faire du vélo
Biking in French is faire du vélo.
The phrase faire du vélo describes the activity of riding a bicycle, whether for transport or exercise. If you are referring specifically to the sport of cycling, the noun le cyclisme is used.
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase faire du vélo uses the partitive article du, which is a contraction of de + le. This article remains constant regardless of whether the activity is discussed in a general sense or as a singular activity.
Did you know?
- French users of faire du vélo might use the word pédaler when they want to emphasize the physical act of pedaling or to metaphorically mean 'struggling to keep up'.
- Unlike English, which uses 'to ride' for bikes, French uses faire (to do/make), treating biking as an activity one 'does'.
- The word vélo is actually a shortened version of the much longer and now obsolete word vélocipède.
Examples in context
- Je préfère faire du vélo.I prefer biking.This sentence shows a personal preference using faire du vélo.Tatoeba #4678705 by sacredceltic, translation #1123575 by CK
- J'aime faire du vélo et les concerts de hard rock.I love biking and hard rock concerts.This sentence combines the activity of faire du vélo with another interest.Tatoeba #8313773 by Julien_PDC, translation #35538 by CK
- Hier nous sommes allés faire du vélo dans les bois.Yesterday we were biking in the woods.This sentence uses faire du vélo to describe a past activity in the woods.Tatoeba #1593557 by RoiOfTheSuisse, translation #872840 by Jesse
- J'adore faire du vélo dans la campagne française.I love biking in the French countryside.
- Pédaler me permet de me détendre après une longue journée.Biking allows me to relax after a long day.
- Nous pédalons ensemble tous les dimanches.We bike together every Sunday.
Example conversation
Lucas and Léa are planning their weekend activities.
- LucasTu veux faire du vélo demain ?Do you want to go biking tomorrow?
- LéaOui, c'est une excellente idée.Yes, that is an excellent idea.
- LucasOn peut faire du vélo près de la rivière.We can go biking near the river.
- LéaParfait, j'adore ce parcours.Perfect, I love that route.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries du, faire, vélo, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
