La Plage et la Mer — French beach vocabulary | Vocabulary
On this page
🖨️ Print-friendly: use Ctrl+P (⌘P) or your browser menu to print this chart cleanly.
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 🏖️
Les activités 🏊
Les affaires 🕶️
🎬 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
🔊 Example sentences
✍️ Practice
to sunbathe = ___ (in the sun)
Show answer
bronzer
a swimsuit = un ___ de bain (for swimming)
Show answer
maillot
sunscreen = la crème ___ (protection)
Show answer
solaire
🎮 Practise this with games
🎯 More practice — vocabulary recall — both directions
How do you say « the beach »? (recall)
Show answer
la plage
What does « le sable » mean? (recall)
Show answer
sand
How do you say « a seashell »? (recall)
Show answer
un coquillage
What does « une île » mean? (recall)
Show answer
an island
How do you say « to swim / bathe »? (recall)
Show answer
nager / se baigner
What does « plonger » mean? (recall)
Show answer
to dive
How do you say « to walk »? (recall)
Show answer
se promener
What does « faire du surf » mean? (recall)
Show answer
to surf
Go further: Fêtes & traditions — the French calendar.
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.
🎮 Practise this lesson
Games built from this exact page — turn what you just read into play: