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The long-awaited Paris Olympic Games have finally arrived – and if you’re ready to catch some sports you see only rarely, or to cheer on your favourite athletes, here’s a few terms and phrases that it will be useful to know
The Olympic Games are two weeks or so of nirvana for armchair sports fans, who get to become insta-experts on a whole of sports that they usually rarely see and have possibly only just been introduced to, from archery to fencing, and rhythmic gymnastics to breakdancing – a new event at Paris 2024.
Tickets have mostly been snapped up, but for those who missed out there are official fan zones around Paris, while bars up and down the country will be showing the games.
So, as the two week spectacle of sports unfolds in Paris – and Marseille… and Versailles… and Chateauroux… and Vaires-sur-Marne… and Tahiti – here are some helpful French words and phrases to know.
General
Jeux Olympiques – The Olympic Games. Often shorted to JO (gee-oh) in France – a nation that really loves its initialisations.
La flamme olympique – the Olympic flame. It’s been on a long-old journey, but – following Friday’s opening ceremony, it will burn throughout the Games at Stade de France.
Les anneaux olympiques – the Olympic rings. You’ll see them on le drapeau olympique (the Olympic flag).
Sports
Tir à l’arc – archery. Related to, but not to be confused with…
Tir – shooting
Breaking – breakdancing. One of the new events at this year’s Games.
Cyclisme – cycling events. Covers all the disciplines: cyclisme BMX Freestyle, cyclisme BMX Racing, cyclisme Mountain Bike, cyclisme sur piste (in the velodrome), cyclisme sur route (road racing)
Escalade Sportive –climbing
Escrime – fencing
Natation – Swimming. What you’ll see in the piscine (swimming pool) at La Defense Arena. If you want to talk about all pool-based sports, including artistic swimming, diving, or water polo you can use the more general term sports aquatiques, meaning water sports. Diving, for the record, is the delightfully accurate plongée.
Equitation – the umbrella term for equestrian events, sometimes also known as Sports Équestres. Showjumping, dressage, eventing. That sort of thing.
Aviron – rowing.
Voile – sailing
Haltérophilie – weightlifting.
Lutte – wrestling. We’re talking proper, Olympic wrestling, here, not that WWE stuff, which, in French, is known as catch. Seriously.
Athlétisme – Athletics. The running – very quickly – round the track bit of the Olympics. Sometimes occasionally avoiding the sauteurs en hauteur (high jumpers), or the lancers du javelot (javelin throwers).
Piste de course – the track, where all that very fast running takes place.
Record mondial – a world record. What fans want to see.
Faux départ – False start. The bane of sprinters everywhere – but especially heart-breaking for athletes at the Olympics, for whom four years of preparation are ended by premature fast-twitch muscles.
In the crowds
ALLLLLEEEEEEZZZZZZ! – More of a two-syllable roar that’s really all you can yell when the three leading runners hit the final bend of the 1500m final. Expert fans can hold an Allllllleeeeeeezzzzzz for longer than it takes 100m athletes to run their races – and the really good ones can do the 200m, too. Do not believe anyone who claims they’ve held one for a full 400m, however, unless they’re an opera singer.
Allez, putain – the slightly more X-rated version of ‘Allllllleeeeeeezzzzzz’, for when things get really tense … for example, when someone’s really chasing down your rapidly tiring favoured runner in the closing 50m of the 1500m.
Ouiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii – another useful yell-sound. This extended barbaric yawp (kudos, Walt Whitman) of a French ‘yes’ is perfect for when your preferred athlete qualifies / wins a medal. Tough to do after an extended Allllllleeeeeeezzzzzz, though.
Incroyable – Basically, anything Simone Biles does in the gymnastics events. See also extraordinaire.
Ola – a Mexican wave. A crowd celebration thing that absolutely will happen at Stade de France and other venues and that fun-sponges detest. Ignore them, and join in.
Ooooh là là là là la là – Something good / bad is happening or has just happened. Intonation is everything. Pay attention to how your friendly neighbourhood French TV commentator uses this. Take notice if you hear an excited upnote. Put your head in your hands, if you here a low, downbeat tone (usually, if something has gone wrong for a French athlete).
Oof – the involuntary sound commentators make just before describing something Simone Biles has just done as incroyable.
Na na na na na naa-na na na na na na – not French as such, but the 90s dance hit Freed from Desire is regularly sung at sporting events, so you’re likely to hear its infuriatingly catchy refrain at least once. We have proof – it has already cursed the rugby sevens. As has Sweet Caroline, come to that…
Round and about
Even the most dedicated sports fan can’t be at every event all the time. So, here are some general phrases that may be useful when you’re round and about.
In good news, many Parisians do speak at least some English, especially in tourist areas. Meanwhile the Games volunteers are recruited from around the world and speak a good variety of languages.
Bonjour – hello. Even if you speak no French at all this is a good one to learn. It’s considered polite in France to begin every interaction with a greeting, so even if you’re just asking someone whether they speak English, beginning with a bonjour will go a long way
Une bière, s’il vous plaît – you won’t be able to get an alcoholic beverage at any of the venues during the Olympics. But it’s not as if there are no bars around. This is how you ask for a beer, you can also request une bière sans alcool if you want alcohol-free beer
Quelle est la direction à prendre pour …. – Which way to [venue]. You could also say the rather more simple où est, or ou se trouve, which means where is, or where will I find. Crucially, never forget to add s’il vous plaît at the end of your question. Or merci when you’ve got your answer.
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