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: 

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:

Cleaning 

Clean up your French with these cleaning-related words:

Outdoor Chores

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

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: 

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!

And one more thing...

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FluentU has a wide variety of great content, like interviews and web series, as you can see here:

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