What does avoir mean in English?

avoir usually means "to have" in English. The exact translation depends on context and common expressions.

Is avoir a common French verb?

Yes. avoir is one of the most common French verbs and is worth learning early because it appears often in beginner stories and everyday conversation.

avoir usually means to have in English. Here are the main meanings learners should know:

Forms to know

Conjugation table

Core learner coverage: present, passé composé, imperfect, future, conditional, present subjunctive, and the useful imperative forms where they exist.

Tense	je	tu	il/elle/on	nous	vous	ils/elles
Présent	ai	as	a	avons	avez	ont
Passé composé	ai eu	as eu	a eu	avons eu	avez eu	ont eu
Imparfait	avais	avais	avait	avions	aviez	avaient
Futur simple	aurai	auras	aura	aurons	aurez	auront
Conditionnel présent	aurais	aurais	aurait	aurions	auriez	auraient
Subjonctif présent	aie	aies	ait	ayons	ayez	aient
Impératif	—	aie	—	ayons	ayez	—

Avoir forms its own compound tenses with avoir: j’ai eu, j’avais eu, j’aurai eu. As an auxiliary, it precedes the past participle of the main verb.

French uses avoir where English often uses be: avoir faim, avoir soif, avoir peur.
Age is expressed with avoir: j’ai vingt ans literally means I have twenty years.
Most verbs form the passé composé with avoir: j’ai vu, nous avons parlé.

Examples

J’ai deux frères.

I have two brothers.

Vous avez faim ?

Are you hungry?

Nous avons fini le livre.

We finished the book.