How to tell someone to "go away!" Politely . . . and a little less so . .

Let’s have fun and explore some French expressions to tell someone to go away. As you can imagine, these options are not polite and even rude in some cases. You will certainly hear them in French movies, series and in the street in complicated situations…

Here are the 7 expressions we will be covering today. Here it’s the version with people you know using the pronoun “tu”.

• Casse-toi !

• Barre-toi !

• Va-t-en !

• Dégage !

• File !
• Fous-moi la paix !
• Fous le camp !

Let’s see the same list with the pronoun “vous” when you don’t know the person or for more than 1 subject:

• Cassez-vous !

• Barrez-vous !

• Allez- vous en !

• Dégagez !

• Filez !

• Foutez-moi la paix !
• Foutez le camp !

Time to dive in to the one you like most and get practising!

How to say “get lost” in French.

If you are very angry at someone and want to tell them to get lost. here’s the way to say it:

• (informal) “Casse-toi !” >>> Get lost!
• (formal/ plural) “Cassez-vous !” >>> Get lost!

Now, there’s another way to use this reflexive verb. Indeed, you could say that you went away like in this example:

•  “La fête était si nulle qu’on s’est cassé à vingt heures !” >>> The party was so rubbish we got out of there at 10 O’Clock.

The expression “get out of here” in French.

In the same idea, you can show your rage by saying the following:

• (informal) “Barre-toi !” >>> Get out of here!
• (formal/ plural) “Barrez-vous !” >>> Get out of here!

Just as a reminder, this expression is not polite at all.

Once more, we are dealing with a reflexive verb. What does it mean? It means you can use it in normal sentences with a word before the verb like here:

• Je me barre
• Tu te barres
• Il / elle se barre
• Nous nous barrons
• Vous vous barrez
• Ils / elles se barrent

In a full sentence, it would be like this:

•  “On se barre d’ici, c’est nul !” >>> Let’s get out of here, it’s rubbish!

A French way to say “go away” in French.

Let’s explore another way to tell someone to go away. This French expression involves the extra word - a pronoun - “en” in it. Basically, the pronoun here substitutes the place where the people are. In other words, the word “en” means “from here” in this context.

• (informal) “Va-t-en !” >>> Go away!
• (formal/ plural) “Allez-vous en !” >>> Go away!

In a real conversation, you’ll have something like this:

•  “Va-t-en. J’en ai marre !” >>> Go away! I’ve had enough!

Note that you have another idiomatic phrase with the pronoun “en”. By the way, this version is rather nice. And if you wish to say simply that you’re leaving, you could follow this example:

•  “Je m’en vais !” >>> I’m out of here!

How the French police say “clear off”!

True fact: the French police use this verb to ask people to clear the space where something happened so they can do their job. To be more polite, they would add a “s’il vous plaît”.

Now, take the same word, remove the French please and you have another translation of “go away” like this:

• (informal) “Dégage !” >>> Get out of here! Move on.
• (formal/ plural) “Dégagez !” >>> Get out of here!

Another true fact for you: French people tend to use “dégage” while “talking” to an animal either a dog (chien), a rat, a cat (chat)...

Here’s an example:

•  “Dégage ! Rentre chez toi !” >>> Get lost! Go home!

The meaning of the French verb “filer”!

Time to show light on an interesting verb. Indeed, the regular French verb of “filer” is related to speed. Whether you do it yourself or ask someone to do it, it’s a quick action. 

On one hand if you do it yourself, it means to run, dash, zoom…like this:

•  “Je dois filer maintenant !” >>> I’ve got to go now!

On the other hand, when using the imperative, you are directly asking someone to get out of here:

•  “Filez, avant que j’appelle les gendarmes !” >>> Get out of here, before I call the police!

In a nutshell, double-check who is doing the action since the meaning varies.

Two French variations for “leave me alone”!

When you are fed up and highly need some “you space”, you have 2 ways to say it:

• (informal) “Fous-moi la paix / Fous le camp !” >>> Get out of here! Beat it!
• (formal/ plural) “Foutez-moi la paix / Foutez le camp !” >>> Get out of here! Beat it!  

Be sure not to pronounce the final “s” with the informal way or you’ll lose authority! The French verb “foutre” is really strong and rude. It’s the colloquial version of “faire” (do).

Here’s an example:

•  “Qu’est-ce que tu fous là ?” >>> What are you doing here ?

Actually, this verb has a wide palette of meanings from very vulgar to colloquial. Therefore, be very cautious whenever you plan to use it.

Getting back to our topic of this lesson, here are 2 examples in the context of “go away”:

•  “Foutez-moi la paix et barrez-vous !” >>> Leave me alone and get ouf of here!
•  “Fous le camp !” >>> Beat it!

7 ways to say “go away” in French.

In this mini lesson, you have seen 7 expressions to tell someone to go away with various levels: from polite to vulgar:

• Casse-toi ! Cassez-vous !

• Barre-toi ! Barrez-vous !

• Va-t-en ! Allez- vous en !

• Dégage ! Dégagez !

• File ! Filez !

• Fous-moi la paix ! Foutez-moi la paix !
• Fous le camp ! Foutez le camp !

At this stage, you should be able to show your anger to somebody who is pissing you off in French! Surely, using the right tone, even if the person(s) you’re talking to can’t speak French will understand it.

Of course, you don’t have to learn the 7 expressions. Besides, some are more vulgar than others and may not suit your personality. Identify the ones you like the most and stick to them.

By the way, which one is your favourite? Any particular questions about this fun mini vocabulary lesson? I’m always happy to help you learn.