To Make

To make is a very general, very useful verb in English. Its French translations vary wildly, so take a look at this lesson to learn how to translate various meanings of "make" into French.


The general sense of "to make" is translated by faire.

Je fais un gâteau
I'm making a cake

Fais ton lit
Make your bed

Il a fait une erreur
He made a mistake

"To make" in the sense of producing is fabriquer, while in the sense of building it's construire. To talk about forcing someone to do something (e.g., Make me!), use obliger or forcer.


Faire vs Rendre

When "to make" means "to cause to be/feel" you usually* use faire when what follows is a noun (in French) and rendre when it's an adjective.

Cela me fait mal
That hurts (me), That makes me feel pain

Tu me fais honte !
You make me feel so ashamed!

Cette pensée fait peur
It's a frightening thought

Cela me rend heureux
That makes me happy

Le poisson m'a rendu malade
The fish made me sick

C'est à te rendre fou
It's enough to make/drive you crazy

*For the following nouns, you need the verb donner.

donner soif à quelqu'un
to make someone thirsty

donner faim à quelqu'un
to make someone hungry

donner froid à quelqu'un
to make someone (feel) cold

donner chaud à quelqu'un
to make someone (feel) hot

Because all of the above are adjectives in English, you might have a little trouble deciding if the French word is a noun or an adjective. The solution is to think about which verb it needs to mean "to be." Nouns need avoir (avoir mal, avoir soif) while adjectives need être (être heureux, être malade).


Faire causatif

When "to make" is followed by a verb, use faire:

Cela m'a fait penser
That made me think

Causative lesson

Expressions with Make

Many expressions that include "to make" in English are translated by completely different verbs in French.