Usage Note
Cervelle refers to the brain as a physical substance — the tissue eaten as food, or used idiomatically. Cervelle differs from cerveau (the brain as an organ or seat of intellect): se creuser la cervelle means 'to rack one's brain'. The expression une cervelle d'oiseau ('bird brain') describes a scatterbrained person.
Examples
"Elle s'est creusé la cervelle pour trouver la réponse."
Natural Translation
She racked her brain to find the answer.
Literal Translation
She dug into her brain to find the answer.
Related Words
Explore French by topic