Learn Hardcore French: Je vis avec une colocataire qui aime faire le ménage. - I live with a roommate who likes to do the housework.

Je vis literally means “I live” in a more general sense: your life situation, where and how you live.
J’habite is more specifically “I reside / I live (at a place)” and strongly focuses on your address or dwelling.

In this sentence:

Je vis avec une colocataire… = I live (my life) with a roommate – a bit more about your lifestyle/situation.
J’habite avec une colocataire… = I live (reside) with a roommate – more about your living arrangement/address.

Both are natural here. Je vis might sound very slightly more general or “existential,” but in everyday speech they’re often used interchangeably when talking about where/with whom you live.

How do you pronounce vis in Je vis and how is it different from vois?

vis (from vivre) is pronounced like “vee” in English.
vois (from voir) is also pronounced “vwa” in careful pronunciation, but in fast speech some accents can make it a bit closer to “vwa” with a less distinct w.

Key points:

Je vis (from vivre, “to live”) = “I live.”
Je vois (from voir, “to see”) = “I see.”

They look similar in writing but are different verbs with different meanings. Context normally makes it clear which one is meant.

Why is it une colocataire and not un colocataire?

Colocataire is a noun that can be masculine or feminine:

un colocataire = a male roommate/flatmate
une colocataire = a female roommate/flatmate

The sentence uses une because the roommate is female. The word colocataire itself doesn’t change form; only the article (un/une) and any adjectives around it show the gender.

Spoken shortcut:

You’ll often hear un coloc / une coloc in casual speech.

Could I say avec ma colocataire instead of avec une colocataire? What’s the difference?

Yes, you can, but the meaning changes slightly:

avec une colocataire = with a roommate (introducing this person for the first time, not yet identified to the listener).
avec ma colocataire = with my roommate (you’re presenting her as your specific roommate).

Use:

une colocataire when the person is new in the conversation.
ma colocataire when you want to emphasize the relationship or when the listener already knows who you mean.

Why is it qui and not que in une colocataire qui aime faire le ménage?

In relative clauses, qui and que have different roles:

qui is used as the subject of the verb that follows.
que is used as the object of the verb that follows.

In une colocataire qui aime faire le ménage:

The clause is qui aime faire le ménage.
The verb is aime.
Who likes doing the housework? une colocataire → it’s the subject.

So you must use qui (subject), not que (object).

Compare:

une colocataire qui aime cuisiner = a roommate who likes to cook (she likes cooking → subject).
une colocataire que j’aime beaucoup = a roommate whom I like a lot (I like her → she is the object of j’aime).

Why is it aime and not aiment in qui aime faire le ménage?

The verb aime agrees with the subject, which is une colocataire:

une colocataire = singular → elle aime
So you get qui aime (3rd person singular).

You’d only use aiment if the subject were plural:

Je vis avec des colocataires qui aiment faire le ménage.
- des colocataires (plural) → qui aiment (3rd person plural).

What does faire le ménage literally mean, and why not just use ménager or nettoyer?

Faire le ménage is an idiomatic expression meaning “to do the housework / cleaning (around the home).”

faire = to do / to make
le ménage = household cleaning / housework

So literally: “to do the housework.”

You do not use ménager as a verb meaning “to do housework” in modern French. Ménager has other meanings (to spare, to handle carefully), but not “to tidy/clean the house.”

Other verbs:

nettoyer = to clean (something specific)
- Je nettoie la cuisine. = I’m cleaning the kitchen.
ranger = to tidy up / put things away
- Je range ma chambre. = I’m tidying my room.

Faire le ménage is more general: vacuuming, dusting, cleaning surfaces, etc.

Why is it le ménage and not du ménage in faire le ménage?

In the fixed expression faire le ménage, le is part of the idiom. It refers to “the housework” in a general sense, not some specific portion.

Both can exist:

faire le ménage = do the housework (as a usual, complete task).
faire du ménage = do some cleaning / do some housework (often less complete or more occasional).

In everyday speech, faire le ménage is the most common way to say “do the housework.” That’s why the sentence uses le.

Can French express “I am living with…” using a continuous form like English “I am living”?

French normally uses the simple present to cover both the English simple present and the present continuous:

Je vis avec une colocataire… can mean both:
- “I live with a roommate…”
- “I am living with a roommate…”

There is a structure être en train de (to be in the process of), but it’s used only for actions in progress at this very moment, not for general states or long-term living arrangements:

Je suis en train de cuisiner. = I’m (currently) cooking.
You would not say Je suis en train de vivre avec… for “I am living with…” as a general situation. Use Je vis.

Does colocataire mean sharing the same room or just the same apartment/house?

Colocataire usually means someone who shares the same housing unit with you: same apartment, house, or flat. It does not necessarily mean you share the same bedroom.

So une colocataire is more like:

“flatmate/housemate” in British English
“roommate” in American English (even though Americans often have separate rooms)

If you really need to specify “sharing the same bedroom,” you’d have to add extra detail (e.g. on partage la même chambre).

If I wanted to say “a tidy roommate,” where would the adjective go?

Most adjectives in French come after the noun, and ordonné(e) (tidy, orderly) is one of them.

So:

une colocataire ordonnée = a tidy roommate (female)
un colocataire ordonné = a tidy roommate (male)

Word order in a fuller version:

Je vis avec une colocataire ordonnée qui aime faire le ménage.
→ I live with a tidy roommate who likes doing the housework.