ski
/ski/masculine
The French word for 'ski' is ski.
The masculine noun ski refers to one of a pair of long flat runners used for gliding over snow. To talk about the sport of skiing in general, use the form le ski. Other common expressions include les stations de ski for ski resorts and les pistes de ski for ski slopes.
Meaning: one of a pair of long flat runners designed for gliding over snow (noun)
Which one should you use?
The singular form ski refers to a single runner, while the plural form des skis is used when referring to the pair of equipment. To express the action of moving on skis, the French equivalent for the verb 'to ski' is the phrase faire du ski.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The noun ski is used with the definite article le to refer to the sport of skiing itself. To express the verb 'to ski', use the phrase faire du ski.
How do you pronounce it?
/ski/
Did you know?
- The word ski in French is a direct loanword from Norwegian, which means 'split wood'.
- The French word ski is part of a linguistic group of 'sports de glisse' or 'sliding sports', which groups skiing with surfing and skateboarding based on the physical sensation of gliding.
- A 'ski instructor' is not just a professeur de ski, but is almost always called a moniteur de ski.
Examples in context
- Tom adore le ski.Tom loves to ski.This sentence is useful for expressing a love for the sport using ski.Tatoeba #9253036 by Micsmithel, translation #6579294 by Eccles17
- Je ne sais pas skier.I don't know how to ski.This sentence is useful for expressing an inability to perform the action of skier.Tatoeba #8685032 by Julien_PDC, translation #6666562 by CK
- Sais-tu faire du ski ?Can you ski?This sentence is useful for asking if someone can perform the activity of ski.Tatoeba #2748478 by Aiji, translation #2748477 by CM
- Tu veux faire du ski ce weekend?Do you want to go skiing this weekend?
- 51 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Nathan and Chloé are preparing their equipment at a ski resort.
- NathanOù est mon deuxième ski ?Where is my second ski?
- ChloéIl est juste derrière toi, Nathan.It is right behind you, Nathan.
- NathanAh oui, merci Chloé !Ah yes, thank you Chloé!
- ChloéMaintenant, fixons ton ski.Now, let's attach your ski.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “ski” translations and entries ski, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries ski, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
