il cherchait

was looking for, was searching for

ʃ ɛ ʁ . ʃ ɛ → chercher
cherch search + ait he/she/it imperfect
verb · 3rd-person singular, imperfect tense Common #6,405
was looking for, was searching for The same form can mean “was looking for” or “were looking for,” depending on the subject.
FR: Elle cherchait ses clés.
EN: She was looking for her keys.
Conjugation of chercher
Indicative imperfect
SingularPlural
First cherchais cherchions
Second cherchais cherchiez
Third cherchait cherchaient

Père ne cherchait pas un livre sur le tombeau, mais le tombeau lui-même !

Father was not looking for a book about the tomb, but the tomb itself!

— Indiana Jones et la dernière croisade (1989)

Elle te cherchait.

She was looking for you.

Marie a trouvé ce qu'elle cherchait.

Marie found what she was looking for.

Tout le monde vous cherchait.

Everyone was looking for you.

Sami cherchait un travail au mauvais endroit.

Sami was looking for a job in the wrong place.

Nina cherchait une sortie de secours.

Nina was looking for an emergency exit.

— La Femme de ménage (2025)

Flávio cherchait à te joindre.

Flávio was trying to get in touch with you.

— Bacurau (2019)

Elle le cherchait.

She was looking for him.

Le patron te cherchait.

The boss was looking for you.

Sima Guang les cherchait.

Sima Guang was looking for them.

— Un Soleil (2019)

Tom cherchait un endroit avec des prix raisonnables pour manger.

Tom was looking for a place to eat with reasonable prices.

Qui que ce soit, il cherchait quelque chose.

Whoever it was, he was looking for something.

— Harry Potter et la Chambre des secrets (2002)

Un homme qui cherchait à vous rencontrer est venu pendant que vous étiez sorti.

A man who was looking to meet you came by while you were out.

Il te cherchait.

He was looking for you.

Tom a dit que Marie ne cherchait pas de travail.

Tom said that Marie wasn't looking for a job.

Mary te cherchait à ce moment-là.

Mary was looking for you at that time.

On a trouvé ce qu'on cherchait.

We found what we were looking for.

Le garçon cherchait la clé perdue.

The boy was looking for the lost key.

Tom cherchait quelque chose.

Tom was looking for something.

Mais j'avais ce qu'elle cherchait, un ticket retour dans la tribu.

But I had what she was looking for: a way back into the tribe.

— Avatar (2009)

Il cherchait son stylo.

He was looking for his pen.

Tu sais ce qu'elle cherchait ?

Do you know what she was looking for?

— The Rip (2026)

Elle cherchait peut-être ce qui lui avait manqué toute sa vie.

Perhaps she was looking for what she had been missing all her life.

— Vacances à Venise (1955)

Elle cherchait tout sauf un amant qui se pose.

She was looking for anything but a settled lover.

— 2046 (2004)

Son père le cherchait.

His father was looking for him.

— Detective Chinatown (2015)

Il fuyait une bande et cherchait refuge.

He was fleeing a gang and seeking refuge.

— La piel que habito (2011)

Et il cherchait.

And he was looking.

Après l'accident, on cherchait tous les deux à aller mieux.

After the accident, we were both trying to get better.

— Anatomie d'une chute (2023)

Mais ça faisait longtemps que la loi me cherchait.

But the law had been after me for a long time.

— Carandiru (2003)

Sami cherchait désespérément des réponses.

Sami was desperately searching for answers.

Qu'est-ce qu'il cherchait ?

What was he looking for?

Elle cherchait la pierre précieuse.

She was looking for the precious stone.

— Wake Up Dead Man : Une histoire à couteaux tirés (2025)

Tout le monde te cherchait.

Everyone was looking for you.

C'est exactement ce qu'on cherchait.

This is exactly what we were looking for.

Tom demanda à Mary qui elle cherchait.

Tom asked Mary who she was looking for.

On cherchait Harry.

We were looking for Harry.

— Harry Potter et la Coupe de feu (2005)

Tom trouva le chapeau que Marie cherchait au sous-sol.

Tom found the hat Mary was looking for in the basement.

