See also:
👉 avoir conjugation chart (to have) »
👉 avoir besoin (to need) »
👉 craindre (to fear, be afraid of) »
Level: A1 (Beginner)
🎧 Audio by Marie Assel Cambier — native speaker & pro voice artist from France
The French Word of the Day is avoir peur, meaning “to be afraid.” It’s an expression built with avoir (to have), and this lesson shows how to use it naturally in everyday conversation.
✅ Meaning
✅ Pronunciation
✅ Example sentences
✅ Related Words & Expressions
✅ Related lessons
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📘 Avoir peur meaning
In French, avoir peur means “to be afraid” or “to be scared.” It’s an avoir expression, formed with avoir (to have) + peur (fear), and is usually followed by de + noun or infinitive (e.g., avoir peur de l’orage – to be afraid of the storm; avoir peur de tomber – to be afraid of falling). See examples and conjugation below.
🎧 Avoir peur pronunciation
Avoir peur is pronounced /avwaʁ pœʁ/, roughly “ah-vwahr purr.” Avoir ends with a soft French r, and peur has the rounded /œ/ vowel, similar to the sound in heure (hour).
📝 French and English examples
Avoir peur – to be scared
J’ai peur de perdre mon téléphone dans le métro.
I’m afraid of losing my phone in the metro.
Tu as peur des araignées ? — Non, je n’en ai pas peur.
Are you afraid of spiders? — No, I’m not afraid of them.
👉 See my full lesson explaining the pronoun en »
Il a peur de rater son rendez-vous important.
He’s afraid of missing his important appointment.
Sa plus grande peur est de parler en public.
His biggest fear is speaking in public.
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📊 Avoir peur conjugation
- J’ai peur de — I’m afraid of
- Tu as peur de — You’re afraid of (singular, informal)
- Il/elle a peur de — He/she is afraid of
- Nous avons peur de — We’re afraid of
- Vous avez peur de — You’re afraid of (formal or plural)
- Ils/elles ont peur de — They’re afraid of
🔗 Related words and expressions
- Être effrayé(e) — to be frightened
- Craindre — to fear, to be afraid of (slightly more formal than avoir peur)
- Avoir la frousse – to be scared (slang)
- Être inquiet / inquiète — to be worried
- Avoir besoin de — to need
- Avoir envie de — to feel like / to want
- Avoir honte de — to be ashamed (of)
🚀 Expand your French vocabulary!
Now that you’ve mastered avoir peur, take a look at my lesson on avoir hâte de, which means “to look forward to.”
👉 Learn avoir hâte here »
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