ça a l'air délicieux
ça a l'air délicieux is the French way to say 'it looks delicious'.
This phrase is used to express that food appears to taste good based on its appearance.
Which one should you use?
While ça a l'air délicieux is used for high praise, ça a l'air bon is a very common and slightly less intense alternative meaning 'it looks good'.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
Using ça is more common in spoken, informal French, whereas Cela a l'air délicieux. would be the formal written equivalent. Other informal options include Ça a l'air trop bon! (It looks delicious!), C'est super appétissant! (It's super appetizing!) and Wow, ça donne vraiment envie! (Wow, it really makes me want it!).
How does it change in a sentence?
The adjective délicieux must agree in gender with the object being described. Use délicieuse if the food is a feminine noun like la tarte.
Did you know?
- If you want to sound very enthusiastic in a casual setting, you can say Ça a l'air trop bon! Even though trop usually means 'too much', in modern spoken French it is used like 'so' or 'very'.
- The word ça is considered a 'calque', meaning it was modeled after the German word Es, which functions as a neutral pronoun.
- The expression avoir l'air literally translates to 'to have the air', suggesting that the food possesses a certain atmosphere or appearance.
Examples in context
- Ça a l'air délicieux.It looks delicious.
- Ce gâteau, ça a l'air délicieux !This cake, it looks delicious!
- Regarde ce plat, ça a l'air délicieux.Look at this dish, it looks delicious.
Example conversation
Gabriel and Chloé are looking at a menu in a restaurant.
- GabrielRegarde ce plat de pâtes.Look at this pasta dish.
- ChloéOh, ça a l'air délicieux !Oh, it looks delicious!
- GabrielTu veux le goûter ?Do you want to taste it?
- ChloéOui, avec plaisir.Yes, with pleasure.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries a, délicieux, ça, CC BY-SA 4.0.
