In today’s lesson we’ll have a look at yet another slang verb which you’d likely hear in France but not in the textbooks: Péter. English translations include to fart, pass wind, to pop, to burst and to break. Keep reading as we’ll include several fun expressions!
péter
to fart, burst
Péter meaning: To fart, burst in French
Word origin
The French verb péter comes from pēdo (fart) in Latin.
Example sentences
For this first example sentence, je n’arrête pas literally means “I don’t stop”. However, we translated it to “I can’t stop”. This sentence is in the passé composé. Note that the noun un pet means “a fart”.
J’ai mangé trop de haricots et maintenant je n’arrête pas de péter.
I ate too many beans and now I can’t stop farting.
For this second example, péter means “to pop” or “to burst”. The French masculine noun ballon can translate to a balloon or large-sized ball, such as a beach ball or basket ball. The feminine noun, balle translates to a small-sized ball, such as a tennis ball.
Marc a pété le ballon avec une aiguille.
Marc popped a balloon with a needle.
Another meaning of péter is “to break” or “to bust”. This sentence is in the imperative mood, which is used for giving commands and making suggestions in French.
Ne joue pas avec le vase comme ça. Tu vas le péter !
Don’t play with the vase like that! You’re going to break it!
In the reflexive form, se péter means to break, as in to break a body part.
Je me suis pété le poignet en rentrant dans un mur.
I broke my wrist crashing into a wall.
Expressions with péter
As mentioned, French has lots of fun expressions using the verb péter. Here’s the list:
- Péter plus haut que son cul – To be full of yourself (literally to fart higher than your buttocks)
- Péter dans la soie – To be rolling in cash/money (literally to fart in the silk)
- Péter dans les mains – To fall through (business plan or project)
- Péter les plombs – To lose it, go beserk (literally to burst/break a fuse)
- Péter un câble – To go off the rails
- Péter des flammes – To turn nasty
Related lesson
References
