Now that les beaux jours arrivent (the nice days are coming), how about celebrating le printemps (spring) with a lesson on this time of growth and renewal for humans and nature alike? So, let’s look out for signs of spring in the natural and the human world and explore some spring-related vocabulary.

People like to celebrate spring in different ways. For some, it’s a great opportunity to refresh a winter wardrobe with something fleuri (flowery) and printanier (springlike). In this video, a boutique offers sustainable fashion, like this ethical robe fleurie (floral/flowery dress):

Hein, c'est joli? -C'est très fleuri. -C'est printanier. -Ouais.

It's pretty, don't you think? -It's very flowery. -It's springlike. -Yeah.

Caption 28, Alsace 20 La chronique Mode de Caroline: mode éthique

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For the practically minded, le printemps is an excellent time to start un nettoyage de printemps (spring cleaning):

Les gens courageux et motivés font un nettoyage de printemps tous les ans.

Motivated and hard-working people do a spring cleaning every year.

In any case, most of us like to fêter le printemps (celebrate spring) and the arrival of nice weather by venturing outdoors. Sophie and Edmée even enjoy seeing others profiter du beau temps (enjoy the nice weather):

On vient de fêter le printemps le vingt-et-un. Du coup, c'est assez logique qu'il fasse beau... et c'est génial de voir des gens en terrasse prendre des cafés, profiter du beau temps.

We just celebrated spring on the twenty-first. So it's quite logical that the weather is nice... and it's great to see people on the terraces having coffee, enjoying the beautiful weather.

Captions 30-31, 39-40  Sophie et Edmée Le beau temps

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As for Marie and Sandra, they too are excited to see that le soleil est sorti (the sun is out). 

Oui, oui, oui, ben là le soleil est sorti

Yes, yes, yes, well now the sun is out

Caption 6, Marie et Sandra Atelier d'art - Part 4

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Which reminds Sandra that Marie, her art student, wanted to dessiner des feuilles et des fleurs (draw leaves and flowers):

Et je me souviens que tu m'avais dit que tu voulais dessiner des feuilles et des fleurs.

And I remember that you had told me that you wanted to draw leaves and flowers.

Captions 8-9, Marie et Sandra Atelier d'art - Part 4

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Marie decides to draw some flowers that she picked (cueillies) on her way to class, among them a dandelion (un pissenlit):

Donc en venant ici, j'en ai cueillies... Ben, ce que j'ai trouvé dans la rue en fait, un pissenlit...

So coming here, I picked some... Well, what I found in the street in fact, a dandelion...

Captions 10, 13, Marie et Sandra Atelier d'art - Part 4

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She might have picked some primevères (primroses) or jonquilles (daffodils) had they been available: 

Elle n’a pas trouvé de primevères ou de jonquilles.

She didn’t find any primroses or daffodils.

Sometimes people simply dream of beautiful jardins (gardens) with fragrant pivoines (peonies) and roses, like the lucky lady in this video:

J'étais dans un jardin avec des odeurs formidables. Avec des fleurs, des pivoines, des roses...

I was in a garden with wonderful smells. With flowers, peonies, roses...

Captions 19-20, Micro-Trottoirs Rêves et cauchemars

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While some dream of spring gardens, others might compose a poem with a spring theme. In her beautiful words, poet and novelist Suzy Le Blanc depicts love as an ephemeral rose qui est éclose (that opens up) in spring and qui se fane (that withers) in winter:

L'Amour est comme une fleur. Il est comme la Rose

Qui au matin est éclose et nous éblouit. Mais quand viennent l'hiver et la nuit

Elle se fane et on l'oublie.

Love is like a flower. It is like the Rose

Which in the morning opens up and dazzles us. But when the winter and the night come

It withers and we forget it.

Captions 1-3, Suzy Le Blanc Romancière, poète

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In any case, it’s best to enjoy spring while it lasts. Parisians do just that. They fully appreciate their local garden avec ses arbres tout en fleurs (with its trees in full bloom):

Au beau milieu des tours du treizième arrondissement, faites une petite halte repos au Jardin Baudricourt avec sa jolie fontaine et aussi ses arbres tout en fleurs.

Right in the middle of the towers of the thirteenth arrondissement, make a small rest stop at the Baudricourt Garden, with its beautiful fountain and also its trees in full bloom.

Captions 22-24, Voyage dans Paris Le Quartier Asiatique

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Spring is also a time when fruit trees like cerisiers (cherry trees), abricotiers (apricot trees), and pêchers (peach trees) are in bloom. To learn about other types of trees in French, check out this lesson: 

Les arbres fruitiers comme les cerisiers, les abricotiers et les pêchers sont en fleurs en mars, avril, mai.

Fruit trees such as cherry trees, apricot trees, and peach trees are in bloom in March, April, and May.

As for vines, la floraison (flowering) comes later in June in France:

Vers le... début juin, mi-juin, ça dépend des années, on a la floraison qui va se faire.

Toward the... beginning of June, mid-June, it depends on the year, we'll have the flowering that will occur.

