Casser is probably the first word that comes to mind when you think of "to break" in French. But just like in English, there are many nuances and situations where other verbs are more appropriate.

Whether you're talking about breaking a leg, breaking a record, or breaking up with someone, French has a specific way to express it.

Let's dive into 9 different ways to say "to break" in French, so you can choose the perfect verb every time!

The most common 'to break' – casser

The most common 'to break' – casser

Casser is the most fundamental and widely used verb in French for 'to break'.

As a regular -er verb, casser conjugates predictably, making it relatively easy to master. It typically refers to physically breaking something, rendering it in pieces or non-functional.

You can use casser in almost any situation, from informal conversations with friends to more formal discussions, making it a highly versatile word in daily French.

While its primary meaning is 'to physically break,' casser extends to several other contexts, including 'to shatter,' 'to ruin,' 'to break a record,' or even 'to break a promise.'

Understanding casser means recognizing its diverse applications: casser un objet (to break an object), casser un record (to break a record), casser une promesse (to break a promise), or casser la croûte (to have a quick bite, an idiom). The context usually clarifies the intended meaning.

For example, if you say J'ai cassé mon téléphone, it means 'I broke my phone.' But Il a cassé tous les records translates to 'He broke all the records,' showing a non-physical 'breaking.'

Beyond direct translations, casser is part of many common French idioms. For instance, 'casser les pieds à quelqu'un' means 'to annoy someone' (literally 'to break someone's feet'), and 'casser la voix' means 'to lose one's voice' (literally 'to break the voice').

Fortunately, the context in which casser is used almost always makes its meaning clear. Pay attention to the direct object and the overall situation to grasp the nuance.

Other verbs like briser (to shatter, often with more force or emotionally) and rompre (to break off, often for relationships or agreements) exist, but casser remains the general-purpose 'to break'.

💡 * J'ai cassé le vase. (I broke the vase.)

• Elle a cassé son stylo en deux. (She broke her pen in half.)
• Nous allons casser la croûte. (We are going to have a quick bite.)
• Tu me casses les pieds avec tes plaintes. (You're annoying me with your complaints.)
• Il a cassé son record personnel. (He broke his personal record.)

To break into pieces, to shatter – briser

The French verb for 'to break into pieces' or 'to shatter' is briser.

Briser is a versatile French verb that primarily means to break, to shatter, or to smash something. It often implies a more violent or complete destruction than the more general verb casser. Think of glass shattering or an object breaking into many fragments.

It's frequently used for fragile items like glass, mirrors, or ceramics. For example, you might say « J'ai brisé le vase » (I broke the vase) if it shattered completely, or « La tempête a brisé les fenêtres » (The storm shattered the windows).

Beyond physical objects, briser also carries strong metaphorical weight. It can describe emotional damage, as in « briser le cœur » (to break someone's heart) or « briser un rêve » (to shatter a dream).

It's also used for breaking abstract concepts like silence or rules. « Briser le silence » means to break the silence, often implying a significant or difficult action. Similarly, « briser les règles » means to break the rules.

As a regular -er verb, briser follows a straightforward conjugation pattern. Its past participle, brisé, is frequently used as an adjective, meaning broken or shattered (e.g., un miroir brisé - a shattered mirror).

While casser is a more common, general verb for 'to break' (e.g., casser un crayon - to break a pencil, casser le bras - to break an arm), briser emphasizes a more forceful, often irreversible, and fragmented break. If something is brisé, it's likely in many pieces.

💡 *Il a brisé le miroir en mille morceaux. (He shattered the mirror into a thousand pieces.)
*Cette nouvelle a brisé son cœur. (This news broke her heart.)
*Quelqu'un doit briser le silence. (Someone needs to break the silence.)
*La tempête a brisé les fenêtres. (The storm shattered the windows.)
*Le vase est brisé, on ne peut plus le réparer. (The vase is shattered, we can't fix it anymore.)

2. To break a relationship, a promise, or a bone – rompre

The verb rompre is a versatile French verb that directly translates to 'to break' in English. It's an essential word to know, as it covers a wide array of situations from relationships to physical objects.

Rompre is used for breaking various things, including relationships, promises, silence, or even physical objects like bones or chains. Its core meaning implies a separation or an end to something.

Rompre is an irregular -re verb. Its present tense conjugations are: je romps, tu romps, il/elle/on rompt, nous rompons, vous rompez, ils/elles rompent. Pay attention to the 't' in the third-person singular and the consistent stem.

One of the most common and significant uses of rompre is in the context of ending a relationship. You'll often hear 'rompre avec quelqu'un' (to break up with someone) or 'rompre les fiançailles' (to break off an engagement).

