faire le trajet
To commute in French is to say faire le trajet.
The phrase is used to describe the act of regularly traveling to and from a destination such as work or school. To specify that the commute is specifically between home and work, speakers often add domicile-travail to the expression, resulting in faire le trajet domicile-travail.
Meaning: to regularly travel to and from work, school etc. (verb)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase faire le trajet literally means 'to do the journey' or 'to make the trip'. It is composed of the verb faire and the noun trajet, which means journey, trip or route.
Which one should you use?
While English often uses 'commute' as a single verb, in French you typically use the noun trajet within the verbal expression faire le trajet.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
If you are talking about multiple different trips or routes, you change the singular le trajet to the plural les trajets, forming faire les trajets.
Did you know?
- While English uses 'commute' for any regular travel, a French speaker might use pendulaire to describe a person who commutes, likening them to a pendulum swinging daily between two points.
- While faire le trajet describes the act of commuting, French speakers often use the noun navette to describe a commute, as it literally means 'shuttle'. This is used both for the vehicle and the back-and-forth movement of the person.
- The word trajet shares an ancestor with the English word 'transfix', which means to pierce through something with a sharp object.
Examples in context
- Chaque matin, je fais le trajet domicile-travail en prenant le métro.Every morning, I commute by taking the subway.
- Je vais au taf en vélo tous les matins.I go to work by bike every morning.
- J'y vais à pied tous les matins, c'est plus rapide.I walk there every morning, it's faster.
- Je me déplace quotidiennement en voiture.I commute daily by car.
- Je vais au boulot en bus.I go to work by bus.
- Je dois faire le trajet tous les matins.I have to commute every morning.
- Elle aime faire le trajet en train.She likes to commute by train.
Example conversation
Two colleagues are talking about their morning travel.
- LucasC'est long pour toi de faire le trajet ?Is it a long commute for you?
- ChloéOui, je mets une heure pour arriver ici.Yes, it takes me an hour to get here.
- LucasMoi, je préfère faire le trajet à vélo.Me, I prefer to commute by bike.
- ChloéC'est beaucoup plus rapide et agréable.That is much faster and more pleasant.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries faire, le, trajet, CC BY-SA 4.0.
