jouer au football
To play football in French is jouer au football.
This phrase is used to describe taking part in a game of football.
Which one should you use?
While jouer au football refers to the sport, do not use jouer du football as jouer de is reserved for musical instruments.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In certain regions of France, the phrase Jouer au ballon rond is occasionally used to refer to football.
How does it change in a sentence?
When referring to playing a sport with a ball, the verb jouer must be followed by the preposition à. In this specific case, à contracts with the article le to become au. In casual speech, the noun football is often shortened to foot.
Did you know?
- While 'jouer au football' is standard, many French speakers simply say 'faire du foot' to describe the activity of playing or practicing the sport.
- The verb jouer traces back to the Latin word iocārī, meaning 'to joke' or 'to jest'.
- Although football is an English loanword, French distinguishes between le football (soccer) and le football américain to avoid confusion.
Examples in context
- J'aime jouer au football.I like to play football.This sentence shows how to express a personal liking for jouer au football.Tatoeba #5816505 by Aiji, translation #6864123 by deniko
- Tom aime jouer au football.Tom likes to play football.This sentence uses jouer au football to describe someone else's preference.Tatoeba #8557048 by marioo, translation #3428413 by CK
- Veux-tu jouer au football avec nous ?Do you want to play football with us?This sentence is a way to invite someone to jouer au football with a group.Tatoeba #1209765 by rene1596, translation #1330906 by CK
- 7 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lucas and Emma are talking about their weekend plans.
- LucasTu veux jouer au football samedi ?Do you want to play football on Saturday?
- EmmaOui, j'adore jouer au football avec toi.Yes, I love playing football with you.
- LucasOn appelle d'autres amis ?Should we call other friends?
- EmmaBonne idée, Lucas !Good idea, Lucas!
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries football, jouer, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
