tennis
/tɛ.nis/masculine
The French word for tennis is tennis.
tennis is a masculine noun used to refer to the sport played by two or four players with strung racquets.
Meaning: sport played by two or four players with strung racquets (noun)
How does it change in a sentence?
When expressing the activity of playing tennis, use the phrase jouer au tennis. This is because the preposition à contracts with the masculine article le to form au.
How do you pronounce it?
/tɛ.nis/. It has 2 syllables.
Did you know?
- In French, if you ask for des tennis, you might receive a pair of sneakers rather than a description of the sport.
- The term jeu de paume was the ancestral version of tennis in France. It was played with the palm of the hand before racquets were introduced.
- The term tennis is a loanword in French, meaning it was imported from English despite the sport's deep history in France.
Examples in context
- Il joue au tennis.He plays tennis.This sentence is useful for showing how to say 'He plays tennis' using tennis.Tatoeba #13377790 by lbdx, translation #8479434 by CH
- Tom joue au tennis.Tom is playing tennis.This sentence is useful for showing how to say 'Tom is playing tennis' using tennis.Tatoeba #5474802 by alexisslay, translation #6440314 by CK
- Il a joué au tennis.He played tennis.This sentence is useful for showing how to say 'He played tennis' using tennis.Tatoeba #335074 by Barbiche0, translation #291872 by CK
- 394 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Léa and Gabriel are talking about their weekend plans.
- LéaTu veux faire du tennis samedi ?Do you want to play tennis on Saturday?
- GabrielOui, c'est une excellente idée.Yes, that is an excellent idea.
- LéaOn réserve un court de tennis ?Should we reserve a tennis court?
- GabrielD'accord, je m'en occupe.Okay, I will take care of it.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “tennis” translations and entries tennis, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries tennis, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
