-Germain!I love soccer, especially Paris Saint-Germain!
- J'aime beaucoup le football. C'est un sport passionnant.I really like soccer. It's an exciting sport.
- J'adore le foot ! Je suis fan de l'équipe de France.I love soccer! I'm a fan of the French national team.
Example conversation
Nathan and Emma are talking about their hobbies.
- NathanQuels sports préfères-tu, Emma ?Which sports do you prefer, Emma?
- EmmaJ'aime le foot et le tennis.I like soccer and tennis.
- NathanC'est super, moi aussi j'aime le foot !That's great, I like soccer too!
- EmmaOn pourrait jouer ensemble un jour.We could play together one day.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries foot, le, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
