mourir in real spoken French
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No chance, boiling heat, close calls.
Dying, not dying
« C’est mort » is the one to learn first, and it has nothing to do with dying. It means no chance, it’s off, forget it: « c’est mort pour ce soir ». You will hear it ten times a day. Notice the spoken negation too: « je n’ai plus de train » becomes « j’ai plus de train », with « plus » doing all the work.
« Crever » is the rough synonym of « mourir », and register matters. On a machine or a tyre it is neutral — « le lave-linge a crevé », « le pneu a crevé » — but about a person it sounds dismissive, so friends keep it for hyperbole: « on crève de chaud ». For a real close call, the everyday stand-in for « mourir » is « y passer », familiar but never rude: « il a failli y passer ».
💡 Focus at this level: Native slang — c’est mort, crever, y passer
👨🏫 How to use « mourir » at this level
1. « C’est mort » = no chance, it’s off. The most useful street use of all.
2. « Crever » = to die, rough version. Neutral for machines, harsh about people.
3. « Y passer » = to die, to not make it. Familiar, often after « failli ».
🔊 Example sentences
✍️ Practice
Someone answers « c’est mort ». Has anybody died?
Show answer
No. It means it’s off, no chance, and it is by far the commonest street use of « mort ».
Which would you say about a person: « il a crevé » or « il a failli y passer » ?
Show answer
« Il a failli y passer ». « Crever » about a human being sounds dismissive, so save it for machines, tyres, or hyperbole like « je crève de faim ».
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🧩 Sentence builder put the words in the right order