Today we’ll look at the very commonly used French expression: “Fais gaffe!”. Translations include “Be careful!” and “Watch out!”. A gaffe is a blunder or silly mistake.
Fais gaffe !
Be careful / watch out!
Expression origin
In Modern French, the feminine noun gaffe means “blunder”, “gaffe” or “faux pas” (English borrow words from French) and comes from gaf in Old Provençal. The expression faire gaffe (watch out) comes from the verb guetter in Old French, which means “to watch over” or “to keep an eye on”.
Example sentences
Fais gaffe : Tu conduis trop vite !
Be careful! You’re diving too fast!
This second sentence was a bit tricky to translate. The feminine plural noun paroles means “words”. This sentence uses “fais gaffe” in the formal (vous) form: Faites gaffe.
Faites gaffe à vos paroles. Réfléchissez un peu avant de parler !
Watch what you say. Think a bit before speaking!
Fais gaffe à ce mec ; c’est un menteur !
Watch out for that guy. He’s a liar!
This final example sentence uses gaffe in the form of a feminine noun, meaning blunder or silly error. Hence, faire une gaffe (to make a mistake). The feminine noun soirée means evening as well as “evening party”. English also borrows this word from French. “En invitant” (by or while inviting) is an example of the gerund.
J’ai fait une gaffe en invitant ton ex à la soirée.
I made a mistake by inviting your ex to the party.
Related lessons
References
French expressions | Lessons by David Issokson
