crier

Crier means to shout, scream, or cry out — for pain, fear, excitement, or simply to be heard over distance or noise. It's also the base of common set phrases like crier au scandale (to cry scandal) and crier au loup.

• Elle a crié de joie en apprenant la nouvelle. — She screamed with joy when she heard the news.
• Ne crie pas, je t'entends très bien. — Don't shout, I can hear you just fine.
• Il a crié au secours depuis la fenêtre. — He cried for help from the window.

Crier après quelqu'un means to yell at someone (a target of anger), while crier à quelqu'un just means to call out to them — English speakers sometimes use crier à when they mean the angrier crier après, reversing the implied tone.

• expression Crier au loup — The French version of 'cry wolf,' from Aesop's fable of the boy who kept falsely claiming a wolf was attacking, and was ignored when a real wolf finally came.