Je ne savais pas ce qu'il cherchait.

I didn’t know what he was looking for.

Ce cavalier noir cherchait quelque chose ou quelqu'un.

This black knight was looking for something or someone.

— Le Seigneur des anneaux : La Communauté de l'anneau (2001)

Bob cherchait quelqu'un avec qui parler.

Bob was looking for someone to talk to.

Et aussi ce qu'on cherchait dans cette fichue maison.

And also what we were looking for in that damn house.

— M le maudit (1931)

Tom cherchait à manipuler Marie.

Tom was trying to manipulate Marie.

Yanni cherchait de l'aide.

Yanni was looking for help.

Tom a trouvé ce qu'il cherchait.

Tom found what he was looking for.

Tom a dit qu'il cherchait quelqu'un qui parle français.

Tom said he was looking for someone who speaks French.

Je savais qui elle cherchait.

I knew who she was looking for.

Il ne cherchait pas des bijoux.

He wasn't looking for jewelry.

— Men in Black (1997)

Il cherchait quelque chose.

He was looking for something.

Que cherchait-il ?

What was he looking for?

Celeste te cherchait.

Celeste was looking for you.

— Mystic River (2003)

Tout le monde me cherchait mais c'est ma mère qui m'a trouvé.

Everyone was looking for me, but it was my mother who found me.

— Le prisonnier du Caucase (1996)

Il a dit qu'il te cherchait.

He said he was looking for you.

Tout le monde était au courant qu'elle cherchait un terrain.

Everyone knew that she was looking for a plot of land.

— Secret Sunshine (2007)

Le soleil lui a grillé le crâne ou il cherchait un truc.

The sun either scorched his skull or he was looking for something.

— Interstellar (2014)

Tom a dit à Mary que la police le cherchait.

Tom told Mary that the police were looking for him.

Il te cherchait, mon trésor.

He was looking for you, my treasure.

— Pinocchio (2019)

Quelqu'un vous cherchait.

Someone was looking for you.

— Princess Bride (1987)

Tom a dit qu'il cherchait un endroit où manger.

Tom said he was looking for somewhere to eat.

On te cherchait.

We were looking for you.

— 3 Idiots (2009)

Tu m'as trouvée où personne ne cherchait.

You found me where no one was looking.

Un type appelé Tom a dit qu'il te cherchait.

A guy named Tom said he was looking for you.

On n'a rien fait de mal, on cherchait sa boucle d'oreille dans l'herbe.

We didn’t do anything wrong; we were looking for her earring in the grass.

— Marty Supreme (2025)

Tom m'a dit qu'il cherchait Mary.

Tom told me he was looking for Mary.

Il cherchait un cadeau pour un gamin.

He was looking for a gift for a kid.

— Quand passent les cigognes (1957)

Il cherchait une cravate mais je ne la lui ai pas donnée.

He was looking for a tie but I didn't give it to him.

— Enquête sur un citoyen au-dessus de tout soupçon (1970)

Tu sais quoi, Verodin vient de me dire qu'il cherchait à bâtir en banlieue est.

You know what? Verodin just told me he was looking to build in the eastern suburbs.

— The Beat That My Heart Skipped (2005)

On te cherchait partout.

We were looking for you everywhere.

— Sous la chaleur du soleil (1994)

Ce n'est pas Tom que Mary cherchait à protéger.

It wasn't Tom that Mary was trying to protect.

Elle cherchait une chambre avec salle de bain et en a trouvé une près d'ici.

She was looking for a room with a bathroom and found one near here.

C'est ce qu'on cherchait.

This is what we were looking for.

Il cherchait une excuse pour piquer le business de Carotte.

He was looking for an excuse to steal Carotte's business.

— La Cité de Dieu (2002)

Il a réussi à trouver ce que Lockjaw cherchait.

He managed to find what Lockjaw was looking for.

— Une bataille après l'autre (2025)

Le scientifique cherchait dans la vallée pour des os de dinosaures.

The scientist was searching the valley for dinosaur bones.

On cherchait quoi, ensemble, une réponse ?

What were we looking for together, an answer?

— Malcolm X (1992)

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