Rompre also applies to abstract concepts like promises or silence. For instance, 'rompre une promesse' means 'to break a promise', and 'rompre le silence' means 'to break the silence'.

While other verbs like casser are often used for breaking objects, rompre can also be used, particularly when implying a more forceful or definitive break, such as 'rompre un os' (to break a bone) or 'rompre une chaîne' (to break a chain).

While both rompre and casser mean 'to break', casser generally implies a more accidental or less definitive break of a physical object. Rompre often carries a sense of formality, finality, or a significant disruption, especially for non-physical things.

💡 *Il a rompu avec sa petite amie. (He broke up with his girlfriend.)
*Elle a rompu le silence. (She broke the silence.)
*Nous avons rompu notre promesse. (We broke our promise.)
*Le chien a rompu sa laisse. (The dog broke its leash.)
*J'espère ne jamais rompre un os. (I hope I never break a bone.)

To crack or split – fendre

The verb fendre in French primarily means 'to crack', 'to split', or 'to cleave'. It implies a separation or rupture, often along a line or grain.

When used transitively, fendre takes a direct object, indicating that someone or something is actively splitting or cracking another object. For example, fendre du bois (to split wood).

The reflexive form, se fendre, is used when something cracks or splits by itself, or when a part of something cracks. This often describes a natural process or an accidental occurrence, like a glass cracking.

Fendre also appears in common figurative expressions, such as fendre l'air (to cut through the air, move very fast) or se fendre la poire (to split one's sides laughing, to laugh heartily).

💡 * Le bûcheron va fendre le bois pour l'hiver. (The lumberjack will split the wood for winter.)

• Le verre s'est fendu quand il est tombé. (The glass cracked when it fell.)
• Elle a fendu la foule pour atteindre la scène. (She cut through the crowd to reach the stage.)
• Ils se sont fendus la poire pendant tout le film. (They split their sides laughing throughout the whole movie.)
• La foudre a fendu l'arbre en deux. (The lightning split the tree in two.)

To smash or shatter violently – fracasser

The verb fracasser means "to smash," "to shatter," or "to break violently."

It implies a strong, often destructive action, where something is broken into many pieces, usually with considerable force or impact. Think of glass shattering or an object being forcefully broken.

You'll use fracasser when describing accidents, vandalism, or any situation where an object is severely damaged or destroyed. It often conveys a sense of irreversible damage.

Fracasser is a regular -er verb and is typically used transitively, meaning it takes a direct object (e.g., "to smash something"). It can also be used pronominally (se fracasser) to mean "to crash" or "to get smashed."

While casser means "to break" in a general sense, fracasser emphasizes the violence and often the complete destruction involved. It's a much stronger word than casser.

💡 * Il a fracassé la vitre avec une pierre. (He smashed the window with a stone.)

• La voiture s'est fracassée contre un arbre. (The car crashed/smashed into a tree.)
• J'ai accidentellement fracassé mon téléphone. (I accidentally smashed my phone.)
• Le vase est tombé et s'est fracassé en mille morceaux. (The vase fell and shattered into a thousand pieces.)

To demolish or break down completely – démolir

The French verb démolir is your go-to word for expressing the idea 'to demolish' or 'to break down completely'. It signifies a thorough and often destructive dismantling, whether literally or figuratively.

Its primary and most straightforward application is in the context of physical destruction. When you talk about tearing down a building, a wall, or any structure, démolir is the perfect verb. Think of construction sites or planned destructions.

Beyond the concrete, démolir extends its meaning to the abstract. It can be used to describe the act of démolir un argument (demolishing an argument), or démolir le moral de quelqu'un (shattering someone's morale or confidence). Here, it implies a complete dismantling of an idea or an emotional state.

In a more informal and critical sense, démolir can signify 'to tear apart' or 'to trash' something or someone with words. For instance, a reviewer might démolir un film (trash a movie) or démolir la réputation de quelqu'un (destroy someone's reputation) through harsh criticism.

Démolir is a regular -IR verb, making its conjugation straightforward. Remember its core implication of complete destruction or thorough breakdown, which applies across its various literal and metaphorical uses.

💡 * Ils vont démolir l'ancien bâtiment pour en construire un nouveau. (They are going to demolish the old building to build a new one.)

• Son discours a démoli tous les arguments de l'opposition. (His speech demolished all the opposition's arguments.)
• Le critique a complètement démoli le film dans son article. (The critic completely tore apart the film in his article.)
• La nouvelle a démoli son moral. (The news shattered his morale.)

