Level A2 (Upper Beginner)
Did you know the French word la balle can mean a small ball, a bullet, and even a slang term for money? This lesson will clarify its various meanings and help you use it in different contexts, from sports to everyday expressions.
Meaning
Pronunciation with IPA
Example sentences
Related expressions
Meaning
The French noun la balle has multiple meanings:
- Ball: It refers to a small-sized ball, such as a tennis ball or baseball, distinguishing it from larger balls like a basketball (ballon).
- Bullet: It is also used to mean a bullet for a firearm.
- Buck (slang): Informally, “une balle” can mean a “buck” (as in, a dollar or unit of currency).
Additionally, “balle” features in many common French expressions (see below).
Pronunciation
Example sentences
For this first sentence, the l’ is a shortening of la, which is a direct object pronoun meaning “it”.
Mon ami jette la balle et je l’attrape.
My friend throws the ball and I catch it.
For this second sentence, two other words for gun are un flingue (slang) and un fusil (rifle; the final -l is silent).
Monsieur Bouchard achète des balles pour son pistolet.
Mr. Bouchard is buying bullets for his gun.
For this sentence, balle means “bucks” euros or dollars. The verb filer is slang for prêter (to lend). Pourrais-tu is the conditional form of pouvoir (can, to be able). Pourrais-tu (could you) is a more polite form of peux-tu (can you).
Jean-Luc, pourrais-tu me filer cinq balles, s’il te plaît ?
Jean-Luc, could you lend me five bucks, please?
Expressions with balle
- Se renvoyer la balle – to blame each other
- C’est de la balle – to be cool, awesome, to rock
- Enfant de la balle – to be a child of a family in show business
- La balle est dans ton camp – the ball is in your court
- Prendre (or saisir) la balle au bond – to take the ball and run with it
Related lessons
Reference
