Updated January 22, 2026 — Lesson written by French teacher David Issokson for students who want to learn French online, with native audio by Marie Assel Cambier, a voice artist from France.
B1 (Intermediate)
The French Word of the Day is avoir failli, which means “to almost.” After a very quick grammatical explanation and a few audio examples, you’ll be able to use this expression for any situation that almost occurred.
📘 Avoir failli meaning in French
In French, the verb faillir on its own means “to fail.” However, when it is used in the passé composé and followed by an infinitive, avoir failli means “to almost” do something. In this structure, avoir (to have) is the auxiliary verb, and failli is the past participle. For example, “J’ai failli tomber” (I almost fell).
🎧 Avoir failli pronunciation in French
The pronunciation of avoir failli is /a.vwaʁ fa.ji/ (IPA), which sounds roughly like “ah-vwar fah-yee.”
📝 Avoir failli usage examples
Grammatical explanation
J’ai failli tomber dans la rue.
I almost fell in the street.
Elle a failli oublier ses clés.
She almost forgot her keys.
Note also that faillir à + noun means to fail to keep, respect, or fulfill something, such as a promise, duty, or obligation.
C’est dommage. Claude a failli à sa promesse.
What a shame. Claude failed to keep his promise.
Mastery of the verb avoir (to have) is critical for the application of this expression.
👉 See also: Avoir conjugation chart (with audio) »
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🔗 Related words and expressions
- presque — almost, nearly
- à deux doigts de — on the verge of, very close to
- être sur le point de — to be about to
- de justesse — by a hair, narrowly
- éviter de peu — to narrowly avoid
- pas loin de — not far from (doing something)
- faillir à — to fail at (different meaning, more formal)
📚 Related lessons on FrenchLearner!
👉 Avoir conjugation chart (with audio) »
👉 Passé composé overview »
👉 Keep learning with the French Word of the Day »
