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All about the French idiom "Tu me casses les pieds"

On this page, we are going to explain you all the things you ever wanted to know about the funny expression "Tu me casses les pieds". To be clear, this includes a complete guide of what it is and how you can use it in a normal conversation with an audio example.Additionally, we also added some useful things like slow pronunciation audio, synonym, dialogue example and more!


English translation

  • Translation : You are annoying me

  • Literal meaning : You are breaking my feet

  • Register : Informal - Funny

How to pronounce it?

Slow

Normal

  • IPA : / ty mə kas le pje /

aesthetic french quote casser les pieds

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What does it mean exactly?

Definition

Sometimes you might get so annoyed by someone that you feel like a physical pain in your body. Like if someone was crushing a part of you... your feet, for example! Isn't it annoying (and painful) to have someone crushing your feet?

How to use it

Every time someone annoys you with their behavior, their words or even just their presence you can say: "Tu me casses les pieds". For a more complete sentence, you can add before "Arrête !" (Stop!) or "Ça suffit !" (That's enough!)

This is not something very nice to say, but it's actually one of the nicest ways to express this feeling in French. The softest would be "Tu m'embêtes" (You annoy me).

But as you probably guessed, you should be careful with this one anyway and avoid using it in a formal situation, at work for example.

Fun stuff

This structure is super powerful because you can adapt it to infinite situations. To be more precise, you can play with three things: the angriness level, the vulgarity level and reason why you are angry,

To increase the angriness level, you can replace the verb "casser" by "briser" (to crush) or "péter" ("to break" but more violent)

Then, if you are really pissed and don't care about being vulgar you can replace "Pieds" (Feet) by "Couilles" (Balls).

Finally, if you want to be more precise about why you are pissed, you can replace "pieds" (feet) by the part of your body that is concerned. For example, if someone is talking loudly, you can say: "Tu me casses les oreilles." (You are breaking my ears.)

Basically, you just have to start with "Tu me casses..." (You are breaking my...) and be creative.

Synonyms / Related

↓ Example in a story with translation ↓

Finally, let's see an example in a parallel story with slow audio.

Le coût de l'indifférence

The cost of indifference

Théo et Olivia sont sur le point d'aller à la plage.
Théo and Olivia are about to go to the beach.
OliviaTu as tout mis dans le sac ?
Did you put everything in the bag?
ThéoOui, j'ai pris nos serviettes, la crème solaire et une bouteille d'eau.
Yes, I took our towels, sunscreen and a bottle of water.
OliviaParfait, et nos maillots de bain ?
Perfect, and our swimsuits?
ThéoJe pensais les mettre maintenant.
I thought of wearing them now.
OliviaTu as raison. Donne-moi cinq minutes. Je vais me préparer.
You are right. Give me five minutes. I'm going to get ready.
ThéoD'accord.
Alright.

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