French · Romance & Rejection
Casse-toi !
kass TWAH · /kas twa/
Get lost! / Beat it! / Piss off!
3/5 Watch your audience
genuinely rude; friends only, never at work
Literally
"Break yourself"
Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.
How to use it
The blunt "get lost" — useful for shutting down an unwanted advance or a pest who won't take the hint. "Dégage !" (clear off) and "casse-toi" are interchangeable here. Firm and rude, but a legitimate self-defence phrase; sharpen with "casse-toi de là" or the fuller Sarkozy version if you truly mean it.
Heard in the wild
Non merci, casse-toi maintenant.
No thanks, now get lost.
Where it lands
France (universal)
Quick answers
- What does "Casse-toi !" mean?
- In French, "Casse-toi !" means "Get lost! / Beat it! / Piss off!". Literally it's "Break yourself". The blunt "get lost" — useful for shutting down an unwanted advance or a pest who won't take the hint. "Dégage !" (clear off) and "casse-toi" are interchangeable here. Firm and rude, but a legitimate self-defence phrase; sharpen with "casse-toi de là" or the fuller Sarkozy version if you truly mean it.
- Is "Casse-toi !" offensive?
- It's genuinely rude — a 3/5 (Watch your audience) on the Punch-o-Meter. Fine among friends, never at work or with people you've just met.
- How do you pronounce "Casse-toi !"?
- Say it "kass TWAH" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: kas twa.
Related in French
The same idea, elsewhere
Via concepts like "Get lost".
- German Hau ab! Get lost! / Clear off! / Beat it!
- Greek άντε γαμήσου Go fuck yourself / get lost / piss off.
- Italian Vaffanculo! Fuck off! / Go to hell!
- Japanese 死ね Drop dead / go die
- Korean 꺼져 Get lost / piss off — you're telling a human to power down.
- Polish spierdalaj Fuck off / piss off.
- Portuguese Vagabundo Bum / lowlife / good-for-nothing (f. 'vagabunda' = slut)
- Russian Иди в баню! Get lost! / Buzz off! (gentle)
Reviewed by native speakers. Rate it differently? Tell us what we got wrong.