Blesser

Question

When do you "blesser" instead of "faire du mal"

Accepted Answer

Hi Stephen,
The verb 'blesser' is just another way of saying to hurt/to harm  in French . Both 'blesser' and 'faire mal'  can both used to describe physical and emotional hurt.
Blesser has the advantage of having a noun - un blessé which would describe an injured person sometimes used with a number or a numerical expression to describe the casualties in an accident.
e.g. Il y a un grand nombre de blessés sur les routes tous les ans .= There a large number of casualties on the roads every year.
Se blesser = se faire mal = to hurt yourself
Je me suis blessé(e) = je me suis fait mal = I hurt myself 
You can 'blesser quelqu'un' or 'faire (du) mal à quelqu'un'= which can be either physical or figurative hurt or harm.
Hope this helps!

Answer

Blesser can be used to connote physical as well as emotional hurt whereas "faire du mal" only works for emtional slights. You have the option, it's your choice. As I understand it, "blesser" stands for more serious injuries, in general.

-- Chris (not a native speaker).

Answer

In view of that why was I marked wrong in answering "A chaque fois que tu ___, elle a des bleus sur les bras." with "blesses ta soeur" rather than "fais mal à ta sœur"? Is it because Kwiziq is insisting on the use of the œ character?

Answer

I have the same question.

Answer

Hi David, 
What same question?