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La Plage et la Mer — French beach vocabulary | Vocabulary

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Summer at the seaside — French beach vocab. This French summer at seaside beach vocabulary list gives you 22 essential words — from la plage (the beach) to un seau et une pelle (a bucket and spade) — each with audio and its English translation. Use it to build the French words you need to talk about summer at seaside beach, then test yourself with the games below.

La Plage et la Mer

Summer at the seaside — French beach vocab

Le décor 🏖️

la plagethe beach
la merthe sea
le sablesand
une vaguea wave
un coquillagea seashell
le soleilthe sun
une îlean island
un rochera rock

Les activités 🏊

nager / se baignerto swim / bathe
bronzerto sunbathe
plongerto dive
faire un château de sableto build a sandcastle
se promenerto walk
pêcherto fish
faire du surfto surf
ramasser des coquillagesto collect shells

Les affaires 🕶️

un maillot de baina swimsuit
une serviettea towel
un parasola parasol
la crème solairesunscreen
des lunettes de soleilsunglasses
un seau et une pellea bucket and spade
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🎬 The 20-second version

5 quick questions on « La Plage et la Mer » — guess before the reveal. Practise with the free games → Open this short as a page — transcript included →

📘 A day at the French seaside

  • Nager = to swim (the action); se baigner = to have a swim / go in the water (more casual).
  • Attention au soleil: put on la crème solaire (sunscreen) — « on prend un coup de soleil » = you get sunburnt.
  • La Côte d’Azur (French Riviera), l’Atlantique and la Manche are the big three coasts — very different vibes.
  • Watch the flags: drapeau vert (safe to swim), orange (caution), rouge (no swimming).
  • Beach small talk: « L’eau est bonne ? » (is the water nice?) — the classic seaside question.

🔊 Useful phrases

On va à la plage cet après-midi ?Shall we go to the beach this afternoon?
N’oublie pas la crème solaire !Don’t forget the sunscreen!
L’eau est un peu froide, mais bonne.The water’s a bit cold, but nice.
Les enfants font un château de sable.The children are building a sandcastle.

🔊 Example sentences

Je me baigne, tu viens ?I’m going in the water, are you coming?
Il a pris un coup de soleil sur le dos.He got sunburnt on his back.
On a ramassé plein de coquillages.We collected loads of shells.

✍️ Practice

to sunbathe = ___ (in the sun)

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bronzer

a swimsuit = un ___ de bain (for swimming)

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maillot

sunscreen = la crème ___ (protection)

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solaire

🎮 Practise this with games

🎯 More practice — vocabulary recall — both directions

How do you say « the beach »? (recall)

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la plage

What does « le sable » mean? (recall)

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sand

How do you say « a seashell »? (recall)

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un coquillage

What does « une île » mean? (recall)

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an island

How do you say « to swim / bathe »? (recall)

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nager / se baigner

What does « plonger » mean? (recall)

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to dive

How do you say « to walk »? (recall)

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se promener

What does « faire du surf » mean? (recall)

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to surf

French summer at seaside beach vocabulary — FAQ

How do you say common summer at seaside beach words in French?

For example: the beach is « la plage », the sea is « la mer », sand is « le sable ». The full list above has 22 French summer at seaside beach words, each with audio so you can hear the pronunciation.

What are the most useful French summer at seaside beach words to learn first?

Start with the basics: la plage (the beach), la mer (the sea), le sable (sand), une vague (a wave), un coquillage (a seashell), le soleil (the sun). Master these core French words before moving on to the rest of the list.

How can I memorise French summer at seaside beach vocabulary?

Learn the words in small themed groups, say each one out loud with the audio, and use it in a short sentence about your own life. Spaced repetition is what makes new vocabulary stick — see our guide to learning French vocabulary that sticks.

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