French Phrase
Fais attention au bruit.
Meaning
Literally ‘Make attention to the noise.’ In everyday French it means ‘Pay attention to the noise’ or ‘Be careful about the noise.’ It is a friendly, informal command, often used when you want someone to notice or reduce a sound.
When to use
Use this phrase when you need to warn someone about a loud environment, ask a roommate to keep the volume down, or remind a child to stay quiet in a library or classroom.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Faisattentionaubruit
Imperative of faire
‘Fais’ is the 2nd‑person singular imperative of the verb ‘faire’, used for informal commands.
Faire attention à + noun
The construction ‘faire attention à’ means ‘to pay attention to / be careful about’ and is followed by a noun introduced by the preposition ‘à’.
Contraction au
‘au’ = à + le; it contracts before masculine singular nouns like ‘bruit’.
Pronunciation liaison
In rapid speech the final ‘s’ of ‘Fais’ links to the following vowel: /fɛz‿a.tɑ̃.sjɔ̃/.
🗨In Conversation
Fais attention au bruit, le voisin travaille.
Pay attention to the noise, the neighbor is working.
D'accord, je vais baisser le volume.
Okay, I’ll turn the volume down.
✕Common Mistakes
Fais attention à le bruit.
‘à le’ must contract to ‘au’; the article cannot stay separate.
Faire attention au bruit.
Using the infinitive ‘faire’ does not give a command; you need the imperative ‘Fais’ or ‘Faites’.
Faites attention le bruit.
The preposition ‘à’ is required after ‘attention’.
↔Alternatives
Sois attentif au bruit.
Be attentive to the noise.
Faites attention au bruit.
Pay attention to the noise. (formal or plural)
Fais attention au son.
Pay attention to the sound.
Cultural Tip
In French, ‘faire attention à’ is the go‑to expression for telling someone to watch out for something. The imperative ‘Fais…’ is informal; in a professional or plural setting you would switch to ‘Faites attention…’. Also, French speakers are very conscious of noise in shared spaces, so this phrase is common in apartments, libraries, and cafés.