Dictionary / French / I'm hungry
How to Say "I'm hungry" in French
J'ai faim
/ʒe fɛ̃/
Literally: I have hunger
J'
I
ai
have
faim
hunger
Good to know
J'ai très faim means you are very hungry, and je meurs de faim (I'm dying of hunger) is a common way to say you are starving. With friends you may hear j'ai la dalle, which is slang. Thirst works the same way: j'ai soif.
Correct
J'ai faim
What people say wrong
Je suis faim
Not French; sounds like 'I am hunger'
The mistake to avoid. Hunger takes avoir in French, not être. You have hunger, you are not hunger. Faim is a noun, so je suis faim does not work as a sentence. It is the same pattern as j'ai chaud and j'ai froid. Learn it once and you can say all of them.
In context
J'ai faim, on mange quand ?
I'm hungry, when are we eating?
Tu as faim ? Il reste du pain dans la cuisine.
Are you hungry? There's some bread left in the kitchen.
Les enfants avaient très faim après la piscine.
The children were really hungry after swimming.