Casual French Expressions with “Casser”
Continuing our series of fun French expressions, today we’ll explore the many combinations that exist with the verb “casser” (to break), and the various meanings it can evoke. Ready?
Casser (verb) in French means to break.
Here are some combinations with body parts to give it a more specific meaning — please note that these expressions are casual, not formal. You’ll hear them in spoken French.
Casser les oreilles: To break the ears. You say “Tu me casses les oreilles” to someone who is being very loud or annoying.
Casser la figure: To break the face. It’s never a good news when someone tells you “je vais te casser le figure” because that means they’re going to beat you up…! You could also use it in this instance : “J’ai manqué une marche d’escalier et me suis cassé la figure” (I missed a step and fell)
Casser les pieds: To break the feet. It means to annoy or bore someone greatly; to be a nuisance. “Il me casse les pieds à parler de son travail tout le temps” (he talks about his job all the time, it’s so annoying). We similarly say “casser les bonbons” (to break the candies — I know, it’s a funny one!)
Se casser la tête: to break one’s head. To rack one’s brain or to overthink something. This expression is used when someone is putting in a lot of mental effort trying to solve a problem or figure something out.
Other casual expressions with the verb “casser”:
Casser la croûte: To break the crust. That one is very colloquial, it means to eat quickly, most likely a snack or a light meal.
Casser la tirelire: To break the piggy bank. To spend the money that you’ve been saving up. On a cassé la tirelire pour acheter une nouvelle table à manger. (We spent our money on a new dining table).
Casser l’ambiance: to break the atmosphere. You guessed it, it means to kill the mood. You know that person who stops the music while everything is still dancing.
Did you learn something new today? I hope this was helpful!
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