surf
/sœʁf/
To surf in French is surf.
The verb surf is used to describe the action of riding a wave. When you want to express the idea of browsing or surfing the internet, you use the construction surfer sur.
Meaning: to ride a wave (verb)
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The infinitive form of this verb is surfer. When discussing the sport as a noun, you would use the masculine noun le surf and the equipment used is referred to by the feminine noun la planche à surf.
How do you pronounce it?
/sœʁf/
Did you know?
- French has a specific category of sports called les sports de glisse, which groups le surf with skateboarding and snowboarding because they all involve 'sliding'.
- In French, the phrase surfer sur can be used metaphorically to describe someone who is 'riding' a trend or exploiting a successful situation for their own gain.
- Even though 'surf' is an English loanword, the French language treats it as a fully conjugated regular '-er' verb.
Examples in context
- Je ne sais pas surfer.I can't surf.This sentence is useful for expressing an inability to perform the action with surf.Tatoeba #6467447 by lapinhibou, translation #5756278 by Hybrid
- J'aime surfer sur internet.I like to surf the internet.This sentence shows how to use the verb with the preposition sur to mean browsing the internet.Tatoeba #3556021 by fleur74, translation #5696496 by erixa82
- Tom a pris des leçons de surf.Tom took surf lessons.This sentence uses surf to describe lessons related to the sport.Tatoeba #6603871 by aperitero, translation #6603837 by Hybrid
- Je surfe.I surf.
- J'aime surfer.I like to surf.
- On va faire du surf demain?Shall we go surfing tomorrow?
- Je kiffe faire du surf!I love surfing!
- J'adore glisser sur les vagues.I love surfing on the waves.
- Attraper une vagueCatch a wave
- 2 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
At the beach, discussing the waves.
- LucasLéa, est-ce que tu veux surfer avec moi ?Léa, do you want to surf with me?
- LéaOui, Lucas, les vagues sont parfaites !Yes, Lucas, the waves are perfect!
- LucasJe vais aller surfer maintenant.I am going to go surf now.
- LéaAttends-moi, je te suis !Wait for me, I'm following you!
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry surf, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
