ça a l'air délicieux
To say looks delicious in French, use ça a l'air délicieux. It is a compliment on how food looks before you taste it.
ça a l'air délicieux comments on the look of a dish. Once you have tasted the food, a different phrase is used to praise the actual taste.
Which one should you use?
Ça a l'air super bon means it looks super tasty and is casual. Ça donne envie means it makes you want to eat it.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
Replacing ça with cela gives cela a l'air délicieux, which is more formal and fits written French or very polite speech.
How does it change in a sentence?
l'air comes from an idiom meaning to look or to seem, followed by an adjective.
Did you know?
- The word délicieux is a 'learned borrowing', meaning it was consciously taken from Late Latin deliciōsus rather than evolving naturally through spoken Vulgar Latin.
- The word air in ça a l'air literally means 'air' or 'appearance'. To say something looks delicious, French speakers essentially say it 'has the air' of being delicious.
- While délicieux is a standard compliment, using it too frequently in a French meal can sometimes seem exaggerated. Many native speakers prefer the simpler c'est bon to express genuine satisfaction.
Examples in context
- Ça a l'air délicieux.That looks delicious.This is the standard compliment on its own.Tatoeba #10491982 by lbdx, translation #9399253 by shekitten
- Ouh ! Ça a l'air délicieux.Wow! That looks delicious.Ouh ! is an exclamation like wow.Tatoeba #1339169 by sacredceltic, translation #889784 by CK
- Ça a l'air délicieux. J'aimerais bien goûter.That looks delicious. I'd like to try it.J'aimerais bien goûter adds that the speaker would like to try it.Tatoeba #12916357 by lbdx, translation #8635716 by CK
- Wow, cette tarte a l'air tellement délicieuse et appétissante ! J'ai hâte de la goûter !Wow, this tart looks so delicious and appetizing! I can't wait to taste it!
Example conversation
Hugo and Emma are looking at a cake in a bakery window.
- HugoRegarde ce gâteau, ça a l'air délicieux !Look at this cake, it looks delicious!
- EmmaC'est vrai, je veux essayer une part.It's true, I want to try a slice.
- HugoOn en prend un pour nous deux ?Shall we get one for the two of us?
- EmmaOui, c'est une excellente idée, Hugo.Yes, that is an excellent idea, Hugo.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries a, délicieux, ça, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
