French Expressions With Faire: 20 Essential Phrases

French expressions with faire /fɛʁ/ are essential because faire can mean far more than “to do” or “to make.” You use it to say “pay attention,” “be afraid,” “trust someone,” “take a walk,” “do the weather,” and dozens of other everyday ideas. The fastest way to master it is to learn each expression as a complete chunk, not to translate faire /fɛʁ/ by itself.

French has an estimated 321 million speakers across five continents, according to the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie. In everyday French across that enormous speech community, faire /fɛʁ/ is one of the verbs learners hear constantly, in conversations, films, weather reports, and family life.

If you already know how to say hello in French, these expressions will help you move past greetings and understand the practical language that follows.

Why faire has so many meanings

The dictionary definition of faire /fɛʁ/ begins with broad ideas such as creating, producing, acting, and causing. The Académie française and CNRTL dictionary entries both show how many constructions this one verb supports.

That flexibility explains why direct translation causes trouble. English says “take a shower,” while French says faire une douche /fɛʁ yn duʃ/ only in limited regional usage and more naturally says prendre une douche /pʁɑ̃dʁ yn duʃ/. English says “make a decision,” but French says prendre une décision /pʁɑ̃dʁ yn desizjɔ̃/.

With faire /fɛʁ/, learn the noun, adjective, or infinitive that follows it as part of a set phrase. Maurice Grevisse and André Goosse’s Le Bon Usage treats these verb constructions as central to accurate French usage, not as minor vocabulary exceptions.

The core grammar of faire

Before learning expressions, know the most common present-tense forms. The spelling and pronunciation change enough that memorization is worth your time.

The forms fais /fɛ/ and fait /fɛ/ sound identical. The form font /fɔ̃/ sounds different, with a nasal vowel.

In the past tense, use avoir /avwaʁ/ plus fait /fɛ/. For example, J'ai fait mes devoirs /ʒe fɛ me dəvwaʁ/ means “I did my homework.”

Everyday expressions with faire

Faire attention

Faire attention /fɛʁ atɑ̃sjɔ̃/ means “to pay attention” or “to be careful.” Context decides whether you are concentrating or avoiding danger.

Say Fais attention au chien /fɛ atɑ̃sjɔ̃ o ʃjɛ̃/ for “Watch out for the dog.” The contraction au /o/ combines à /a/ and le /lə/.

Faire confiance

Faire confiance à quelqu'un /fɛʁ kɔ̃fjɑ̃s a kɛlkœ̃/ means “to trust someone.” It is a meaningful phrase in personal, professional, and romantic contexts.

Je te fais confiance /ʒə tə fɛ kɔ̃fjɑ̃s/ means “I trust you.” The pronoun te /tə/ comes before the verb, while the person after the full phrase uses à /a/.

For affectionate vocabulary that often appears around this phrase, see our guide to saying I love you in French.

Faire peur

Faire peur à quelqu'un /fɛʁ pœʁ a kɛlkœ̃/ means “to scare someone” or “to frighten someone.” The subject is what causes fear.

Ce film me fait peur /sə film mə fɛ pœʁ/ means “This film scares me.” Literally, “This film makes fear to me.”

Do not confuse it with avoir peur /avwaʁ pœʁ/, “to be afraid.” In J'ai peur des araignées /ʒe pœʁ de zaʁɛɲe/, you are the person experiencing fear.

Faire les courses

Faire les courses /fɛʁ le kuʁs/ means “to do the grocery shopping” or “to run errands.” Although course /kuʁs/ can mean a race in other contexts, the plural expression refers to ordinary shopping.

Je fais les courses après le travail /ʒə fɛ le kuʁs apʁɛ lə tʁavaj/ means “I do the shopping after work.” You may also hear faire les commissions /fɛʁ le kɔmisjɔ̃/ in Québec.

Faire la cuisine

Faire la cuisine /fɛʁ la kɥizin/ means “to cook.” It can describe preparing a full meal, rather than merely heating food.

Mon père fait la cuisine ce soir /mɔ̃ pɛʁ fɛ la kɥizin sə swaʁ/ means “My father is cooking tonight.” At a restaurant, you need different phrases, covered in our guide to ordering food in French.

Faire le ménage

Faire le ménage /fɛʁ lə menaʒ/ means “to clean the house” or “to do housework.” The noun ménage /menaʒ/ historically relates to household management.

On fait le ménage samedi matin /ɔ̃ fɛ lə menaʒ samdi matɛ̃/ means “We clean the house on Saturday morning.”

Activities and daily life

Faire une promenade

Faire une promenade /fɛʁ yn pʁɔmnad/ means “to take a walk.” It often suggests a relaxed, pleasant walk, perhaps in a park or along the seafront.

Nous faisons une promenade après dîner /nu fəzɔ̃ yn pʁɔmnad apʁɛ dine/ means “We take a walk after dinner.” For a more athletic activity, use faire une randonnée /fɛʁ yn ʁɑ̃dɔne/, “to go hiking.”

Faire du sport

Faire du sport /fɛʁ dy spɔʁ/ means “to play sports” or “to do sport.” French uses faire /fɛʁ/ for many physical activities.

