Published August 16, 2024 • Updated October 19, 2026 — By French teacher David Issokson with native audio by Marie Assel Cambier
Avoir l’air meaning
Avoir l’air is a French avoir (to have) expression meaning “to seem,” “to look,” or “to appear.” It can be followed by an adjective, as in “Il a l’air triste” (He looks sad), de + noun, as in “Il a l’air d’un chef” (He looks like a chef), or de + infinitive, as in “Il a l’air de vouloir dormir” (He looks like he wants to sleep).
Avoir l’air pronunciation
The IPA pronunciation of avoir l’air is /a.vwaʁ lɛʁ/, which sounds approximately like “ah-vwahr lehr.”
Avoir l’air example sentences
These first two examples uses the stucture avoir l’air + adjective.
Tu as l’air fatigué. Est-ce que tu as assez dormi ?
You look tired. Did you sleep enough?
Elle a l’air bonne, cette glace !
This ice cream looks good!
This sentence uses the stucture avoir l’air de + noun.
Marc a l’air d’un mec drôle.
Marc seems like a funny guy.
This example uses the construction avoir l’air de + infinitive.
Elle a l’air de vouloir manger.
She looks like she wants to eat.
This example uses the expression avoir besoin (to need).
J’ai l’air d’avoir besoin de votre aide ?
Do I look like I need your help?
In the negation, ne…pas gets wrapped around avoir.
Il n’a pas l’air sympa, ce chien.
This dog doesn’t seem nice.
👉 See also: Avoir envie (to want to) – another great avoir expression! »
Train your ear for real French.
À Moi Paris gives you extensive audio practice with natural French so you can understand what people actually say in everyday conversation.
👉 Explore À Moi Paris »
👉 Read my review »
If you purchase the course, I may earn a small commission — at no extra cost to you.
🔗 Related words and expressions
- sembler — to seem, to appear
- paraître — to appear, to seem
- ressembler à — to resemble, to look like
- avoir l’impression de — to have the impression of
- avoir l’air de rien — to look innocent, to seem harmless
- avoir bonne mine — to look healthy, to look well
- avoir l’air en forme — to look fit, to look well
📚 Related lessons
👉 Avoir expressions »
👉 Avoir conjugation »
🚀 Continue learning on FrenchLearner!
👉 French Word of the Day »
👉 French vocabulary lists »
👉 French grammar lessons »
