jouer de la guitare
To play guitar in French is jouer de la guitare.
The phrase means to produce music by plucking or strumming the strings of a guitar. The noun guitare is feminine.
Which one should you use?
The phrase uses the construction jouer de because it refers to a musical instrument. This contrasts with sports and games, which use jouer à, such as in jouer au football.
How does it change in a sentence?
When using the verb jouer with musical instruments, you must use the preposition de followed by the definite article.
Did you know?
- French musicians often use the term gratter la guitare, which literally means 'to scratch the guitar', as a colloquial way to say they are strumming.
- The French verb jouer shares a root with the English word 'joke', as both come from the Latin iocārī, meaning to jest or play.
- While jouer de la guitare refers to the musical act, the verb jouer is also used in French theatre to mean 'to act' or 'to perform a role'.
Examples in context
- John ne sait pas jouer de la guitare.John doesn’t know how to play guitar.This sentence is useful for expressing a lack of ability with jouer de la guitare.Tatoeba #136341 by TRANG, translation #1526518 by pauldhunt
- J’aimerais savoir jouer de la guitare.I wish I could play guitar.This sentence is useful for expressing a desire to be able to use jouer de la guitare.Tatoeba #4728504 by gillux, translation #4827103 by sicerabibax
- Sais-tu jouer de la guitare ?Can you play guitar?This sentence is useful for asking if someone knows how to use jouer de la guitare.Tatoeba #383775 by Pharamp, translation #755015 by sctld
- J'aime jouer de la guitare.I like to play guitar.
- Je passe beaucoup de temps à pratiquer la guitare.I spend a lot of time practicing the guitar.
- C'est cool de jouer de la gratte avec toi !It's cool to play guitar with you!
- On se retrouve chez moi pour faire de la guitare !Let's meet at my place to play guitar!
- Ma sœur a commencé à jouer de la guitare hier.My sister started playing guitar yesterday.
- J'aimerais bien apprendre à jouer de la gratte.I would love to learn how to play the guitar.
- 5 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Nathan and Léa are talking about their hobbies at a cafe.
- NathanTu veux jouer de la guitare avec moi ?Do you want to play guitar with me?
- LéaOui, j'adore jouer de la guitare !Yes, I love to play guitar!
- NathanC'est génial, tu es très douée.That's great, you are very talented.
- LéaMerci, c'est gentil de ta part.Thank you, that's kind of you.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries de, guitare, jouer, la, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
