To talk about the activities we do and our leisure time, we use two verbs in French: faire et jouer.

Today, we will see the difference between these two verbs: Faire ou jouer ?

When to use "Faire" and "Jouer" when we speak about leisure activities in French. Let's see, that right now.

 

Jouer (To play) :

The verb "Jouer" is used to designate several types of activities in French. The verb "jouer" can be used with the preposition "Ă " or "de":
 

Jouer Ă  + team sports :

We will use "jouer Ă " to talk about team sports : Jouer Ă  + team sports

Je joue au football. âšœïž  (note that "au" is the contraction of "Ă " + "le) = I play soccer. âšœïž

Tu joues au hockey. 🏑 = You play field hockey. 🏑

Il joue au tennis. đŸŽŸ = He plays tennis. đŸŽŸ

Nous jouons au golf. đŸŒïž = We are play golf. đŸŒïž

Vous jouez Ă  la pĂ©tanque. = You play petanque. 

Ils jouent au badminton. 🏾  = They play badminton. 🏾

 

Jouer Ă  + games :

We will also use "jouer Ă " to talk about games: Jouer Ă  + games

Je joue Ă  la console. 🎼. = I play video game console. 🎼

Tu joues au poker. ♦ = You play poker. ♦

Elle joue Ă  un jeu de sociĂ©tĂ©. đŸŽČ  = She plays a board game. đŸŽČ

Nous jouons Ă  123 soleil. ☀ = We play 123 sun. ☀

Vous jouez aux Ă©checs. ♟ = You play chess. ♟

Elles jouent aux flĂ©chettes. 🎯 = They play darts. 🎯

 

Jouer de + musical instruments :

And we will use "jouer de" to talk about musical instruments: Jouer de + musical instruments

Je joue de la guitare. 🎾 = I play the guitar. 🎾

Tu joues du piano. đŸŽč  (note that "du" is a contraction of "de" + "le"). = You play the piano. đŸŽč

Il joue de la batterie. đŸ„ = He plays the drums. đŸ„

Nous jouons de la trompette. đŸŽș = We play the trumpet. đŸŽș

Vous jouez de la harpe. = You play the harp. 

Ils jouent du saxophone. đŸŽ· = They play the saxophone. đŸŽ·

 

Faire (To do) :

"Faire" is also used to refer to several activities in French. When talking about sports and leisure, it's always used with the preposition "de".
 

Faire de + all sports :

We will use the verb "Faire de" to talk about team sports and also individual sports: Faire de + all sports

Je fais de la musculation. đŸ‹ïž‍♀  =  I work out. đŸ‹ïž‍♀

Tu fais de l’escrime. đŸ€ș = You do fencing. đŸ€ș

Elle fait du volley. đŸ  = She does volleyball. đŸ

Nous faisons du ping-pong. đŸ“. = We are doing ping pong. đŸ“

Vous faites du basketball. đŸ€ = You play basketball. đŸ€

Elles font du cyclisme. đŸšŽ = They do cycling. đŸšŽ

 

Faire de + musical instruments :

We will use the verb "Faire" to talk about musical instruments: Faire de + musical instruments 

Je fais du violon. đŸŽ» = I play the violin. đŸŽ»

Tu fais de la basse. đŸŽž = You play bass. đŸŽž

Il fait de la flĂ»te. = He does the flute. 

Nous faisons de la guitare. đŸŽž = We do guitar. đŸŽž

Vous faites du triangle. â–ł = You do the triangle. â–ł

Ils font du piano. đŸŽč  = They play the piano. đŸŽč 

 

Faire ou jouer ? Test your knowledge: