How to Talk About Chores in French

Chores are no fun but someone’s got to do them. We spend so much time doing chores, so as French learners we might as well make it more interesting… and informative.

Learn how to talk about different kinds of chores in French, and make language learning a part of your house cleaning routine.

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How to Say Common Chores in French

The standard word for “chores” in French is corvées .

Corvées refers to chores or tasks that are often perceived as routine or obligatory, particularly in relation to household duties. This includes cleaning, cooking and other domestic duties. 

Besides corvées, you can use some more specific terms when you’re talking about chores in French: 

• Tâches ménagères — Household tasks or chores, specifically related to maintaining a clean and organized home.
• Travaux domestiques — Domestic work, referring to various tasks performed within the household, including cleaning, cooking and other routine activities.
• Devoirs quotidiens — Daily duties, emphasizing the regular and routine nature of the tasks involved in maintaining a household.
• Besognes — Errands or chores, indicating tasks that need to be accomplished or responsibilities to be fulfilled.

French Vocabulary for Specific Chores

Doing the Laundry

It’s laundry day! Here are some vocabulary words related to doing the laundry in French: 

French	English
Laver	To wash
Sécher	To dry
Repasser	To iron
Machine à laver	Washing machine
Sèche-linge	Dryer
Corbeille à linge sale	Laundry basket
Étendre	To hang (clothes)
Pinces à linge	Clothespins
Cintre	Hanger
Linge propre	Clean laundry
Trier le linge	To sort the laundry
Cycle de lavage	Wash cycle
Boule de séchage	Dryer ball
Assouplissant	Fabric softener
Lessive	Laundry detergent
Étendoir	Drying rack
Fer à repasser	Iron
Planche à repasser	Ironing board
Plier les vêtements	Fold clothes

Cooking

Cooking is my own personal favorite chore. It’s the only chore that I actually enjoy doing. Fire up the stove and learn how to talk about cooking in French with these common words:

French	English
Cuisiner	To cook
Faire la vaisselle	To do the dishes
Préparer	To prepare
Couper	To chop
Émincer	To slice
Hacher	To mince
Mélanger	To mix
Battre	To beat
Cuire	To bake or cook
Faire bouillir	To boil
Faire mijoter	To simmer
Griller	To grill
Frire	To fry
Éplucher	To peel
Assaisonner	To season
Goûter	To taste
Servir	To serve
Sortir les ingrédients	To take out the ingredients
Vider le lave-vaisselle	To empty the dishwasher
Nourrir les animaux de compagnie	To feed the pets

Cleaning 

Clean up your French with these cleaning-related words:

French	English
Nettoyer*	To clean
Balayer	To sweep
Balai	Broom
Poubelle	Trash can
Passer l'aspirateur	To vacuum
Épousseter / Faire la poussière	To dust
Chiffon	Duster
Passer la serpillière	To mop
Serpillière	Mop
Laver les vitres	To clean the windows
Faire les lits	To make the beds
Changer les draps	To change the sheets
Vider les poubelles	To empty the trash bins
Désinfecter	To disinfect
Organiser	To organize
Récurer	To scrub
Passer le chiffon	To wipe down surfaces
Ranger les affaires*	To tidy up belongings

*English speakers often mix up nettoyer and ranger since tidying is a form of cleaning, but there’s a distinction in French. As this FluentU French YouTube video suggests, think of nettoyer as scrubbing and wiping, while ranger is putting things away.

Outdoor Chores

While chores are typically an indoor activity, some tasks, like the following, have you heading outside:

French	English
Jardiner	To garden
Tondre la pelouse	To mow the lawn
Tondeuse à gazon	Lawn mower
Ratisser les feuilles	To rake the leaves
Arroser les plantes	To water the plants
Désherber	To weed
Planter des fleurs	To plant flowers
Tailler les arbustes	To trim the bushes
Ramasser les débris	To pick up debris
Nettoyer la terrasse	To clean the patio
Vider les gouttières	To clean the gutters

Common Errands

Errands aren’t quite the same as chores. While chores are routine tasks completed in or around the home, errands are typically one-off or less routine tasks that are done outside of the house. They’re pretty similar, though, in that they have to be done even if you don’t always feel like it. 