Captions 32-33, Provence Domaine Rouge-Bleu - Part 2

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People are also on the lookout for the first bourgeons (buds) of the season. In his song "Bienvenue chez moi" (Welcome to My Home), Stromae makes a passing reference to spring to describe his home, a dichotomy of good and bad, à moitié bourgeons (half budding):

À moitié bourgeons, à moitié fortes

Half budding, half going strong

Caption 10, Stromae Bienvenue chez moi

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To wrap up this fragrant lesson, below is a list of the spring-related words and expressions we covered:

le printemps: spring/springtime

fêter le printemps: to celebrate spring

profiter du beau temps: to enjoy the nice weather

éclore: to open up, bloom

faner: to wither

un bourgeon: a bud

la floraison: the flowering

fleurir: to flower, to blossom

fleuri, fleurie: flowery/floral 

une fleur: a flower

printanier, printanière: springlike

(tout) en fleurs: in (full) bloom

cueillir des fleurs: to pick some flowers 

une pivoine, une rose, un pissenlit, une jonquille, une primevère: a peony, a rose, a dandelion, a daffodil, a primrose

un cerisier, un abricotier, un pêcher: a cherry tree, an apricot tree, a peach tree

un jardin: a garden

le nettoyage de printemps: spring cleaning

Wishing everyone un printemps ensoleillé (a sunny spring)! Thank you for reading.

The ubiquitous verb faire is a very versatile word. Not only can you use faire to talk about what you “do” or “make," but you can also use it in a myriad of situations, including when talking about the weather, feelings, and past events. Let’s explore some of the most common idiomatic expressions involving faire beyond doing and making.

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Before we start focusing on faire as a verb, note that its past participle, fait (done/made), also works as a noun: le fait (the fact, the event).

Et le fait historique que l'on retient principalement ici à Bitche, c'est le siège de dix-huit cent soixante-dix

And the historical event that we mainly remember here in Bitche is the eighteen seventy siege

Captions 33-35, Lionel à la Citadelle de Bitche - Part 1

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You can read more about le fait in our lesson Getting the Facts Straight. But let's get back to faire as a verb. Early on in your French learning, you may have come across the construction il fait + noun/adjective to describe the weather. In this context, faire is equivalent to “to be." In the following video, Sophie and Edmée are enjoying a nice day out. Sophie says:

Il fait super beau aujourd'hui.

It's super nice out today.

Caption 1, Sophie et Edmée Le beau temps

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Here is another instance where faire translates as “to be”: the expression faire partie de (to be part of).

Et il faut savoir que jusqu'en mille huit cent soixante, la Villette ne faisait pas partie de la ville de Paris.

And you should know that until eighteen sixty, La Villette wasn't part of the city of Paris.

Captions 23-24, Adrien Quai de la Seine

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Faire is also used to convey how much time has passed in the construction ça fait + expression of time:

Et ça fait longtemps que tu veux devenir professeur?

And have you been wanting to become a teacher for a long time?

Caption 92, Claire et Philippe Le boulot d'enseignant

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This construction is equivalent to il y a + expression of time (it's been, ago). In Sophie et Edmée - Le beau temps, Sophie might have said:

Ça fait plus d’une semaine qu’il fait super beau. 

It's been super nice out for over a week.

Good weather is a perfect opportunity to faire un tour en vélo (go for a bike ride), as Amal suggests:

On va faire un petit tour

We're going to go for a little ride

Caption 28, Amal Vélib

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Note that you can use faire to talk about all kinds of sporting activities. 

Sophie and Edmée agree that on a sunny day, ça fait du bien (it feels good) to get out and about. Indeed, you can use the construction faire + noun/adverb to express how something feels, either in a positive or negative way:

Ouais, ça fait du bien un peu de pouvoir sortir et se promener.

Yeah, it kind of feels good to be able to go out and take a walk.

Captions 3-4, Sophie et Edmée Le beau temps

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Conversely, something might faire du mal rather than faire du bien:

Mais la petite sirène était incapable de faire du mal à quiconque.

But the little mermaid was incapable of hurting anyone.

Caption 41, Contes de fées La petite sirène - Part 2

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You can also say faire de la peine instead of faire du mal:

Ça me fait de la peine.

It pains me.

Caption 17, Sophie et Patrice Après Noël

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Speaking of feelings, you can reassure someone with the expression, Ne t’en fais pas! (Don’t worry!) That's what Nico tells Sam, who is worried about getting a job:

Ben, ne t'en fais pas. Je vais t'apprendre.

Well, don't worry about it. I'm going to teach you.

Caption 43, Extr@ Ep. 4 - Sam trouve du travail - Part 2

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In any case, Sam would be wise to act responsibly and avoid faire l’enfant (acting like a child) if he wants a job. As Margaux and Manon explain in their video on this subject, you can use faire to describe many different types of behavior and activities:

Attention, petite subtilité! Faire un enfant, c'est avoir un bébé. Mais faire l'enfant, c'est se comporter comme un enfant.

Careful, a slight subtlety! "Faire un enfant" is to have a baby. But "faire l'enfant" is to behave like a child.

Captions 17-18, Margaux et Manon Emplois du verbe faire

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In conclusion, ne vous en faites pas (don’t worry) if you’re not familiar with all the many uses of faire yet. Help is at hand! Allez faire un tour de nos vidéos sur Yabla (take a tour of our Yabla videos) and explore many more ways of using faire.