hockey sur gazon
/ɔ.kɛ syʁ ɡa.zɔ̃/masculine
Field hockey in French is hockey sur gazon.
This term refers to the sport of field hockey.
Meaning: form of hockey (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of hockey, the name of the sport and sur gazon, which literally means on grass.
Which one should you use?
To distinguish this sport from ice hockey, French uses sur gazon (on grass) instead of sur glace (on ice).
How does it change in a sentence?
As a masculine noun, the phrase is typically preceded by the definite article le when referring to the sport in general, forming le hockey sur gazon.
How do you pronounce it?
/ɔ.kɛ syʁ ɡa.zɔ̃/
Did you know?
- In France, the term le hockey alone is often assumed to be hockey sur gazon, whereas in Canada, le hockey almost always refers to ice hockey.
- The term gazon is related to the Low German word Waas, which referred to a 'bundle of twigs'.
- While sur in this phrase means 'on', it is a homonym for another French word sur that means 'sour' or 'bitter'.
Examples in context
- Je joue au hockey sur gazon le samedi.I play field hockey on Saturdays.
- Elle préfère le hockey sur gazon au rugby.She prefers field hockey to rugby.
- Il y a un match de hockey sur gazon ce soir.There is a field hockey match tonight.
Example conversation
Two friends are talking about their sports hobbies.
- GabrielQuels sports fais-tu, Chloé ?What sports do you do, Chloé?
- ChloéJe fais du hockey sur gazon.I play field hockey.
- GabrielC'est impressionnant, Gabriel adore ça aussi !That's impressive, Gabriel loves it too!
- ChloéOn pourrait jouer ensemble un jour.We could play together one day.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “field hockey” translations and entries hockey sur gazon, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries gazon, hockey, sur, CC BY-SA 4.0.
