creuser
/kʁø.ze/
The French phrase for to dig is creuser.
creuser means to move hard-packed earth out of the way. While it refers to digging a hole or excavating, it can also be used figuratively to mean 'to hollow out' or 'to deepen' a thought or a feeling.
Meaning: to move hard-packed earth out of the way (verb)
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The past participle of creuser is creusé, which means dug. The third-person singular present indicative form is creuse, which means digs or is digging.
How do you pronounce it?
/kʁø.ze/
Did you know?
- In a sports context, especially in cycling or racing, creuser l'écart means to increase the lead or 'dig' a wider gap between oneself and the competitor.
- While creuser is the standard word for digging, the French use a different verb, terrer, specifically when an animal digs a burrow or when someone hides themselves away like an animal.
- The English word 'crevice' actually shares a distant linguistic ancestor with creuser through the concept of a hollow space.
Examples in context
- Nous devons creuser un peu plus.We need to dig a little deeper.This sentence shows how to use creuser to express the need to dig deeper.Tatoeba #11281891 by lbdx, translation #11204535 by CK
- Il leur fallut creuser durant des jours.They had to dig for days.This sentence uses creuser to describe a task that lasted for days.Tatoeba #9802628 by sacredceltic, translation #7971594 by adiante19
- Les enfants adorent creuser dans le sable.Children love to dig in the sand.This sentence illustrates how children enjoy using creuser in the sand.Tatoeba #11084594 by Lumpawurump, translation #680688 by Source_VOA
- 3 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Chloé and Gabriel are in their garden working on a DIY project.
- ChloéGabriel, il faut creuser ici pour les fleurs.Gabriel, we need to dig here for the flowers.
- GabrielD'accord, je vais creuser un trou assez grand.Okay, I will dig a large enough hole.
- ChloéMerci, la terre est un peu dure ici.Thank you, the earth is a bit hard here.
- GabrielC'est vrai, je dois creuser avec plus de force.It's true, I have to dig with more force.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “dig” translations and entries creuser, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
