ping-pong
/piŋ.pɔ̃ɡ/
The English phrase "ping pong" is translated into French as ping-pong.
ping-pong refers to the game for two or four players where a lightweight ball is hit over a table using small paddles. The equipment used to hit the ball is called a raquette.
Which one should you use?
While ping-pong is common in casual conversation, tennis de table is the official and more formal term used in sports contexts.
How does it change in a sentence?
When expressing the action of playing the game, use the preposition au (à + le) after the verb jouer.
How do you pronounce it?
The word has two syllables and is pronounced /piŋ.pɔ̃ɡ/.
Did you know?
- The term ping-pong is often used in French political discourse to describe a ping-pong diplomatique, where two parties keep shifting a problem back and forth without resolving it.
- In French, the word raquette is used for both a ping-pong paddle and a tennis racket, unlike English which distinguishes between a 'paddle' and a 'racket'.
- The hyphen in ping-pong is standard in French writing, whereas English speakers frequently omit it and write it as two separate words.
Examples in context
- Le ping-pong est aussi appelé tennis de table.Ping-Pong is also called table tennis.This sentence explains that ping-pong is also known as tennis de table.Tatoeba #4767624 by Doremi391, translation #34427 by AlanF_US
- Tom ne se rappelle plus quelle raquette de ping-pong est la sienne.Tom can't remember which ping-pong paddle is his.This sentence uses ping-pong to describe a person's equipment, specifically a raquette.Tatoeba #8966224 by lbdx, translation #1026748 by CK
- Quoi ? Tu dis que la semaine dernière, tu as vu deux castors jouer au ping-pong avec leur grande queue plate ?What? You say that last week you saw two beavers playing ping-pong with their big flat tails?This sentence uses ping-pong in a descriptive sentence about beavers.Tatoeba #8399689 by marioo, translation #8399690 by marioo
- Le club local organise un tournoi de tennis de table.The local club is organizing a table tennis tournament.
- J'ai commencé à jouer au tennis de table à l'âge de dix ans.I started playing table tennis when I was ten years old.
- Je t'ai battu au ping-pong hier soir!I beat you at ping pong last night!
- Allons jouer au ping-pong après l'école.Let's play ping pong after school.
- 2 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lucas and Léa are at a local community center.
- LucasOn fait une partie de ping-pong ?Shall we play a game of ping-pong?
- LéaOui, je suis partante !Yes, I'm up for it!
- LucasTu as une raquette de ping-pong ?Do you have a ping-pong paddle?
- LéaNon, je l'ai oubliée à la maison.No, I forgot it at home.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry ping-pong, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
