fuir at C1 — refined & idiomatic
On this page
Avoiding people, eyes and crowds.
Ways of avoiding
French « fuir » takes its object directly. « Elle fuit la foule », never « de la foule », and that missing preposition is the first trap for English speakers. « Fuir quelque chose comme la peste » is the strongest version, used lightly about paperwork, open-plan offices or one particular colleague. The image is medieval and the tone is comic.
« Fuir le regard de quelqu’un » is small and precise: you look away because you are guilty, ashamed or lying, and novelists use it constantly. « Prendre la fuite » belongs to the news, where a driver, a suspect or a thief « prend la fuite » after a crash. The phrase is fixed and always implies a scene left behind.
💡 Focus at this level: Idiomatic — fuir comme la peste, fuir le regard, prendre la fuite
👨🏫 How to use « fuir » at this level
1. « Fuir la foule » = to shun crowds. Direct object, no preposition.
2. « Fuir comme la peste » = to avoid like the plague. Light and comic.
3. « Prendre la fuite » = to flee the scene. News French, after a crime.
🔊 Example sentences
✍️ Practice
Correct it: « Il fuit de ses collègues. »
Show answer
« Il fuit ses collègues. » Fuir takes a direct object, so there is no de.
Which is news French: « prendre la fuite » or « fuir comme la peste » ?
Show answer
« Prendre la fuite » — the standard phrase for a suspect leaving the scene.
🎮 Practise this level
🧩 Sentence builder put the words in the right order