to tear into
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to tear into someone
Colloquial for speaking very negatively and disparagingly about an absent person. It means to bad-mouth someone or gossip about them.
Ich finde es unmöglich, wie sie auf der Feier über ihre Kollegen hergerissen haben.
I think it's unacceptable how they tore into their colleagues at the party.
'Herreißen' (to tear into) is a separable verb. In a main clause, the prefix 'her-' goes at the end. However, the verb is used almost exclusively in the fixed expression 'über jemanden herreißen' (to tear into someone).
Auf der Party riss die ganze Gruppe über ihren Chef her.
At the party, the whole group tore into their boss.
This verb absolutely requires the preposition 'über' (about/over) with the accusative in order to have the meaning 'to gossip' or 'to bad-mouth'. You cannot simply say 'jemanden herreißen'; you have to say 'über jemanden herreißen' (to tear into someone).
Es ist nicht fair, über abwesende Personen herzureißen.
It isn't fair to tear into people who are absent.
The expression 'über jemanden herreißen' (to tear into someone) clearly belongs to colloquial language. It is rarely used in formal or written contexts.
Hör auf, so über deine Mitschüler herzureißen!
Stop tearing into your classmates like that!
to criticize
'kritisieren' and 'über jemanden herreißen' both have to do with negative statements about a person. 'kritisieren' can be objective: you say what is wrong or what should be improved. 'über jemanden herreißen' is colloquial and much more disparaging. It means speaking very badly about a person who is usually absent, often like gossiping. Learners may confuse the words because both sound negative. The important point is: 'kritisieren' can be open and fair, while 'über jemanden herreißen' sounds unfair, harsh, and personal.
Nach der Besprechung rissen einige Kollegen über den neuen Chef her.
After the meeting, some colleagues tore into the new boss.
Wir kritisierten die Planung der Reise, weil wichtige Pausen fehlten.
We criticized the planning of the trip because important breaks were missing.