Published November 13, 2025 • Updated April 1, 2026 — Lesson written by French teacher David Issokson for students who want to learn French online, with native audio by Marie Assel Cambier, a voice artist from France.
📘 Faire meaning
Faire is one of the most common French verbs and means “to do” or “to make.” It is used for everyday actions, chores, activities, weather expressions, and many common phrases. You’ll often see it in patterns like faire quelque chose (to do something) and faire + infinitive (to have something done). Examples: Je fais un gâteau (I’m making a cake), elle fait ses devoirs (she’s doing her homework), il fait beau (the weather is nice), and nous faisons réparer la porte (we’re having the door fixed). 🔊 Listen to examples.
🎧 Faire pronunciation
The pronunciation of faire is /fɛʀ/, which sounds like “fehr”.
📝 Faire examples
1. Faire = to do / to make
➜ Use faire for actions, chores, and things you create.
Je fais la cuisine tous les soirs.
I cook every evening.
Tu fais trop de bruit.
You’re making too much noise.
Qu’est-ce que tu veux faire demain?
What do you want to do tomorrow?
2. Weather
➜ With il fait, you can talk about the weather — just like English uses “to be.”
Il fait beau aujourd’hui.
It’s nice out today.
Il fait 25 degrés à Paris aujourd’hui.
It’s 25 degrees in Paris today.
Il faisait très froid pendant le voyage.
It was very cold during the trip.
3. Sports and activities
➜ Use faire de + activity to talk about hobbies and sports.
Je fais du vélo le week-end.
I go biking on weekends.
Nous faisons de la randonnée en montagne.
We go hiking in the mountains.
4. Faire + infinitive = to have / make (someone) do something
➜ This is the causative construction — a key intermediate structure.
Je fais réparer ma voiture demain.
I’m having my car repaired tomorrow.
Il m’a fait rire toute la soirée.
He made me laugh all evening.
5. Math
➜ This is an example of one of many faire expressions.
Deux et deux font quatre.
Two plus two equals four.
👉 See also: Faire conjugation chart (with audio) »
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🔗 Related words and expressions
There are many useful French expressions that use faire, but these are the most common and essential ones to learn first.
- faire exprès — to do on purpose
- faire semblant – to pretend
- faire attention – to pay attention
- faire face à – to face
- faire la tête — to sulk
- faire la cuisine — to cook
- faire la vaisselle — to do the dishes
- faire les courses — to go grocery shopping
📚 Related lessons
👉 Faire conjugation charts »
👉 Faire expressions »
🚀 Discover more on FrenchLearner
👉 Verb conjugations hub »
👉 French Word of the Day »
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