faire ses valises
To say to pack in French, use faire ses valises. It means putting your clothes and belongings into suitcases for a trip.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase literally means to make one's suitcases, with faire meaning to make or do, ses meaning one's and valises meaning suitcases.
Which one should you use?
If you are packing a backpack or a small bag, say faire son sac. faire ses valises is not used for packing a box or a parcel, where emballer or mettre en carton fit instead. Boucler sa valise is an informal way to say it.
How does it change in a sentence?
The possessive changes with the person packing, as in faire ma valise for packing my own suitcase.
Did you know?
- In French, the phrase faire ses valises can be used figuratively to mean that someone is leaving a job or a relationship permanently, similar to the English 'packing your bags' but often implying a sudden or forced departure.
- While faire ses valises is the standard term, the informal boucler sa valise evokes an era when suitcases had heavy leather straps and buckles rather than zippers.
- The verb faire in faire ses valises shares an ancient ancestor with the English word 'fact', both descending from the Latin 'facere'.
Examples in context
- Je dois faire mes bagages avant de partir en voyageI have to pack before going on a trip
- Il est temps de préparer ma valise pour le voyageIt's time to pack my suitcase
- On part en vacances demain, il faut faire nos valisesWe're going on vacation tomorrow, we must pack our suitcases
- Je dois boucler ma valise rapidementI need to pack my suitcase quickly
- Je me prépare pour partir en vacances, il faut penser à tout mettre dans ma valiseI'm getting ready to leave for vacation, I must think about putting everything in my suitcase
- Elle est en train de faire ses valises.She is packing her suitcases.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries faire, ses, CC BY-SA 4.0.