Examples include faire du yoga /fɛʁ dy jɔga/, faire de la natation /fɛʁ də la nasasjɔ̃/, and faire du vélo /fɛʁ dy velo/. The article changes with the noun: du /dy/ for masculine nouns and de la /də la/ for feminine nouns.

Faire la fête

Faire la fête /fɛʁ la fɛt/ means “to party” or “to celebrate enthusiastically.” It is informal, lively, and common among friends.

Ils ont fait la fête toute la nuit /il zɔ̃ fɛ la fɛt tut la nɥi/ means “They partied all night.” Use it carefully in professional contexts, where it can imply a late night and poor judgment.

Faire la grasse matinée

Faire la grasse matinée /fɛʁ la ɡʁas matine/ means “to sleep in.” Despite the literal image of a “fat morning,” it has nothing to do with body size.

Le dimanche, je fais la grasse matinée /lə dimɑ̃ʃ ʒə fɛ la ɡʁas matine/ means “On Sundays, I sleep in.” This is a particularly useful phrase when talking about weekends and routines.

Causing an effect with faire

One of the most powerful uses of faire /fɛʁ/ is expressing causation. It often means “to make someone do something” or “to cause something to happen.”

Faire rire

Faire rire /fɛʁ ʁiʁ/ means “to make someone laugh.” The person who laughs can appear after the verb.

Cette vidéo me fait rire /sɛt video mə fɛ ʁiʁ/ means “This video makes me laugh.” It is a warm, common compliment for a funny person or clip.

Faire plaisir

Faire plaisir à quelqu'un /fɛʁ pleziʁ a kɛlkœ̃/ means “to make someone happy” or “to please someone.” It frequently appears as a polite response.

Ça me fait plaisir /sa mə fɛ pleziʁ/ can mean “My pleasure,” “I’m happy to,” or “That makes me happy,” depending on context. It is more personal than de rien /də ʁjɛ̃/, a standard response to thanks.

Faire mal

Faire mal /fɛʁ mal/ means “to hurt” or “to cause pain.” You can use it for physical pain and emotional pain.

J'ai mal à la tête /ʒe mal a la tɛt/ means “I have a headache,” but Ma tête me fait mal /ma tɛt mə fɛ mal/ means “My head hurts.” The structure feels reversed for English speakers: the body part is the grammatical subject.

Faire tomber

Faire tomber /fɛʁ tɔ̃be/ means “to make fall” or “to drop.” It is the causative version of tomber /tɔ̃be/, “to fall.”

Tu as fait tomber ton téléphone /ty a fɛ tɔ̃be tɔ̃ telefɔn/ means “You dropped your phone.” The expression does not necessarily imply intention.

Weather expressions with faire

French uses faire /fɛʁ/ for general weather conditions. This is one of the first places learners meet a meaning that has little connection to English “do” or “make.”

Il fait chaud aujourd'hui /il fɛ ʃo oʒuʁdɥi/ means “It is hot today.” Do not say il est chaud /il ɛ ʃo/ for weather, because that describes a person or object as hot.

Expressions that learners often confuse

Faire une erreur

Faire une erreur /fɛʁ yn ɛʁœʁ/ means “to make a mistake.” It is correct and neutral.

J'ai fait une erreur /ʒe fɛ yn ɛʁœʁ/ means “I made a mistake.” In casual speech, you may also hear J'ai fait une faute /ʒe fɛ yn fot/, especially for a mistake in writing, grammar, or sport.

Faire semblant

Faire semblant /fɛʁ sɑ̃blɑ̃/ means “to pretend.” It is usually followed by de /də/ and an infinitive.

Il fait semblant de dormir /il fɛ sɑ̃blɑ̃ də dɔʁmiʁ/ means “He is pretending to sleep.” The expression can sound playful, suspicious, or critical depending on tone.

Faire un effort

Faire un effort /fɛʁ œ̃n‿efɔʁ/ means “to make an effort.” It can be supportive, but it can also sound impatient when directed at someone.

Fais un effort, s'il te plaît /fɛ zœ̃n‿efɔʁ sil tə plɛ/ means “Make an effort, please.” In a classroom or workplace, this can imply that the listener is not trying hard enough.

How to remember French expressions with faire

Group expressions by situation instead of alphabetically. Put faire les courses /fɛʁ le kuʁs/, faire la cuisine /fɛʁ la kɥizin/, and faire le ménage /fɛʁ lə menaʒ/ together as home-life language.

Then learn cause-and-effect pairs: faire peur /fɛʁ pœʁ/ alongside avoir peur /avwaʁ pœʁ/, or faire plaisir /fɛʁ pleziʁ/ alongside être content /ɛtʁə kɔ̃tɑ̃/. Hearing these phrases in scenes makes their emotional tone easier to remember than isolated flashcards.

French films and series are especially good for faire /fɛʁ/ because it appears in short, repeated exchanges: warnings, complaints, invitations, and weather comments. Pair clip-based listening with the rules in our French pronunciation guide so that familiar expressions become easy to recognize at natural speed.

Finally, make your own short sentences. Say Je fais attention /ʒə fɛ atɑ̃sjɔ̃/, Je fais du sport /ʒə fɛ dy spɔʁ/, or Ça me fait plaisir /sa mə fɛ pleziʁ/ aloud. Repeated, personal sentences turn faire /fɛʁ/ from an irregular verb list into language you can actually use.