Ways to say it
| French | IPA |
|---|---|
| tuer | /tɥe/ (France) /ty.e/ (France) |
| occire | /ɔk.siʁ/ |
The primary way to express the act of killing or murdering is through the verb tuer. While the English 'slay' often carries a poetic or fantasy connotation, tuer is the standard verb used in modern French for killing both humans and animals in almost all contexts, including news, casual speech and fiction. In very informal contexts, the word assurer can be used to convey the slang sense of 'slaying' or 'rocking it'.
Which one should you use?
tuer is the common, everyday verb used to mean 'to kill' or 'to slay'. In contrast, occire is an archaic and literary term that specifically matches the elevated or poetic register of the English word 'slay'.
How does it change in a sentence?
The past participle of tuer is tué, which is used to form compound tenses such as the passé composé.
How do you pronounce it?
/tɥe/
Did you know?
- The standard verb for 'to kill', tuer, actually comes from a Latin word meaning 'to protect' or 'to ward off'.
- If you are reading a medieval French manuscript, you might see the word tuer used to describe 'extinguishing' a flame or a light rather than just killing a living being.
- In certain French idiomatic expressions, tuer is used to mean 'to spoil' or 'ruin', such as tuer le plaisir, which means 'to kill the fun'.
Examples in context
- Cette lame peut tuer les immortels.This blade can slay immortals.This sentence shows how tuer is used to describe the ability to kill.Tatoeba #11570945 by Aiji, translation #13823773 by tieguy
- Nous avons besoin de quelqu'un pour tuer le dragon.We need someone to slay the dragon.This sentence uses tuer in the context of slaying a dragon.Tatoeba #9090732 by lbdx, translation #6108128 by mailohilohi
- Elle assure avec son style vestimentaire.She is killing it with her fashion style.
- Ils ont tout déchiré lors du concert hier soir !They slayed it during the concert last night!
- Ils ont tout déglingué sur scène lors du festival.They slayed it on stage during the festival.
- Il ne faut pas tuer les insectes dans le jardin.One must not kill the insects in the garden.
Example conversation
Gabriel and Manon are watching a documentary about nature.
- GabrielEst-ce que ce virus peut tuer les abeilles ?Can this virus kill the bees?
- ManonOui, c'est une menace très grave.Yes, it is a very serious threat.
- GabrielC'est terrible pour l'environnement.It is terrible for the environment.
- ManonOn doit vraiment protéger la nature.We really must protect nature.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “slay” translations and entries tuer, occire, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries occire, tuer, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
