FlexiLingoIn one line
French HAS its age and its bodily states. It does not BE them.
The forms on this page
| Form | Means | Sound |
|---|---|---|
avoir | to have — and in these expressions it stands where English uses “to be” | /a.vwaʁ/ |
The table
avoir conjugated
je | tu | il | nous | vous | ils |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
j'ai /ʒe/ | tu as /ty a/ | il a /il a/ | nous avons /nu.z‿a.vɔ̃/ | vous avez /vu.z‿a.ve/ | ils ont /il.z‿ɔ̃/ |
| /ʒe/ | /ty a/ | /il a/ | /nu.za.vɔ̃/ | /vu.za.ve/ | /il.zɔ̃/ |
Three places English will steer you wrong
English says "I am" for all of these. French says "I have" for all of them.
| What you mean | English | French | Literally | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| age | I am twenty | J'ai vingt ans. | I have twenty years | /ʒe vɛ̃.t‿ɑ̃/ |
| a bodily state | I am hungry | J'ai faim. | I have hunger | /ʒe fɛ̃/ |
| a need | I need a book | J'ai besoin d'un livre. | I have need of a book | /ʒe bə.zwɛ̃ dœ̃ livʁ/ |
This is the single most common English-speaker mistake in beginner French, and it is worth over-learning:
Je suis vingt ansandJe suis faimare both wrong, and the second one is wrong in a way that gets noticed.
The full list
| French | Literally | English | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|
avoir faim | to have hunger | to be hungry | /a.vwaʁ fɛ̃/ |
avoir soif | to have thirst | to be thirsty | /a.vwaʁ swaf/ |
avoir chaud | to have heat | to be hot | /a.vwaʁ ʃo/ |
avoir froid | to have cold | to be cold | /a.vwaʁ fʁwa/ |
avoir mal | to have pain | to be in pain, to hurt | /a.vwaʁ mal/ |
avoir sommeil | to have sleep | to be sleepy | /a.vwaʁ sɔ.mɛj/ |
avoir peur | to have fear | to be afraid | /a.vwaʁ pœʁ/ |
avoir raison | to have reason | to be right | /a.vwaʁ ʁɛ.zɔ̃/ |
avoir tort | to have wrong | to be wrong | /a.vwaʁ tɔʁ/ |
avoir besoin de | to have need of | to need | /a.vwaʁ bə.zwɛ̃ də/ |
avoir envie de | to have desire for | to feel like, to want | /a.vwaʁ ɑ̃.vi də/ |
avoir … ans | to have … years | to be … years old | /a.vwaʁ ɑ̃/ |
Exceptions
| Exception | What happens |
|---|---|
ans /ɑ̃/ is compulsory | ❌ J'ai vingt. /ʒe vɛ̃/J'ai vingt ans. /ʒe vɛ̃.t‿ɑ̃/ |
| No article after these expressions | J'ai faim /ʒe fɛ̃/ not J'ai la faim /ʒe la fɛ̃/ |
For where it hurts, à /a/ + body part | J'ai mal à la tête. /ʒe mal a la tɛt/ J'ai mal au dos. /ʒe mal o do/ |
avoir chaud /a.vwaʁ ʃo/ is not il fait chaud /il fɛ ʃo/ | the first is "I'm hot", the second is "the weather is hot" |
Je suis chaud /ʒə sɥi ʃo/ is neither | and it means something unfortunate — do not say it |
In the negative, the de /də/ stays | Je n'ai pas d'argent. /ʒə ne pa daʁ.ʒɑ̃/ |
Examples
| English | French | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| I'm twenty | J'ai vingt ans. | /ʒe vɛ̃.t‿ɑ̃/ |
| How old are you? | Quel âge as-tu ? | /kɛ.lɑʒ a ty/ |
| I'm hungry | J'ai faim. | /ʒe fɛ̃/ |
| We're thirsty | Nous avons soif. | /nu.za.vɔ̃ swaf/ |
| I'm hot | J'ai chaud. | /ʒe ʃo/ |
| I have a headache | J'ai mal à la tête. | /ʒe mal a la tɛt/ |
| I need a book | J'ai besoin d'un livre. | /ʒe bə.zwɛ̃ dœ̃ livʁ/ |
| I'm not hungry | Je n'ai pas faim. | /ʒə ne pa fɛ̃/ |
Common mistakes
| ❌ | ✅ | Why |
|---|---|---|
Je suis vingt ans. | J'ai vingt ans. | French has its age — this error comes straight from English |
J'ai vingt. | J'ai vingt ans. | ans is compulsory |
Je suis faim. | J'ai faim. | faim is a noun, not an adjective |
J'ai la faim. | J'ai faim. | These expressions take no article |
J'ai mal la tête. | J'ai mal à la tête. | Where it hurts arrives with à |
Why avoir and not être
`faim` is a noun, not an adjective
| What it is | Verb | |
|---|---|---|
fatigué /fa.ti.ɡe/ tired | adjective | Je suis fatigué. /ʒə sɥi fa.ti.ɡe/ |
faim /fɛ̃/ hunger | noun | J'ai faim. /ʒe fɛ̃/ |
faim means "hunger", not "hungry". And a noun is something you can have.
English gives you nothing to lean on here. "I am hungry" treats hunger as a quality you are; French treats it as a thing you hold. There is no English sentence that behaves like J'ai faim, so the only reliable check is the one above: is the French word a noun? Then avoir.
faim, soif, peur, raison, besoin, envie — every one of them is a noun.