What does it mean word for word?
Literally, ça a l'air super translates to "that has the air super".
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
In informal settings, you might use Ça a l'air génial. to say "it looks great" or C'est vraiment top. to emphasize that something looks fantastic. For formal situations, you can use Cela a l'air superbe. to mean "it looks superb", or C'est vraiment magnifique. to say something looks truly magnificent. A key way to increase formality is to use cela instead of ça, such as in the phrase cela a l'air excellent.
How does it change in a sentence?
In the phrase ça a l'air super, the verb a (from avoir) is used in the third person singular to agree with the pronoun ça. You can replace the adjective super with other adjectives like génial or formidable to change the intensity of the praise.
Did you know?
- The word super is a linguistic double in French. While it is used in ça a l'air super to mean 'great', it is a doublet of the word sur, which means 'on' or 'above'.
- In French, the expression avoir l'air does not just describe visual beauty. It is frequently used to describe a person's mood or perceived state, such as looking tired or grumpy.
- The word super in informal French can function as an adverb meaning 'very'. For example, c'est super bon means 'it is very good', which is different from the English use of 'super' as a prefix.
Examples in context
- Wahou, ça a l'air génial !Wow, it looks great!
- Regarde ce nouveau gâteau, ça a l'air super !Look at this new cake, it looks great!
- Ton nouveau dessin, ça a l'air super.Your new drawing looks great.
- Ce projet, ça a l'air super.This project looks great.
- Regarde ce gâteau, ça a l'air super !Look at this cake, it looks great!
Example conversation
Gabriel shows Emma a photo of his new apartment.
- GabrielRegarde, j'ai enfin emménagé !Look, I finally moved in!
- EmmaOh, ça a l'air super, Gabriel !Oh, it looks great, Gabriel!
- GabrielMerci, j'aime beaucoup la lumière.Thanks, I really like the light.
- EmmaC'est vraiment un bel endroit.It is really a beautiful place.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries a, super, ça, CC BY-SA 4.0.
