Pouvons-nous faire l'amour
The English phrase "can we make love" is translated into French as Pouvons-nous faire l'amour.
The phrase is used to request sexual intercourse with a partner. The expression faire l'amour is the standard way to express this romantic and physical act, which distinguishes it from the more clinical or formal term avoir un rapport sexuel. If you wish to express desire more directly, you might say J'ai envie de toi, which means "I want you".
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase faire l'amour literally translates to "to do the love".
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
There are several ways to phrase this depending on the setting. Pourrions-nous faire l'amour, s'il vous plaît? is a formal version meaning "Could we make love, please?" In common spoken French, the informal version Est-ce qu'on peut faire l'amour? or the even more casual On peut faire l'amour? is used. While Pouvons-nous faire l'amour is the standard, using On peut instead of Pouvons-nous is a more common, informal way to phrase the request in spoken French.
How does it change in a sentence?
In the formal question form Pouvons-nous faire l'amour, the subject nous is placed after the verb pouvons via inversion.
Did you know?
- The French word amour is a masculine noun, but in poetic or very old literature, it is sometimes used as a feminine noun for stylistic effect.
- The word faire in the phrase is a descendant of the Latin 'facere', which is the same ancestor that gave English the word 'fact'.
- Using the formal inversion in Pouvons-nous faire l'amour can make a request feel strangely 'literary' or 'stiff', potentially sounding more like a line from a scripted movie than a natural, intimate moment.
Examples in context
- Pourrions-nous faire l'amour, mon amour?Could we make love, my love?
Example conversation
A couple is relaxing in bed together.
- ManonHugo, pouvons-nous faire l'amour ?Hugo, can we make love?
- HugoOui, Manon, je le veux aussi.Yes, Manon, I want to as well.
- ManonC'est merveilleux.That is wonderful.
- HugoJe t'aime très fort.I love you very much.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries faire, CC BY-SA 4.0.