Here are a few common errands and how to say them in French: 

French	English
Retrait en pharmacie	Pharmacy pickup
Nettoyage à sec	Dry cleaning
Dépôt de recyclage	Recycling drop-off
Faire des courses	To go grocery shopping
Aller à la poste	To go to the post office
Envoyer du courrier	To send mail
Promener le chien	Take the dog for a walk
Entretien de la voiture	Car maintenance
Aller au lavage de voiture	To go to the car wash
Faire le plein d'essence	To refill your car's gas
Rendre des livres à la bibliothèque	To return books to the library
Rendez-vous chez le coiffeur	Hair salon appointment
Rendez-vous médical	Doctor appointment
Rendez-vous chez le dentiste	Dentist appointment
Aller à la salle de sport	To go to the gym
Payer les factures	To pay bills

How to Talk About Chores in French

Now you know the names of various chores in French. But how do you actually talk about them?

You could discover how to use all the words in this post by seeing them in use in the authentic videos on FluentU.

Here are a few typical sentences you might use when talking about chores:

• Qui fait le lit ce matin ? — Who’s making the bed this morning?
• C’est à ton tour de passer l’aspirateur, n’est-ce pas ? — It’s your turn to vacuum, isn’t it?
• Est-ce que quelqu’un peut vider la poubelle ? — Can someone empty the trash?
• Il est temps de nettoyer la cuisine. — It’s time to clean the kitchen.
• On devrait ranger le salon avant l’arrivée des invités. — We should tidy up the living room before guests arrive.
• As-tu déjà arrosé les plantes aujourd’hui ? — Have you watered the plants today?
• Je vais faire la lessive plus tard. — I’ll do the laundry later.
• Qui veut aider à préparer le dîner ce soir ? — Who wants to help prepare dinner tonight?
• Il faut repasser ces chemises demain. — These shirts need to be ironed tomorrow.
• On peut faire les courses ensemble demain. — We can go grocery shopping together tomorrow.

You don’t have to do everything alone. If you’re feeling overwhelmed or need a hand, you can always ask for help. Here are some useful phrases for that:

• Pourrais-tu me donner un coup de main, s’il te plaît ? — Could you give me a hand, please?
• J’aurais besoin d’aide, pourrais-tu m’assister ? — (I need help, could you assist me?
• Est-ce que cela te dérangerait de me donner un coup de main avec ces tâches ? — (Would you mind giving me a hand with these tasks?)
• Si tu as un moment, ton aide serait appréciée. — If you have a moment, your help would be appreciated.
• Pourrais-tu m’aider avec la vaisselle, s’il te plaît ? — Could you help me with the dishes, please?)
• Tu pourrais m’aider à plier le linge ? — Could you help me fold the laundry?

Or, if someone else needs help, you can lend a hand with these French sentences: 

• Je peux t’aider ? — Can I help you?
• Besoin d’un coup de main ? — Need a hand?
• Comment puis-je contribuer ? — How can I contribute?
• On devrait faire équipe pour ranger la maison. — We should work together to tidy up the house.
• On pourrait coopérer pour rendre tout plus facile. — We could cooperate to make everything easier.

At the end of the day, you might just want to complain. It’s okay, I won’t judge you. Get it out of your system with these French phrases:

• Encore les tâches ménagères… — Again with the household chores…
• Je suis fatigué de toujours nettoyer. — I’m tired of always cleaning.
• Les corvées ne finissent jamais. — Chores never end.
• C’est injuste que je sois le seul à faire tout ça. — It’s unfair that I’m the only one doing all of this.

 

Conjugate as you clean with all these words for chores in French!