16 Surprising French Expressions Using “La Tête”
Discover cool French expressions featuring the word "tête"! They span a wide range of situations like staying calm, acting on impulse, feeling puzzled, being distracted, staying focused, and more.
This is just the beginning, stay tuned for Part 2 coming soon!
1. Faire la tête
To sulk or be in a bad mood.
"Il fait la tête parce qu'elle ne veut pas sortir avec lui".
He's sulking because she won't go out with him.
"Ne fais pas cette tête, ça va s'arranger."
Don't make that face, it will get better.
2. Perdre la tête
To lose one's mind or become crazy.
"Cette fille lui fait perdre la tête."
That girl is making him lose his mind.
3. Se creuser la tête
To rack one's brain, to think hard.
"Je me creuse la tête pour trouver une solution."
I'm racking my brain to find a solution.
4. Se casser la tête
To go to a lot of trouble or effort.
"Je me suis cassé la tête pour organiser cette rencontre".
I went to a lot of trouble to organize this meeting.
A slang version is "se casser le cul" (bust one's ass). See here
5. Avoir la grosse tête
To be conceited or have a big ego.
"Il a la grosse tête depuis qu'il est devenu célèbre."
He thinks he's hot s*** since he became famous.
Another similar expression is "prendre la grosse tête":
"Il a pris la grosse tête."
6. Avoir une idée derrière la tête
To have an ulterior motive or hidden agenda.
"Il a dit oui, mais je suis sûr qu'il a une idée derrière la tête."
He said yes, but I'm sure he has an ulterior motive. (he's up to something)
7. Avoir la tête sur les épaules
To be level-headed or sensible.
"Malgré son jeune âge, elle a la tête sur les épaules."
Despite her young age, she has a good head on her shoulders
8. Se mettre quelque chose en tête
To get something into your head, to set your mind on something.
"Elle s'est mis en tête de devenir médecin."
She has set her mind on becoming a doctor.
9. Se prendre la tête
To get worked up or stressed out about something.
"Ne te prends pas la tête avec ça."
Don't stress out about it.
It can also be used for stressing out someone else (rather than oneself): "prendre la tête à quelqu'un:
"Arrête de me prendre la tête!"
Stop stressing me out!
A slightly different meaning:
"Ils n'arrêtent pas de se prendre la tête."
These two keep arguing with each other.
10. Avoir la tête ailleurs
To be distracted, not paying attention, to have one's mind elsewhere.
"J'ai la tête ailleurs, je n'ai rien écouté."
My mind is elsewhere, I didn't listen to anything.
11. Monter à la tête
To go to one's head, often referring to success or alcohol. This is similar to "avoir/prendre la grosse tête":
"L'argent lui est montée à la tête."
Money has gone to his head.
12. Garder la tête froide
To keep a cool head, to remain calm.
"Dans une situation de crise, il faut garder la tête froide."
In a crisis situation, you have to keep a cool head.
13. N'en faire qu'à sa tête
To do as you please, to ignore advice or rules.
"Il n'écoute personne, il n'en fait qu'à sa tête."
He doesn't listen to anyone, he only does as he pleases.
14. Faire tourner la tête
To make someone's head spin, often because of love or admiration.
"Elle a fait tourner la tête à tous les garçons du lycée."
He made all the boys in high school fall for her.
15. Avoir la tête au carré
To feel dizzy or confused, often because of loud noise.
"Il y a trop de bruit ici, j'ai la tête au carré..."
It's too noisy here, my head is spinning...
16. Sur un coup de tête
On a whim, impulsively.
"J'ai quitté mon travail sur un coup de tête."
I quit my job on a whim.