jongleur
/ʒɔ̃.ɡlœʁ/masculine
The English phrase 'juggler' is jongleur in French.
A jongleur is a person who practices juggling. You can use the phrase jongleur de feu to refer to a juggler who works with flaming objects. To describe a professional juggler, you may use either jongleur professionnel or artiste jongleur.
Meaning: person who practices juggling (noun)
How does it change in a sentence?
The masculine plural is formed by adding an -s to the end of the word, resulting in jongleurs. If you are referring to a female juggler, use the feminine form jongleuse.
How do you pronounce it?
/ʒɔ̃.ɡlœʁ/. The word has 2 syllables.
Did you know?
- Medieval jongleurs were often viewed with suspicion by the Church and were sometimes associated with heresy or magic.
- In modern French, the verb jongler is frequently used metaphorically to describe managing several difficult tasks or people at once.
- While a jongleur performs tricks, a troubadour was traditionally a poet-composer of higher social status who wrote the songs the jongleur performed.
Examples in context
- Le jongleur a lancé un bâton de feu à son partenaire.The juggler tossed a flaming baton to his partner.This sentence is useful for seeing how to use jongleur when describing someone tossing a flaming baton.Tatoeba #10522084 by lbdx, translation #8994290 by mccarras
- Le jongleur enthousiasma la foule en gardant dix oranges en l'air.The juggler wowed the crowd by keeping ten oranges up in the air.This sentence is useful for seeing how to use jongleur when describing someone keeping oranges in the air.Tatoeba #811377 by sacredceltic, translation #643275 by darinmex
- Le jongleur a impressionné tout le public avec ses incroyables talents.The juggler impressed the entire audience with his incredible skills.
- Les cracheurs de feu dans le cirque sont aussi de talentueux jongleurs.The fire breathers in the circus are also talented jugglers.
- Ce jongleur est très talentueux.This juggler is very talented.
Example conversation
Manon and Gabriel are watching a street performance.
- ManonRegarde ce jongleur, il est incroyable !Look at that juggler, he is incredible!
- GabrielOui, il manie ses balles avec agilité.Yes, he handles his balls with agility.
- ManonEst-ce qu'il est professionnel ?Is he a professional?
- GabrielJe pense que c'est un jongleur de métier.I think he is a professional juggler.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “juggler” translations and entries jongleur, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
