What does “j’ai hâte” mean in French?

J’ai hâte is how French says “I can’t wait.” La hâte on its own means haste or hurry, so you are literally announcing that you are in a rush for something to arrive. Add de plus an infinitive for what you are waiting for — j’ai hâte de te voir — or que plus the subjunctive when it depends on someone else: j’ai hâte qu’il arrive.

The noun stays impatient rather than happy everywhere else: à la hâte means done hurriedly and carelessly, en toute hâte means in a great rush, and se hâter is a formal “to hurry.” Only the avoir hâte frame turns that impatience into pleasure. Fittingly, hâte is one of the h aspiré words — la hâte, never “l’hâte.”