roulette
/ʁu.lɛt/feminine
The English word "roulette" is roulette in French.
The term refers to a game of chance. To express the act of playing a game like roulette, you use the construction jouer à followed by the article and the noun, such as in jouer à la roulette. The specific phrase for Russian roulette is roulette russe.
Meaning: game of chance (noun)
How does it change in a sentence?
roulette is a feminine noun, so it is preceded by the feminine article la in the phrase la roulette. In the phrase for Russian roulette, the adjective russe follows the noun roulette.
How do you pronounce it?
The pronunciation is /ʁu.lɛt/. It has 2 syllables.
Did you know?
- The word rouler, which forms the root of roulette, is used in French slang as rouler quelqu'un to mean 'to trick' or 'to scam' someone.
- In French, the diminutive '-ette' can imply something is 'cute' or 'little', which adds a curious layer of charm to a word describing a high-stakes gambling game.
- In France, roulette can also refer to a small caster wheel on a piece of furniture or a shopping trolley.
Examples in context
- Ils jouent à la roulette russe.They are playing Russian roulette.This sentence shows how to use the form roulette within the context of Russian roulette.Tatoeba #10707216 by AutoBot, translation #10707217 by AutoBot
- La roulette est un jeu de hasard.Roulette is a game of chance.This sentence uses the form roulette to define it as a game of chance.Tatoeba #1137251 by sacredceltic, translation #1136982 by CM
- Jouer à la roulette russe n'est pas vraiment une bonne idée.Playing Russian roulette isn't really a good idea.This sentence illustrates the use of the form roulette when discussing the idea of playing Russian roulette.Tatoeba #5762914 by Yemana, translation #2050688 by CK
- La roulette est un jeu de hasard populaire dans les casinos du monde entier.Roulette is a popular game of chance in casinos worldwide.
- 2 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Manon and Hugo are walking through a casino in Monte Carlo.
- ManonEst-ce que tu veux essayer la roulette ?Do you want to try the roulette?
- HugoNon, je n'aime pas trop la roulette.No, I don't really like roulette.
- ManonC'est dommage, c'est très amusant.That's a shame, it's very fun.
- HugoOn peut aller jouer aux cartes à la place ?Can we go play cards instead?
Sources
- Wiktionary, “roulette” translations and entries roulette, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
