How do you say “Kick the bucket” in French?
The closest natural French equivalent is casser sa pipe, which literally means “to break one's pipe”. English speakers use kick the bucket to mean to die, expressed in a joking or deliberately blunt way. Slightly old-fashioned and joking. Avoid it when comforting someone after a death. Register: informal. Usage frequency: occasional.
Closest natural French
casser sa pipe
/kase sa pip/
- Literal meaning
- “to break one's pipe”
- Register
- informal
- How often it's used
- occasional
- Equivalence
Near-exact equivalent
92 out of 100
What a native French speaker would actually say
“Casser sa pipe” suits comic storytelling or someone joking about their own death. It can sound a little old-fashioned, as well as disrespectful.
For an appliance that has stopped working, “rendre l'âme” is a better match. The pipe expression normally refers to a person.
How close is the meaning?
- Meaning5 out of 5
- Tone5 out of 5
- Context5 out of 5
- Literal similarity1 out of 5
These ratings are editorial approximations, not measurements.
What are other ways to say it in French?
passer l'arme à gauche
Literally: “to pass the weapon to the left”
Another familiar euphemism, also unsuitable for delicate bad news.
mourir
Literally: “to die”
The direct neutral verb.
In context
English
He joked that he wanted to finish his novel before he kicked the bucket.
French
Il plaisantait en disant qu'il voulait finir son roman avant de casser sa pipe.
English
The old sailor kicks the bucket in the final chapter.
French
Le vieux marin casse sa pipe dans le dernier chapitre.
Related expressions
- What “Kick the bucket” means in English
- Call it a day, To stop for the day, or stop altogether.
- Under the weather, Mildly unwell.
Last updated 2026-09-16