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.

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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 "à" or "de":
 

Jouer à + team sports :

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

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

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

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

Nous jouons au golf. 🏌️ = We are play golf. 🏌️

Vous jouez à la pétanque. = You play petanque. 

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

 

Jouer à + games :

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

Je joue à la console. 🎮. = I play video game console. 🎮

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

Elle joue à un jeu de société. 🎲  = She plays a board game. 🎲

Nous jouons à 123 soleil. ☀️ = We play 123 sun. ☀️

Vous jouez aux échecs. ♟ = You play chess. ♟

Elles jouent aux fléchettes. 🎯 = 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. 🎹  (note that "du" is a contraction of "de" + "le"). = You play the piano. 🎹

Il joue de la batterie. 🥁 = He plays the drums. 🥁

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

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

Ils jouent du saxophone. 🎷 = They play the saxophone. 🎷

 

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. 🏋️‍♀️  =  I work out. 🏋️‍♀️

Tu fais de l’escrime. 🤺 = You do fencing. 🤺

Elle fait du volley. 🏐  = She does volleyball. 🏐

Nous faisons du ping-pong. 🏓. = We are doing ping pong. 🏓

Vous faites du basketball. 🏀 = You play basketball. 🏀

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

 

Faire de + musical instruments :

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

Je fais du violon. 🎻 = I play the violin. 🎻

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

Il fait de la flûte. = He does the flute. 

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

Vous faites du triangle. △ = You do the triangle. △

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

 

Faire ou jouer ? Test your knowledge:

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