Level: A1-A2 (Beginner)
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.
The French Word of the Day is faire, meaning “to do” and “to make,” one of the most important and versatile verbs in the French language. In this lesson, you’ll learn five key ways to use faire naturally in everyday French conversation and see how it appears in useful expressions.
✅ Meaning
✅ Pronunciation
✅ Example sentences
✅ Related Words & Expressions
✅ Related lessons
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📘 Faire meaning
Faire is an essential French verb and means “to do” and “to make”. It’s used for everyday actions, chores, activities, and many common expressions. You’ll also see it in everyday patterns like “faire quelque chose” (to do something) or “faire faire quelque chose” (to have something done). For example, je fais un gâteau (I’m making a cake), elle fait ses devoirs (she’s doing her homework), and nous faisons réparer la porte (we’re having the door fixed).
🎧 How to pronounce faire in French
The pronunciation of faire is /fɛʀ/, which sounds like “fehr”.
📝 Faire example sentences & usages
1️⃣ 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?
2️⃣ 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.
3️⃣ 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.
4️⃣ 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.
5️⃣ Math
➜ This is an example of one of many faire expressions.
Deux et deux font quatre.
Two plus two equals four.
👉 Want another essential verb? Check out avoir (to have) — a top-10 verb packed with useful expressions you’ll hear all the time.
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📊 Faire conjugation
Here’s the basic faire conjugation in the present tense. Note that because faire means both “to do” and “to make,” je fais can also translate to “I make” or “I’m making.”
- Je fais — I do / I’m doing
- Tu fais — You do / You’re doing (informal)
- Il / Elle fait — He / She does / is doing
- Nous faisons — We do / We’re doing
- Vous faites — You do / You’re doing (formal/plural)
- Ils / Elles font — They do / They’re doing
👉 See also: Faire conjugation in French (updated with audio) »
🔗 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 la cuisine — to cook
- faire la vaisselle — to do the dishes
- faire les courses — to go grocery shopping
- faire la queue — to wait in line
- faire du sport — to play sports / exercise
- faire attention — to pay attention
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