jouer à des jeux de société
To play board games in French is jouer à des jeux de société.
This phrase is used to describe the act of engaging in tabletop games that use a board and pieces, such as chess or Monopoly.
What does it mean word for word?
The term jeux de société literally translates to 'games of society' or 'social games'.
Which one should you use?
If you are referring to a single board game, use jouer à un jeu de société.
How does it change in a sentence?
When using the verb jouer to mean playing a game or a sport, it must be followed by the preposition à.
What mistakes should you avoid?
Avoid saying jouer des jeux. English speakers often mistakenly omit the preposition à. You should always use jouer à des jeux instead.
Did you know?
- The verb jouer shares an ancient root with the English word 'joke', as both stem from the Latin 'iocārī', which means 'to jest' or 'to play around'.
- In French, the term société can also refer to a 'company' or a 'corporation', making 'games of society' sound almost like 'games of a corporation' if taken too literally.
- The term jeux de société is used broadly enough to include card games and even some parlor games, not just those strictly played on a physical board.
Examples in context
- Pendant les soirées jeux, nous aimons jouer à des jeux de société.During game nights, we like to play board games.This sentence is useful for expressing what you enjoy doing during game nights using jouer à des jeux de société.Tatoeba #14022888 by Ioan_Cristian, translation #14022890 by Ioan_Cristian
- J'adore jouer aux jeux de société!I love playing board games!
- Ça te dit de jouer au Monopoly?Do you feel like playing Monopoly?
- Les enfants veulent jouer à des jeux de société.The children want to play board games.
- Est-ce qu'on peut jouer à des jeux de société ce soir ?Can we play board games tonight?
Example conversation
Gabriel and Léa are deciding what to do on a rainy afternoon.
- GabrielLéa, on pourrait jouer à des jeux de société.Léa, we could play board games.
- LéaC'est une excellente idée, Gabriel !That's an excellent idea, Gabriel!
- GabrielTu préfères jouer à des jeux de société ou de cartes ?Do you prefer playing board games or card games?
- LéaJe préfère les jeux de société.I prefer board games.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries de, des, jouer, société, à, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
