You're standing in a bakery in Lyon or maybe just trying to pass a quiz, and you need to know how do you say have in french. Most people will tell you it's avoir. They aren't lying to you. But if you stop there, you're going to sound like a textbook from 1985. French is a slippery language. Sometimes "to have" isn't avoir at all, and sometimes avoir means things that have nothing to do with possession.
Let’s get the basics out of the way first because you can't run before you can walk. The primary way to express "to have" is the verb avoir. It is one of the "big two" auxiliary verbs, alongside être (to be). If you don't master this, you're basically stuck in the linguistic mud.
The Raw Mechanics of Avoir
In the present tense, it’s a bit of a shapeshifter.
J'ai means I have. Tu as means you have. Il a means he has. Nous avons means we have. Vous avez means you (formal/plural) have. Ils ont means they have.
Notice how short those are? J'ai. Just two letters and an apostrophe. It’s punchy. But here is where it gets weird for English speakers. We use "to be" for a lot of physical sensations. In French? You "have" them. You don't "be" hungry; you "have hunger." J'ai faim. You don't "be" thirty years old; you "have" thirty years. J'ai trente ans. If you say Je suis trente ans, people will look at you like you just landed from Mars.
When Avoir Isn't Really About Owning Things
French uses avoir for idiomatic expressions that would drive a logic professor crazy. Take avoir besoin de. That’s "to have need of," which we translate as "to need." Or avoir envie de, which is "to feel like" or "to want."
Then there is avoir hâte. This one is beautiful. It means you’re looking forward to something. "I have haste." It sounds poetic when you think about it. You’re literally saying your eagerness is a physical possession.
Honestly, the most common mistake I see is people trying to translate "to have a drink" or "to have a meal" literally. In French, you don't really "have" a coffee (avoir un café) in the sense of consuming it. You take it. Prendre un café. If you say J'ai un café, you’re just telling me there is a cup of coffee physically in your hand or on your desk. You aren't necessarily drinking it.
The Sneaky Role of "Être"
Wait, I thought we were talking about how to say "have"? We are. But in the French past tense—the passé composé—the word "have" (as an auxiliary) sometimes transforms into "be."
If you want to say "I have gone," you don't use avoir. You use être.
Je suis allé. Literally, "I am gone."
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This happens with verbs of movement and reflexive verbs. It’s a stumbling block for everyone. You spend weeks memorizing the avoir conjugation only for a French teacher to tell you that for certain "house verbs" (like aller, venir, partir), your "have" is actually a "be." It feels like a betrayal. But it’s the reality of the syntax.
Why Possession Isn't Always Avoir
Sometimes, "to have" implies ownership in a way that avoir feels too flimsy for. If you want to say you possess something formally, you might use posséder.
"He has a vast estate" could be Il possède un vaste domaine. It sounds heavier. More permanent.
Then there’s the concept of "having" someone over. You wouldn't use avoir there either. You would use recevoir. Je reçois des amis ce soir. I am receiving friends tonight. Using avoir there makes it sound like you've captured them and are keeping them in your basement. Context is everything.
The Weird Case of "Il y a"
You’ve probably heard Il y a. It means "there is" or "there are." But look closely at it. That 'a' in the middle? That’s avoir.
Literally, it translates to "It there has."
It’s one of the most used phrases in the entire language. Whether you’re saying "There is a cat on the table" (Il y a un chat sur la table) or "Three years ago" (Il y a trois ans), you are using a form of "to have." It's a linguistic Swiss Army knife.
Let's Talk About Modern Slang and Shorthand
In the streets of Paris or Marseille, the "ne" in negative sentences often vanishes into thin air.
Standard French: Je n'ai pas d'argent. (I don't have any money.)
Street French: J'ai pas d'oseille.
Wait, what happened to the ne? Gone. And argent became oseille (slang for sorrel/money). If you’re trying to figure out how do you say have in french in a way that doesn't make you sound like a tourist, you have to get comfortable with dropping the ne. It feels wrong at first. Like you’re breaking a rule. You are. But everyone does it.
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Also, pay attention to the "liaison." When you say Nous avons, that 's' at the end of nous isn't silent anymore. It turns into a 'z' sound that glides right into the avons. Noo-zuh-vohn. If you don't do that, the flow of the sentence breaks. French is all about the flow. It’s a rhythmic language where words melt into each other.
The "Avoir" Expressions You Actually Need
If you're traveling, forget the conjugation tables for a second and just memorize these. They will save your life.
- Avoir mal: To be in pain. J'ai mal au dos (My back hurts).
- Avoir raison: To be right. (Literally: To have reason).
- Avoir tort: To be wrong.
- Avoir peur: To be afraid.
- Avoir sommeil: To be sleepy.
Notice a pattern? All of these use "be" in English. If you try to say "I am afraid" using Je suis peur, you’re basically saying "I am the concept of fear itself." Which is metal, but probably not what you meant when you saw a big spider.
Mastering the Past and Future
When you move beyond the present, avoir changes its skin entirely. In the future tense, the stem becomes aur-.
J'aurai un chien. (I will have a dog.)
In the imperfect tense, used for descriptions or habitual actions in the past, it becomes avais.
J'avais un chat quand j'étais petit. (I had a cat when I was little.)
The nuance here matters. If you say J'ai eu un chat, it sounds like a specific event happened—maybe you suddenly acquired a cat. If you say J'avais un chat, you’re setting a scene. You’re describing a state of being in the past.
Common Pitfalls for English Speakers
The biggest trap is the word "got." In English, we say "I've got a car" or "I have a car" interchangeably. In French, there is no "got." There is only avoir. Don't try to find a word for "got" to tack onto the end.
Another one? "To have to."
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In English, "I have to go" uses the verb "have." In French, you can use avoir à, but it’s much more common to use the verb devoir.
Je dois partir. If you insist on using avoir for obligation, you’ll sound like you’re translating in your head in real-time. It’s clunky. Use devoir. It’s cleaner.
Actionable Steps to Mastering "Have" in French
You can't just read about this; you have to use it. Here is how you actually bake this into your brain so it sticks when you're under pressure.
Start Thinking in "Hunger" and "Age"
Stop saying "I am hungry" in your head. Start thinking "I have hunger." When you see a clock or think about your birthday, think "I have X years." This shifts your internal logic from English "being" to French "having."
The Five-Verb Rule
Pick the five most common avoir expressions: avoir faim, avoir soif, avoir chaud, avoir froid, avoir besoin. Use them in a sentence once an hour.
- J'ai soif. (I'm thirsty.)
- J'ai chaud. (I'm hot.)
- J'ai besoin d'un café. (I need a coffee.)
Listen for the Dropped 'Ne'
Go on YouTube or Netflix, turn on a French show (Lupin is great for this), and listen specifically for how they say "don't have." You will notice the ne is missing 90% of the time.
Practice the Liaison
Say Nous avons and Vous avez out loud. Over and over. Feel that 'z' sound. If you don't feel the vibration in your teeth, you aren't doing it right.
French isn't just a set of labels for English concepts. It’s a different way of Categorizing the world. Learning how do you say have in french is your first real step into that different world. It’s not just about possession; it’s about how you experience heat, cold, fear, and time itself.
Next time you’re about to use être, stop. Ask yourself if you’re describing a physical sensation or an age. If the answer is yes, reach for avoir. It’ll feel clunky at first, like wearing shoes on the wrong feet, but eventually, it becomes second nature. You won't be "being" hungry anymore; you'll just have the hunger, and you'll know exactly how to say it.