テニスをする
tenisu o suru
To play tennis in Japanese is テニスをする (tenisu o suru).
This phrase is used to express the act of engaging in the sport of tennis. While you can also say テニスをプレーする, the form テニスをする is much more common.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase consists of the loanword テニス (tennis), the particle を which serves as an object marker to indicate the activity being performed and the verb する (to do).
Which one should you use?
テニスをする is the standard way to express the activity. テニスをプレーする is a less common alternative that uses the katakana for 'play'.
How does it change in a sentence?
To express that someone is currently playing tennis or is in the habit of playing tennis, you use the continuous form テニスをしている.
How do you pronounce it?
tenisu o suru
Did you know?
- For many Japanese people, the phrase テニスをする is deeply associated with the rigid world of 部活, or school clubs. Most speakers first encountered the sport through intense, structured extracurricular activities rather than as a relaxed hobby.
- Japanese has a specific term テニス肘 (tennis elbow) that mimics the English medical term, but it is frequently used colloquially to describe any repetitive strain injury in the arm.
- If you are talking about the physical act of hitting the ball rather than the sport as a whole, you would switch from する (to do) to the verb 打つ (to hit).
Examples in context
- テニスをする予定です。I am going to play tennis.This sentence is useful for expressing a plan involving テニスをする.Tatoeba #159424 by KK_kaku_, translation #255099 by CK
- テニスをするのは楽しい。It's fun to play tennis.This sentence is useful for expressing that テニスをする is enjoyable.Tatoeba #202173 by bunbuku, translation #39377 by CK
- 彼はテニスをするのが好きだ。He likes to play tennis.This sentence is useful for expressing a preference for テニスをする.Tatoeba #111803 by small_snow, translation #2801898 by coerce1
- テニスをしますか？Do you play tennis?
- はい、します。Yes, I do.
- 10 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Misaki and Hiroto are talking about their weekend plans.
- 美咲 Misaki今週末、一緒にテニスをする？Konshūmatsu, issho ni tenisu o suru?Do you want to play tennis together this weekend?
- 大翔 Hirotoいいね！どこでテニスをする？Ii ne! Doko de tenisu o suru?Sounds good! Where shall we play tennis?
- 美咲 Misaki駅の近くのコートでしよう。Eki no chikaku no kōto de shiyō.Let's do it at the court near the station.
- 大翔 Hirotoわかった。楽しみにしてるよ。Wakatta. Tanoshimi ni shiteru yo.Got it. I'm looking forward to it.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
