Vocabulaire
Les tâches ménagères (Household tasks)
| Français | Anglais |
|---|---|
| arroser (les plantes) | to water (the plants) |
| balayer | to sweep |
| bouillir | to boil |
| (faire) cuire | to cook, bake |
| essuyer le sol | to mop the floor |
| essuyer les assiettes | to dry, wipe the dishes |
| faire la cuisine, cuisiner | to cook, prepare meals |
| faire la lessive | to do laundry |
| faire la vaisselle | to do the dishes |
| faire le lit | to make the bed |
| faire le ménage | to do housework |
| faire les courses | to do the shopping |
| faire les devoirs | to do homework |
| faire réparer la voiture | to get the car repaired |
| jardiner | to garden |
| nettoyer | to clean |
| passer l’aspirateur | to vacuum |
| ranger | to straighten up, put in order, tidy up |
| réchauffer | to reheat, to warm up |
| repasser (des vêtements) | to iron (clothes) |
| s’occuper de | to take care of |
| sortir la poubelle | to take out the garbage |
| sortir les ordures | to take out the trash |
| tondre le gazon | to mow the lawn |
As you can see, many of these chores do not match up evenly to their English equivalents. Here are some examples:
- nettoyer vs. ranger vs. laver
Laver means to wash (like hands, clothes and dishes), nettoyer means to clean (like floors, ovens, and counters), and ranger means to clean up, tidy up or arrange (like the bedroom, living room, or closet). Certain types of cleaning and washing do not use these verbs at all. Instead we use expressions with faire: faire la lessive, faire la vaisselle, faire le lit, etc.
- cuire vs. cuisiner
Cuisiner or faire la cuisine mean to do the cooking, to prepare meals. Cuire or faire cuire refers to the actual cooking (or heating up) of food: faire bouillir (to boil), faire griller (to grill), faire frire (to fry), faire cuire à la vapeur (to steam), mettre au four (to put in the oven), etc.
