How do you say 'look for' in French?

Just chercher, with the object attached directly: je cherche mon téléphone. There is no equivalent of the English for, so chercher pour is a mistranslation rather than a variant.

How is chercher conjugated?

It's a regular -er verb: je cherche, tu cherches, il cherche, nous cherchons, vous cherchez, ils cherchent. The imperfect is je cherchais, the future je chercherai, and the passé composé j'ai cherché.

What does aller chercher mean?

To go and get, or to fetch. Je vais chercher le pain means you'll go out and come back with the bread. Venir chercher is its mirror image: viens me chercher, come and pick me up.

What's the difference between chercher à and essayer de?

Both mean to try, but chercher à implies a sustained effort towards a goal, while essayer de is a single attempt. Il cherche à se faire embaucher suggests a campaign; il essaie de téléphoner is one phone call.

Why is it je le cherche and not je lui cherche?

Because chercher takes a direct object. Nothing stands between the verb and what it's looking for, so the replacing pronoun has to be direct: le, la, les. Lui and leur only appear after verbs that need à.

French grammar · Beginner

Chercher in French: To Look For, To Fetch, and To Try To

Written by Camille Laurent, Lead French Curriculum Editor · Reviewed May 2026

Chercher means to look for, and the whole of for is already inside the verb: je cherche mes clés, with no preposition at all. It also gives you aller chercher (to go and get), venir chercher (to come and pick up) and chercher à faire (to try to do).

Je cherche mes clés depuis dix minutes.

I've been looking for my keys for ten minutes.

What it is

Chercher is a perfectly regular -er verb whose difficulty is entirely about what does not follow it. English needs two words, look and for, and French packs both into one, so the noun attaches directly. Everything else about the verb builds on that.

Je cherche un appartement, et je vais chercher les enfants à cinq heures. — I'm looking for a flat, and I'm picking the children up at five.

How to spot it

If a noun follows, it is the direct object and needs no preposition. If an infinitive follows, it needs à. If another verb of movement comes first, chercher means fetch.

Elle cherche du travail. — She's looking for work.
Qu'est-ce que tu cherches ? — What are you looking for?
Il cherche à comprendre. — He's trying to understand.
Viens me chercher à la gare. — Come and pick me up at the station.

Because the object is direct, the pronoun is le, la or les: je le cherche partout, I'm looking for it everywhere.

Chercher Quick Reference

Chercher and the structures around it

Structure	Meaning	Example
chercher + noun	to look for	je cherche la sortie — I'm looking for the exit
chercher à + infinitive	to try to, to seek to	il cherche à s'expliquer — he's trying to explain himself
aller chercher	to go and get, to fetch	va chercher le pain — go and get the bread
venir chercher	to come and collect	je viens te chercher — I'll come and get you
chercher dans / sur / sous	to look in / on / under	cherche sous le lit — look under the bed
se chercher	to be finding oneself	il se cherche encore — he's still finding himself
chercher des ennuis	to look for trouble	tu cherches les ennuis — you're asking for trouble
chercher ses mots	to search for the right words	elle cherchait ses mots — she was groping for words

Common Chercher Examples in French

Chercher in the situations where it comes up:

Looking for Things

Je cherche mon portefeuille.: I'm looking for my wallet.
Nous cherchons un appartement plus grand.: We're looking for a bigger flat.
Elle a cherché partout dans la maison.: She looked everywhere in the house.
Cherche dans le tiroir du haut.: Look in the top drawer.

The place you search in keeps its own preposition: chercher dans, chercher sous, chercher sur.

Fetching and Collecting

Je vais chercher les enfants à l'école.: I'm picking the children up from school.
Tu peux venir me chercher ?: Can you come and get me?
Va chercher un verre d'eau.: Go and get a glass of water.
Il est parti chercher du pain.: He's gone out for bread.

Aller chercher is the ordinary way to say fetch. There is no separate verb for it in everyday French.

Trying and Seeking

Il cherche à nous convaincre.: He's trying to convince us.
Elle ne cherche pas à se justifier.: She's not trying to justify herself.
Nous cherchons à comprendre ce qui s'est passé.: We're seeking to understand what happened.
Ne cherche pas à me faire changer d'avis.: Don't try to make me change my mind.

Chercher à is slightly more deliberate than essayer de: it suggests a sustained effort towards a goal.

Figurative Uses

Tu cherches les ennuis.: You're asking for trouble.
Arrête de chercher la petite bête.: Stop nitpicking.
Elle cherchait ses mots.: She was searching for the right words.
Il cherche toujours à avoir raison.: He always has to be right.

Chercher la petite bête, literally to look for the little creature, means to look for tiny faults.

How Chercher Works

One trap, one preposition, and a couple of structures that only make sense once you see the verb as fetch.

No Preposition Before the Thing Sought

The for of look for is inside chercher. Adding pour changes the meaning to on behalf of, which is why chercher pour mes clés sounds so strange to a French ear: it would mean searching on behalf of your keys.

Je cherche une pharmacie ouverte.

I'm looking for a chemist that's open.

chercher + object, nothing between.

