patinage à glace
masculine
Ice skating in French is patinage à glace. If unsure, use patinage à glace. Wiktionary also lists patinage.
Meaning: the act, or the sport, of skating on ice (noun)
Ways to say it
| French | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| patinage à glace | masculine | |
| patinage | /pa.ti.naʒ/ | masculine |
The term refers to the act or the sport of skating on ice.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase patinage à glace is composed of patinage (skating) and à glace (on ice/with ice).
Which one should you use?
While patinage à glace specifies ice skating, the shorter form patinage is often used when the context of ice is already understood.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In France, Le Patinage Artistique is used to refer to figure skating.
How does it change in a sentence?
Both forms are masculine nouns.
Did you know?
- In French, the word glace can also mean 'ice cream'. Depending on the context, patinage à glace refers to the sport, while une glace is a frozen treat.
- The word glace is used in French for both 'ice' and 'mirror'. This shared term reflects the historical perception of a mirror as a frozen or polished surface.
Examples in context
- Un des sports d'hiver que beaucoup de personnes apprécient est le patinage sur glace.A winter sport that many people enjoy is ice skating.This sentence is useful for seeing how to refer to patinage as a winter sport.Tatoeba #787836 by U2FS, translation #274905 by CK
- J'aime le patinage sur glaceI like ice skating
- Je veux apprendre le patinage sur glaceI want to learn ice skating
- J'aimerais apprendre à faire du patin à glaceI would like to learn how to do ice skating
- Voulez-vous faire du patinage sur glace avec moi ?Would you like to go ice skating with me?
- On pourrait faire du patin à glace ensemble !We could go ice skating together!
- Le patinage à glace est ma passion.Ice skating is my passion.
- Elle pratique le patinage à glace tous les samedis.She practices ice skating every Saturday.
Example conversation
Manon and Gabriel are discussing their favorite winter activities.
- ManonTu veux essayer le patinage à glace avec moi ?Do you want to try ice skating with me?
- GabrielOui, j'aimerais beaucoup essayer !Yes, I would love to try!
- ManonC'est très amusant quand on sait patiner.It is very fun when you know how to skate.
- GabrielJe suis sûr que je vais apprendre vite.I am sure I will learn quickly.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “ice skating” translations and entries patinage à glace, patinage, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries glace, patinage, à, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
