Ça a l'air délicieux
To say that looks delicious in French, use Ça a l'air délicieux. It is what you say when food looks like it will taste very good.
Say it when a dish is served or when you see something tempting, before you have tasted it.
Which one should you use?
Ça a l'air délicieux comments on how food looks. Once you have actually tasted it, French speakers comment on the taste directly instead. Cela a l'air délicieux is a more formal version, and Ça a l'air trop bon ! is an informal, enthusiastic way to say the same.
How does it change in a sentence?
When you talk about a specific feminine dish rather than using ça, the adjective becomes délicieuse, as with la tarte, the pie.
Did you know?
- The phrase uses the verb avoir ('to have') because avoir l'air literally means 'to have the air' of something.
- French speakers use the word trop, meaning 'too much', as a slang intensifier to mean 'very' when saying Ça a l'air trop bon !
- The word délicieux is what linguists call a 'learned borrowing'. This means it was imported directly from Late Latin into French rather than evolving naturally from the spoken Old French of the time.
Examples in context
- Ça a l'air délicieux.That looks delicious.This is the phrase on its own, a complete reply.Tatoeba #10491982 by lbdx, translation #9399253 by shekitten
- Ouh ! Ça a l'air délicieux.Wow! That looks delicious.Ouh is an exclamation that adds delight before the phrase.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.The phrase is followed by J'aimerais bien goûter, meaning I'd like to try it.Tatoeba #12916357 by lbdx, translation #8635716 by CK
- Marie, votre dessert a l'air délicieux.Marie, your dessert looks delicious.
- Waouh, cette tarte a l'air trop bonne !Wow, this pie looks delicious!
Example conversation
Manon and Gabriel are looking at a freshly baked tart in a bakery.
- ManonRegarde cette tarte, Gabriel.Look at this tart, Gabriel.
- GabrielOui, ça a l'air délicieux !Yes, that looks delicious!
- ManonOn en achète une ?Shall we buy one?
- GabrielAbsolument, allons-y.Absolutely, let's go.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries a, délicieux, ça, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