The Object Is Direct, So the Pronoun Is Le or La

Since nothing separates the verb from its object, that object is direct, and it is replaced by le, la or les rather than by lui or en. Tu cherches ton téléphone ? Je le cherche aussi.

Mes lunettes ? Je les cherche depuis ce matin.

My glasses? I've been looking for them since this morning.

je le cherche, je les cherche.

Before an Infinitive, Chercher Takes À

Chercher à faire quelque chose means to try or seek to do it. The à marks the goal, in the same way it does after arriver à and réussir à.

Elle cherche à changer de métier.

She's looking to change careers.

chercher à + infinitive.

Aller and Venir Turn It Into Fetch

With a verb of movement in front, chercher stops meaning search and starts meaning collect. Je vais chercher le pain means you will physically go and come back with it, not that you'll hunt for it.

Je passe te chercher à huit heures.

I'll come by and pick you up at eight.

aller / venir / passer + chercher = fetch.

The Present Covers English's Progressive

Je cherche does the work of both I look and I am looking. Combined with depuis it also covers the English present perfect: je cherche depuis une heure, I have been looking for an hour.

Je cherche depuis une heure et je ne trouve rien.

I've been looking for an hour and I can't find anything.

One present tense, three English ones.

Common Mistakes with Chercher

Incorrect: Je cherche pour mes clés. — I'm looking for my keys.

Correct: Je cherche mes clés. — I'm looking for my keys.

The for of look for is already contained in chercher. Adding pour introduces a beneficiary, so the sentence would suggest you're searching on your keys' behalf.

Incorrect: Je cherche de comprendre. — I'm trying to understand.

Correct: Je cherche à comprendre. — I'm trying to understand.

Chercher takes à before an infinitive because the infinitive is the goal aimed at. De belongs to essayer, which expresses attempt without the same sense of direction.

Incorrect: Je lui cherche partout. — I'm looking for him everywhere.

Correct: Je le cherche partout. — I'm looking for him everywhere.

The thing or person sought is a direct object, so the pronoun is le, la or les. Lui is for verbs that need à before the person, which chercher does not.

Incorrect: Je vais aller pour les enfants. — I'm going to get the children.

Correct: Je vais chercher les enfants. — I'm going to get the children.

French expresses fetching with aller chercher, a pair of verbs with no preposition. Aller pour would read as going for the sake of the children.

Aller Chercher, Chercher À, and the Idioms

Three structures take chercher well beyond the dictionary sense of to search.

Aller, venir and passer chercher

Add a movement verb and chercher means to collect. The pronoun goes between the two verbs when it's the person being collected: viens me chercher.

Je vais chercher la voiture.: I'll go and get the car.
Elle est venue me chercher à l'aéroport.: She came to pick me up at the airport.
On passera vous chercher vers midi.: We'll come by for you around noon.
Tu peux aller chercher les billets ?: Can you go and get the tickets?

Récupérer is the alternative for objects: je récupère les billets. For people, aller chercher is far more natural.

Chercher à + infinitive

This expresses an attempt aimed at a result. It carries more intent than essayer de and often appears in the negative to deny that intent.

Il cherche à se faire remarquer.: He's trying to get himself noticed.
Je ne cherche pas à te vexer.: I'm not trying to upset you.
Elle cherche à obtenir une réponse.: She's seeking to get an answer.
Nous cherchons à réduire les coûts.: We're looking to cut costs.

In job adverts you'll see the noun form: recherche assistant bilingue, seeking a bilingual assistant.

Idioms and set phrases

Several everyday phrases use chercher figuratively, and one of them is a common piece of conversational teasing.

Tu l'as bien cherché.: You brought it on yourself.
Ne cherche pas plus loin.: Look no further.
Ne me cherche pas.: Don't push me. / Don't wind me up.
Ça va chercher dans les mille euros.: That'll come to somewhere around a thousand euros.

Chercher quelqu'un in the sense of provoking someone is very common in speech: arrête de me chercher.

Chercher FAQs

How do you say 'look for' in French?: Just chercher, with the object attached directly: je cherche mon téléphone. There is no equivalent of the English for, so chercher pour is a mistranslation rather than a variant.
How is chercher conjugated?: It's a regular -er verb: je cherche, tu cherches, il cherche, nous cherchons, vous cherchez, ils cherchent. The imperfect is je cherchais, the future je chercherai, and the passé composé j'ai cherché.
What does aller chercher mean?: To go and get, or to fetch. Je vais chercher le pain means you'll go out and come back with the bread. Venir chercher is its mirror image: viens me chercher, come and pick me up.
What's the difference between chercher à and essayer de?: Both mean to try, but chercher à implies a sustained effort towards a goal, while essayer de is a single attempt. Il cherche à se faire embaucher suggests a campaign; il essaie de téléphoner is one phone call.
Why is it je le cherche and not je lui cherche?: Because chercher takes a direct object. Nothing stands between the verb and what it's looking for, so the replacing pronoun has to be direct: le, la, les. Lui and leur only appear after verbs that need à.