Expressions with AVOIR – faim
j’ai faim (zhay* FEH)** = I am hungry
In English, we use the phrase “I am hungry” to let someone know we need food. In this sentence “am,” the being word, is used. To make the same statement in French, avoir (the having word) is used. The French phrase for “I am hungry,” j’ai faim, uses the having verb avoir.
Even though this phrase literally means “I have hunger,” we would translate it as “I am hungry,” because that is how we would say it in English. Faim is like the English word famine or famished.
This is what the different forms of this phrase look like in the
present tense.
| j’ai faim -I am hungry |
nous avons faim -we are hungry |
| tu as faim -you are hungry |
vous avez faim -you are hungry |
| il a faim -he is hungry |
ils ont faim -they are hungry |
| elle a faim -she is hungry |
elles ont faim -they are hungry |
For more work with AVOIR, download Nallenart’s Avoir Workpages.
* zh sounds like “g” in beige or “s” in measure.
** Please keep in mind that these pronunciation guides give only a
crude approximation of the actual French sounds.
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