surf
/sœʁf/masculine
The French word for surfing is surf.
The noun surf is used to refer to the sport itself. To express the activity of surfing, use the standard phrase faire du surf (to go surfing). You may also use the phrase une planche de surf for a surfboard or le bon spot de surf for the good surf spot.
Meaning: sport (noun)
How do you pronounce it?
/sœʁf/
What mistakes should you avoid?
Avoid using the English gerund 'surfing' as a noun in French. Instead, use the noun le surf or the verb surfer.
Did you know?
- Outside of the ocean, the word surfer is used in French to describe browsing the internet. You can surfer sur le web, using the same verb used for riding waves.
- France has a deeply ingrained surfing culture centered around the Landes coast, where the wide sandy beaches are some of the most famous in Europe. This region is often seen as the spiritual home of le surf in France.
- French surfers often use the English word 'line-up' to describe the area where surfers wait for waves. This is an example of how technical surfing jargon remains in English even when the rest of the sentence is in French.
Examples in context
- Vous aimez le surf ?Do you like surfing?This sentence is useful for asking if someone likes the sport surf.Tatoeba #8593878 by Micsmithel, translation #953203 by CK
- Il est allé faire du surf.He went surfing.This sentence is useful for describing the activity of going to do surf.Tatoeba #1820460 by sacredceltic, translation #1820259 by Spamster
- Tom et moi sommes allés surfer ce matin.Tom and I went surfing this morning.This sentence is useful for describing going to surfer in the morning.Tatoeba #13049636 by pik0fr, translation #5756257 by Hybrid
- J'adore faire du surfI love surfing
- Je suis passionné(e) de surfI am passionate about surfing
- Je suis allé faire du surf ce matin sur la Côte d'Azur. Les vagues étaient incroyables !I went surfing this morning on the French Riviera. The waves were incredible!
- La pratique de la planche à voile et du surf est très populaire en Bretagne.Windsurfing and surfing are very popular in Brittany.
- 10 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Chloé and Nathan are talking about their summer vacation plans.
- ChloéTu veux essayer le surf cet été ?Do you want to try surfing this summer?
- NathanOui, j'adore le surf !Yes, I love surfing!
- ChloéOn peut louer an planche ensemble.We can rent a board together.
- NathanC'est une excellente idée, Chloé.That is a great idea, Chloé.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “surfing” translations and entries surf, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
