faire la vaisselle
/fɛʁ la vɛ.sɛl/
To do the dishes in French is faire la vaisselle.
While faire la vaisselle is the most common way to express this, you can also use laver la vaisselle if you want to specifically emphasize the act of washing.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of the verb faire (to do/make) and the noun la vaisselle (the dishes/the dishware).
How does it change in a sentence?
The noun vaisselle is a feminine singular mass noun in French. Because of this, it is used with the singular article la even when you are referring to multiple items like plates and cutlery.
How do you pronounce it?
/fɛʁ la vɛ.sɛl/
Did you know?
- In a professional French kitchen, the person responsible for faire la vaisselle is called le plongeur. This comes from la plonge, meaning the deep sink where dishes are submerged.
- While you might think of 'vessel' as a large ship in English, the French vaisselle shares the same linguistic ancestor, tracing back to the Latin 'vas' used for much smaller containers.
- The word vaisselle originally referred to a set of vessels. In a historical or formal context, it can still refer to the entire collection of tableware used for a meal, not just the dirty items needing washing.
Examples in context
- C'était le tour de Gabriel de faire la vaisselle.It was Gabriel's turn to do the dishes.This sentence shows how to describe whose turn it is to faire la vaisselle.Tatoeba #11757044 by Amastan, translation #11754719 by Amastan
- J'ai très mal au dos aujourd'hui, peux-tu faire la vaisselle ?My back is killing me today, can you do the dishes?This sentence is useful for asking someone to faire la vaisselle because of a physical ailment.Tatoeba #14054365 by Rovo, translation #14050971 by rul
- Veuillez faire la vaisselle.Please do the dishes.This sentence shows how to use faire la vaisselle in a polite request.Tatoeba #12853951 by menaud, translation #6583357 by Eccles17
- Pouvez-vous faire la vaisselle, s'il vous plaît?Can you do the dishes, please?
- Tu peux faire la plonge ce soir?Can you do the dishes tonight?
- J'ai préparé le dîner, tu peux laver la vaisselle?I cooked dinner, can you wash the dishes?
- 4 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Léa and Nathan are in the kitchen after dinner.
- LéaEst-ce que tu peux faire la vaisselle ?Can you do the dishes?
- NathanOui, je vais faire la vaisselle tout de suite.Yes, I will do the dishes right away.
- LéaMerci, Nathan, c'est très gentil.Thank you, Nathan, that is very kind.
- NathanDe rien, Léa, ce n'est rien.You're welcome, Léa, it's nothing.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry faire la vaisselle, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries faire, la, vaisselle, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
