The French Open – les Championnats Internationaux de France de Tennis – is an annual event which takes place at the Stade Roland-Garros in Paris. Since this is the only one of the four most prestigious tournaments in tennis, which is held in a country where English is not the official language, we thought we’d take a closer look at some essential tennis terms in French.

So, if you “let” us, we’d “love” to “serve” you up this “set” of fascinating discoveries! Of course, etymology is sometimes not an exact science in that some word origins are not 100% clear. 

However, we’ve done our best to investigate the words below and we’re excited to share our findings, donc c’est parti!

1. Tennis

Let’s start with the name for “the sport of kings”. Back in 13th century France, a version of what would later become modern tennis was played in which players would hit the ball with the palm of their hand. 

This game was called jeu de paume in French. In this game, before hitting a shot across to their opponent, it is thought that players would shout tenez (from the verb tenir, meaning “to hold”), to let them know the point was about to be played. Over the years, tenez evolved into tennis, giving the sport its name.

2. Let 

Now, let’s look at the first one of the essential tennis terms: let. This is always an exciting moment in the sport. During a player’s serve, when the ball strikes the net and topples over onto the opponent’s side of the court, the player is given the chance to retake their serve. 

This is called a let and, due to the net’s starring role in this shot, let is thought to be a shortened version of the French word for net, filet.

3. Love

Next on the list of essential tennis terms is the term we use when a player has not yet scored any points in a tennis game. In English, we say “love”, but don’t be tempted to use amour, the French equivalent! 

In French, you simply say zéro in this instance. But what is the origin of the word “love” in tennis? Believe it or not, it has something to do with the oval-like shape of the zero. Back when tennis was in its early stages in France, people thought that the zero looked like an egg, or an œuf. 

If we add a definite article, this becomes l’œuf, and this is said to be where “love” comes from in the English scoring system.

4. Deuce

Our final word in the list of essential tennis terms is deuce, which is used when two players have 40 points each. There are a couple of theories as to the origin of the word deuce in French tennis, but one of the most likely is that it is derived from the phrase à deux de jeu, meaning “to be two points away from winning the game”. 

It’s also possible that it came from the Old French word for two – deus – now deux in Modern French. Interestingly, “deuce” is not used in French: instead when the score reaches 40-40 this is called quarante-A.

If one player then gains the advantage by winning the next point but subsequently loses the following point, the score returns to 40-40. From then on “deuce” is referred to as égalité.

Learn more tennis terms

Now you are armed and know the meaning of some very important tennis terms, but if you want to check some more useful terms watch the Walk Talk and Learn episode which Mark filmed during his visit to the Roland Garros tournament:

We hope you’ve enjoyed this quick tour of the fascinating world of tennis terminology in French. Whether you’re a seasoned tennis fan or just getting started, understanding these terms can enhance your appreciation of the game and improve your language skills.

To help you even more, we’ve created a comprehensive Cheat Sheet with all these tennis terms and more. It’s a handy resource you can keep with you to reference anytime. Click the below to download your copy now:

Download the Cheat Sheet

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Did you know that Canadian French is spoken by more than 84% of the population of Quebec, according to data from the 2021 Census of Canada? That is true, and although many Quebecers or Québécois are bilingual in English and French (or speak another language as their mother tongue), more than 7.07 million people still speak French as their first language.

While Quebec City (la Ville de Québec) is the province’s capital, Montreal (Montréal) is its largest city. Behind Paris, Kinshasa (Republic of Congo), and Abidjan (Ivory Coast), Montreal is the fourth-largest French-speaking city in the world. So, when planning a trip to practise your French, why not consider crossing the Atlantic to discover French-speaking Canada? 

If you do, not only will you get the chance to discover the beautiful old town of Quebec and have a taste of some poutine, but you’ll also be greeted by a new accent and many differences in vocabulary from the standard French you may have been learning. Here are four aspects of Canadian French which prove that learning another dialect of a language can be a wonderfully enriching experience!

1. Je prends mon déjeuner à 8 h et mon dîner à 12 h 30

Surprised? Here’s difference number one between French in France and Canadian French:

For the French, their breakfast is le petit déjeuner, lunch is called le déjeuner and dinner is le dîner. French Canadians, however, opt for:

• breakfast le déjeuner
• lunch le dîner
•   dinner le souper

So don’t be confused if you understand someone as saying they have lunch as soon as they get out of bed! Note that these words can also be heard in Belgium and Switzerland.

2. Your boyfriend is your buddy and your girlfriend is your blonde!

You may have learned that mon petit-ami means my boyfriend and ma petite-amie means my girlfriend. However, in Canadian French, your boyfriend is your chum, and your girlfriend is your blonde, regardless of her hair colour!

For example:

• Voici mon nouveau chum. This is my new boyfriend.
• Voici ma nouvelle blonde. This is my new girlfriend.

While the word blonde doesn’t necessarily have derogatory connotations, it is slang and should only be used in informal, conversational contexts.

3. C’est là là !

As you may already know, là can be translated as there and is used in standard French in contexts such as je l’ai trouvé là I found it there. However, in informal, spoken québécois or Canadian French, this two-letter word is found at the end of many sentences, often without a translatable meaning!

It is often used for emphasis or to add more emotion to a statement. For example, if you’re getting frustrated at a person who is looking for something which is right in front of their nose, you might say regarde, c’est là là ! While the first là would explain the position of the object, the second one is almost like a spoken exclamation mark, expressing the speaker’s impatience.

4. Les anglicismes

Finally, in case you’re starting to worry about having to learn a whole new language when travelling to French-speaking Canada, don’t panic – many English words are used too!

In larger cities like Montreal, French and English merge together and influence one another, sometimes referred to as franglais. Some young Québécois will even start a conversation in French ,then suddenly change into English and back into French again within a few sentences.

This means that Canadian French borrows and adapts many words from English.

Here are some of the most common ones (English / standard French / québécois French):

• to check / vérifier / checker
• to direct or “be the boss of” / diriger / bosser
• cute / mignon / cute (English pronunciation)
• anyway / de toute façon / anyway (English pronunciation)
• a joke / une blague / une joke (English pronunciation)

Sometimes, it’s almost easier for English speakers to understand what a québécois person is saying than it is for people who speak standard French!

5. À tantôt

In québecois or Canadian French, the phrase à tantôt is a charming way to say see you later which in standard French would be à tout à l’heure. This sentence is widely used in Quebec as an informal farewell among friends and family.

Interestingly, the use of à tantôt demonstrates how Québecois French often preserves linguistic elements that have fallen out of common usage in France. Historically, tantôt was used more broadly in European French to signify a near-future time. In Quebec, it has endured as part of a living language, reflecting the province’s rich linguistic heritage.

Embracing Canadian French

Of course, the idea of travelling to a place with an unfamiliar accent and new vocabulary that you haven’t learned may seem daunting, but we hope you can see how interesting and fun it can be visiting many different countries where the language you’re learning is spoken.

Have you had any experience travelling to a country where the language you’re learning is spoken with an unfamiliar accent and vocabulary, such as Canadian French? If you would like to hear different French accents in the comfort of your home, check out the blog post we prepared with the best movies for French learners!