What does “fais gaffe” mean in French?
Je blague mon ami avec une fausse moto
B1 French listening practice · French from France · Curated for intermediate learners
Fais gaffe ! is the everyday informal way to say “careful”. The trap is the article. Faire gaffe, with nothing in front of gaffe, means to watch out and pay attention. Faire une gaffe means to put your foot in it — to say the wrong thing to the wrong person. One small word turns a warning into a confession, and the two are used constantly, so mishearing which one you just got told matters.
Faire attention is the neutral version that works in any register and with anyone: faites attention à la marche. Save fais gaffe for friends, and use faites attention with strangers or at work.
Vocabulary frequency
How common is the vocabulary in this B1 French listening practice listening practice?
General French frequency
Spoken French frequency
Words above this video’s level
Quick glosses for vocabulary that goes beyond this video’s B1 level.
Source: wordfreq 3.1.1 (general) · Lexique 3.83 (spoken). Buckets approximate; exact ranks not stored.