To crack or give way under pressure – craquer

The verb craquer literally means 'to crack' or 'to creak' in a physical sense. However, when referring to people or situations, it takes on the meaning of 'to give way under pressure,' 'to break down,' or 'to snap'.

When applied to a person, craquer signifies reaching an emotional or mental breaking point, an inability to cope with stress, or an emotional collapse. It implies that one's endurance or mental fortitude has been exhausted.

A very common expression is Je vais craquer (I'm going to crack/break down), indicating someone is at their absolute limit. It can also describe a system or structure failing, as in le système a craqué (the system gave way).

💡 * Le vieux pont a craqué sous le poids du camion. (The old bridge cracked under the weight of the truck.)

• Après des semaines de stress intense, elle a fini par craquer. (After weeks of intense stress, she finally broke down.)
• Ne me pousse pas à bout, je sens que je vais craquer! (Don't push me to the limit, I feel like I'm going to snap!)
• Le système informatique a craqué face à la demande massive. (The IT system gave way under the massive demand.)
• Il n'en pouvait plus et a craqué en plein milieu de la réunion. (He couldn't take it anymore and broke down in the middle of the meeting.)

To break into pieces (literally 'put in pieces') – mettre en pièces

The expression mettre en pièces literally translates to 'to put in pieces' or 'to put into pieces'. It's used to describe the act of breaking something into many small parts.

This phrase is most commonly used to describe the literal destruction of an object, tearing it apart, or shattering it.

Beyond its literal sense, mettre en pièces can also be used figuratively to mean 'to tear to shreds' or 'to rip apart' a reputation, an argument, or a piece of work, implying harsh criticism or destruction of credibility.

💡 * Le chien a mis en pièces le coussin. (The dog tore the cushion to pieces.)

• Les critiques ont mis en pièces son nouveau roman. (The critics tore his new novel to shreds.)
• Il a mis en pièces le document avant de le jeter. (He tore the document into pieces before throwing it away.)
• Son témoignage a mis en pièces l'argument de la défense. (His testimony tore the defense's argument to pieces.)

To fracture (especially a bone) – se fracturer

The French verb se fracturer means 'to fracture,' and it is specifically used to describe the breaking of a bone. It's a reflexive verb, meaning the subject is both the one acting and the one affected.

As a reflexive verb, se fracturer translates literally to 'to fracture oneself.' This is crucial for correct usage; for instance, Je me suis fracturé le bras means 'I fractured my arm' (literally, 'I fractured myself the arm').

Like all reflexive verbs in French, se fracturer uses the auxiliary verb être in compound tenses such as the passé composé. This means you'll say Je me suis fracturé(e), Tu t'es fracturé(e), etc.

Se fracturer is almost exclusively used in medical contexts for bone fractures. While casser also means 'to break,' it's more general (e.g., casser un verre - to break a glass) and less specific to medical bone injuries than se fracturer.

💡 * Il s'est fracturé la jambe en skiant. (He fractured his leg while skiing.)

• Elle s'est fracturé le poignet en tombant. (She fractured her wrist falling.)
• Vous vous êtes fracturé une côte? (Did you fracture a rib?)
• Après l'accident, il a dû se faire opérer pour sa jambe fracturée. (After the accident, he had to have surgery for his fractured leg.)
• Attention, le sol est glissant, vous pourriez vous fracturer quelque chose. (Be careful, the floor is slippery, you could fracture something.)

Are there other ways to say 'to break' in French?

Are there other ways to say 'to break' in French?

Our list features the most common ways to say 'to break' in French. However, the French language is rich with nuances, and there are many other verbs, from very specific to regional or slang, that convey different types of 'breaking' – some of which even this author might not be aware of!

You can also do an online search for "comment dire casser en ___", followed by a specific Francophone country or region, or simply "synonymes de casser" for a deeper dive into the nuances.

You might find some interesting synonyms for casser or rompre on these lists. Always make sure to check a word’s specific definition and observe its usage in context before incorporating it into your vocabulary.

Pay attention as you read, watch, and listen to things in French — you may discover different ways to express the act of 'breaking' depending on the object, the intensity, or the nuance implied.

And if you’re looking for more specific verbs related to 'breaking' or synonyms for casser and rompre, the WordReference entries for casser and rompre are excellent places to start!

I hope you found this article helpful in navigating the various ways to say 'to break' in French. As the saying goes, 'On ne fait pas d'omelette sans casser des œufs.' (You can't make an omelette without breaking eggs.) So, don't be afraid to 'break' out your new vocabulary and make some linguistic omelettes!