escalade
/ɛs.ka.lad/feminine
The English phrase "rock climbing" is escalade in French.
escalade refers to the sport of scaling rock faces. To express the activity of rock climbing, it is typical to use the verb faire with the partitive article, forming the phrase faire de l'escalade (to go rock climbing).
Meaning: sport of scaling rock faces (noun)
Which one should you use?
While escalade specifically refers to the sport of rock climbing, the word can also be used more broadly to describe the general act of scaling or climbing up an object, such as a wall or a ladder.
Is it said differently in some regions?
Some French climbers use the term La varappe to describe rock climbing.
How does it change in a sentence?
The noun escalade is feminine. Because it begins with a vowel, the definite article la elides to become l'escalade.
How do you pronounce it?
The word has 3 syllables and is pronounced /ɛs.ka.lad/.
Did you know?
- The word escalade is a cognate of the English word 'escalate', which originally meant to climb up a wall using a ladder.
- In military history, an escalade refers to a surprise attack where soldiers use ladders to scale the walls of a fortified city.
- While escalade is the standard term, French climbers often distinguish between escalade and alpinisme, the latter referring specifically to high-altitude mountain climbing with glaciers.
Examples in context
- Je suis allé faire de l'escalade.I went rock climbing.This sentence is useful for saying you went rock climbing.Tatoeba #7104061 by Micsmithel, translation #5938318 by CK
- Je me suis blessé en faisant de l'escalade.I injured myself rock climbing.This sentence is useful for describing an injury sustained while rock climbing.Tatoeba #9009706 by lbdx, translation #5915638 by CK
- Je pratique l'escalade depuis plusieurs années.I've been practicing rock climbing for several years.
- On se retrouve à la salle d'escalade pour de l'escalade en bloc ?Shall we meet at the climbing gym for some bouldering?
- J'ai récemment découvert ma passion pour la grimpe sportive.I recently discovered my passion for sport climbing.
- Les montagnes du Jura offrent de superbes endroits pour pratiquer la varappe.The Jura Mountains offer amazing spots for rock climbing.
- L'escalade est ma passion.Rock climbing is my passion.
- 2 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Nathan and Chloé are talking about their weekend plans.
- NathanTu veux essayer l'escalade avec moi samedi ?Do you want to try rock climbing with me on Saturday?
- ChloéOui, j'adore l'escalade !Yes, I love rock climbing!
- NathanOn peut aller à la salle demain.We can go to the gym tomorrow.
- ChloéC'est une super idée, Nathan.That is a great idea, Nathan.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “rock climbing” translations and entries escalade, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
