paris sportifs
masculine, plural
Sports betting in French is paris sportifs.
Les paris sportifs is the general term used to describe the activity or the industry of sports betting.
Meaning: the act of betting on sports (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase paris sportifs is a literal translation of 'sports bets'. Here, paris means 'bets' and sportifs means 'sporting'.
How does it change in a sentence?
The noun paris sportifs is derived from the verb parier, which means 'to bet'. While the plural form paris sportifs refers to the activity of sports betting as a whole, you would use the singular form le pari sportif to refer to one single sports bet.
Did you know?
- In French, the word paris has nothing to do with the capital of France, despite sharing the exact same spelling. The city name refers to the 'Parisians', whereas the word for 'bets' comes from the Latin 'pariare', meaning 'to stake'.
- In French culture, the most traditional form of paris sportifs centers on horse racing, managed by the state-run PMU. This specific betting culture is so ingrained that faire le PMU is often used as a shorthand for betting on horses.
- French law distinguishes between paris sportifs and jeux de hasard, where the former are seen as involving a degree of skill or analysis while the latter are purely random, like slot machines.
Examples in context
- J'adore les paris sportifsI love sports betting
- Je veux placer quelques paris sur le match de demainI want to place some bets on tomorrow's game
- On va parier sur l'équipe gagnante?Shall we bet on the winning team?
- Je fais des paris sportifs.I do sports betting.
- Il aime les paris sportifs.He loves sports betting.
- Les paris sportifs sont très populaires.Sports betting is very popular.
- Elle gagne souvent avec les paris sportifs.She often wins with sports betting.
Example conversation
Hugo and Emma are discussing their weekend hobbies.
- HugoTu t'intéresses aux paris sportifs, Emma ?Are you interested in sports betting, Emma?
- EmmaPas vraiment, je préfère juste regarder.Not really, I just prefer watching.
- HugoC'est risqué, mais c'est excitant.It's risky, but it's exciting.
- EmmaJe préfère garder mon argent, Hugo.I prefer to keep my money, Hugo.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “sports betting” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
