ça a l'air super
To say that sounds great in French, use ça a l'air super. It shows enthusiasm or agreement when you hear a suggestion or a piece of news.
What does it mean word for word?
ça a l'air is the idiomatic way to say it looks or it seems, so the phrase literally reads as that has the air super.
Which one should you use?
ça a l'air génial is a slightly stronger alternative. C'est super! means that's great and Génial! means fantastic, both informal. C'est formidable! means that's splendid and suits formal situations.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
Using formidable instead of super, as in ça a l'air formidable, raises the register slightly for formal or polite contexts.
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often say ça sonne super, but the French verb for to sound refers to a physical sound or a ringing phone, not to an impression of an idea. Stick with ça a l'air super.
Did you know?
- While formidable in English often means something frightening or overwhelming, in French it is used to mean 'splendid' or 'wonderful'.
- The word super in your phrase is actually a linguistic traveler. While it originates from Latin, many linguists believe it may have also been borrowed from a Germanic root meaning 'to sip' or 'to sup'.
Examples in context
- Ça a l'air super !That sounds great.Ça a l'air super works as a complete enthusiastic reply.Tatoeba #1847557 by sacredceltic, translation #1839561 by CK
- Votre proposition est formidable!Your proposal sounds great!
- Les vacances en France, c'est super!Going on vacation in France sounds great!
- On se retrouve demain soir? Génial!Shall we meet tomorrow evening? Fantastic!
- Je suis enthousiaste pour notre voyage à Paris. C'est génial!I'm excited about our trip to Paris. That's fantastic!
- Ton projet, ça a l'air super.Your project sounds great.
Example conversation
Emma and Lucas are discussing weekend plans.
- EmmaOn va au cinéma samedi soir ?Shall we go to the cinema on Saturday night?
- LucasÇa a l'air super, Emma !That sounds great, Emma!
- EmmaJe réserve les billets alors.I will book the tickets then.
- LucasParfait, merci beaucoup.Perfect, thank you very much.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries a, super, ça, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
