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Sports and leisure activities with 'faire'

When talking about hobbies, English relies on a whole toolbox of verbs. We go swimming, play sports, do yoga, or simply use the activity as a verb and say we hike or garden. French simplifies this greatly.

For many sports and leisure activities, French uses a single construction built around the verb faire (to do or to make). English speakers often trip over this by trying to translate go or play literally, but mastering this faire construction is your key to talking about your free time like a local.

Word list
chevalmA1 horse faire du cheval = to go horse riding dansefA1 dance faire de la danse = to dance guitarefA1 guitar faire de la guitare = to play the guitar musiquefA1 music faire de la musique = to play music, to make music photofA1 photo faire de la photo = to do photography pianomA1 piano faire du piano = to play the piano sportmA1 sport faire du sport = to play sports, to exercise bateaumA2 boat faire du bateau = to go boating batteriefA2 drum faire de la batterie = to play the drums bicyclettefA2 bicycle faire de la bicyclette = to ride a bike cyclismemA2 cycling faire du cyclisme = to cycle dessinmA2 drawing faire du dessin = to draw faire du véloA2 to cycle faire du vélo = to cycle marchefA2 walk faire de la marche = to go walking motofA2 motorcycle faire de la moto = to ride a motorbike natationfA2 swimming faire de la natation = to go swimming peinturefA2 painting faire de la peinture = to paint photographiefA2 photo faire de la photographie = to do photography skimA2 skiing faire du ski = to go skiing théâtremA2 theater faire du théâtre = to act, to do drama violonmA2 violin faire du violon = to play the violin athlétismemB1 athletics faire de l'athlétisme = to do track and field boxefB1 boxing faire de la boxe = to box, to do boxing faire de l'exerciceB1 to work out faire de l'exercice = to exercise faire de la randonnéeB1 to hike faire de la randonnée = to go hiking faire du campingB1 to camp faire du camping = to go camping faire du shoppingB1 to shop faire du shopping = to go shopping faire du tourismeB1 to go sightseeing faire du tourisme = to go sightseeing flûtefB1 flute faire de la flûte = to play the flute plongeonmB1 diving faire du plongeon = to do diving sculpturefB1 sculpture faire de la sculpture = to sculpt yogamB1 yoga faire du yoga = to do yoga culturismemB2 bodybuilding faire du culturisme = to do bodybuilding danse folkloriquefB2 folk dance faire de la danse folklorique = to do folk dancing escrimefB2 fencing faire de l'escrime = to fence faire de l'auto-stopB2 to hitchhike faire de l'auto-stop = to hitchhike faire de la voileB2 to sail faire de la voile = to sail faire du pouceB2 to hitchhike faire du pouce = to hitchhike faire du stopB2 to hitchhike faire du stop = to hitchhike gymnastiquefB2 gymnastics faire de la gymnastique = to do gymnastics jardinagemB2 gardening faire du jardinage = to garden kayakmB2 kayak faire du kayak = to go kayaking musculationfB2 bodybuilding faire de la musculation = to do weight training parachutemB2 parachute faire du parachute = to go skydiving patin à glacemB2 ice skating faire du patin à glace = to go ice skating patinage artistiquemB2 figure skating faire du patinage artistique = to do figure skating patinage sur glacemB2 ice skating faire du patinage sur glace = to go ice skating plongéefB2 scuba diving faire de la plongée = to go diving plongée sous-marinefB2 scuba diving faire de la plongée sous-marine = to go scuba diving tangomB2 tango faire du tango = to do tango tir à l'arcmB2 archery faire du tir à l'arc = to do archery trompettefB2 trumpet faire de la trompette = to play the trumpet accordéonmC1 accordion faire de l'accordéon = to play the accordion balançoirefC1 swing faire de la balançoire = to play on the swing canoëmC1 canoe faire du canoë = to go canoeing canotmC1 canoe faire du canot = to go canoeing couturefC1 sewing faire de la couture = to sew équitationfC1 horseriding faire de l'équitation = to go horseback riding haltérophiliefC1 weightlifting faire de l'haltérophilie = to do weightlifting lugefC1 sled faire de la luge = to go sledding, tobogganing planche à roulettesfC1 skateboard faire de la planche à roulettes = to skateboard saxophonemC1 saxophone faire du saxophone = to play the saxophone skateboardmC1 skateboard faire du skateboard = to skateboard traîneaumC1 sled faire du traîneau = to go sledding harpefC2 harp faire de la harpe = to play the harp luttefC2 wrestling faire de la lutte = to wrestle
How it works

The magic formula is the verb faire followed by a partitive article (du, de la, or de l') and the name of the activity. The choice of article depends on the gender of the activity noun and whether it starts with a vowel.

Because English uses "go" for so many activities, it is very tempting to use the French verb aller (to go). However, saying aller camping or aller shopping is incorrect. You must use faire.

Le week-end, nous faisons du camping dans les montagnes.
(On weekends, we go camping in the mountains.)
Mes amis aiment faire du shopping en ville.
(My friends like to go shopping in the city.)
Sports and exercise

Whether you are talking about general exercise or a specific sport, faire is usually the verb you need. You will use du for masculine nouns like sport or ski, de la for feminine nouns like natation (swimming) or randonnée (hiking), and de l' for nouns starting with a vowel like escrime (fencing) or équitation (horseriding).

Je fais du vélo tous les matins.
(I cycle every morning.)
Elle fait de la randonnée avec son chien.
(She goes hiking with her dog.)
Ils veulent faire de l'équitation pendant leurs vacances.
(They want to go horseback riding during their vacation.)
Creative hobbies and leisure

This construction is not just for breaking a sweat. Relaxing pastimes and domestic hobbies follow the exact same rule. This includes activities like danse (dance), couture (sewing), and jardinage (gardening). It even applies to tourism and sightseeing.

Mon père fait du jardinage le dimanche.
(My father gardens on Sundays.)
Nous allons faire du tourisme à Paris.
(We are going to go sightseeing in Paris.)
Tu fais de la voile sur le lac.
(You sail on the lake.)
Watch out for the negative

There is one important grammar twist to remember. When you make a faire de sentence negative, the partitive article (du, de la, de l') changes to a simple de or d'. This is a general rule for negative sentences in French, and it applies perfectly to our hobbies.

Je ne fais pas de ski, je préfère la lecture.
(I do not ski, I prefer reading.)
Elle ne fait jamais d'exercice.
(She never works out.)
Summary

When you want to talk about doing a sport, playing a game, or enjoying a hobby, do not reach for a literal translation of the English verb. Instead, build your sentence with faire plus du, de la, or de l'.