faire
/fɛʁ/
The English verb "do" is translated into French as faire.
faire is the most commonly used verb to convey the meaning of "do" in French. It is also used to express performing an activity or playing a sport when used with partitive articles, such as faire du/de la/de l'.
Meaning: perform tasks (verb)
How does it change in a sentence?
In the present indicative tense, the third-person singular form of faire is fait (does/makes) and the first-person plural form is faisons (do/make we).
How do you pronounce it?
/fɛʁ/
Did you know?
- French speakers use faire to describe a person's physical appearance or size. For instance, faire 1m80 means 'to be 1.80 meters tall'.
- The phrase faire dodo is a common childish way to say 'go to sleep'. It uses the verb faire combined with a reduplicated baby-talk word.
- The Latin ancestor of faire, the verb 'facere', is a distant relative of the English word 'factory', which is a place where things are made or done.
Examples in context
- Il va le faire.He will do it.This sentence shows the use of faire to indicate a future action.Tatoeba #4069639 by Amastan, translation #2861804 by Amastan
- Tu vas le faire.You'll do it.This sentence shows the use of faire in the second person.Tatoeba #4069637 by Amastan, translation #2255353 by CK
- Je peux le faire.I can do it.This sentence shows the use of faire to express ability.Tatoeba #998651 by sacredceltic, translation #254742 by CK
- Je fais mes devoirs.I do my homework.
- Il fait du sport.He does sports.
- Elle fait la cuisine.She does the cooking.
- Nous avons réalisé un projet.We have completed a project.
- Elles réalisent une tâche importante.They are doing an important task.
- J'effectue les vérifications nécessaires.I perform the necessary checks.
- Il a effectué son travail avec diligence.He did his job diligently.
- On va bidouiller un peu pour réparer ça.Let's do some tinkering to fix this.
- Je me débrouille en cuisine.I can manage in the kitchen.
- Ils se débrouillent toujours pour trouver une solution.They always manage to find a solution.
- 6120 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Chloé and Gabriel are discussing their chores at home.
- ChloéGabriel, tu peux faire la vaisselle ?Gabriel, can you do the dishes?
- GabrielJe ne peux pas le faire maintenant.I cannot do it right now.
- ChloéMais je dois faire le ménage tout de suite.But I have to do the cleaning right away.
- GabrielD'accord, je vais le faire après.Okay, I will do it after.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry faire, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries faire, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
