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How to Say Goodnight in French Download Article Co-authored by Lorenzo Garriga
Last Updated: February 24, 2025 Approved
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Standard Goodnight
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Announcing that You're Going to Sleep
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Other Ways to Say Goodnight
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Sample Ways to Say Goodnight
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This article was co-authored by Lorenzo Garriga. Lorenzo is a native French speaker and French language connoisseur. He has many years of experience as a translator, writer and reviewer. He is also a composer, pianist, and globe-trotter, who has been travelling the world on a shoestring for almost 30 years with a backpack. wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. In this case, 89% of readers who voted found the article helpful, earning it our reader-approved status. This article has been viewed 716,407 times.
The standard way to say “goodnight” in French is “bonne nuit,”[1]XResearch source but there are multiple ways you can express that sentiment. Here are a few you might want to try.
Things You Should Know
Say bonne nuit when you're ready to retire for the evening or before going to sleep.[2]XResearch source
Greet someone at night with bonsoir, which means “good night” or “good evening.”
If you want to tell someone to "sleep well," say dormez bien.
Steps
Part 1 Part 1 of 3:
Standard Goodnight
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1 Say goodnight with Bonne nuit! This literally means “good night” and is used whenever someone intends to retire for the evening or go to sleep for the night.[3]XResearch source
Bonne means “good.”
Nuit means “night.”
Pronounce the phrase as bohn NWEE.
2 Greet someone at night with Bonsoir! This translates to “good night” or “good evening.” Use it when saying hello to someone at night, rather than saying it as you bid farewell at night.[4]XResearch source
The bon part of the term means “good.”
The soir part of the term means “evening.”
Pronounce this greeting as bong-SWAHR.
Advertisement Part 2 Part 2 of 3:
Announcing that You're Going to Sleep
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1 Announce Je vais dormir. This phrase essentially translates into, “I'm going to sleep.”
Je means “I.”
Vais is derived from the French verb “aller,” which translates into “to go.”
Dormir is a French verb meaning “to sleep.”
Pronounce the entire statement as zhuh vay door-mee.
2 State Je vais me coucher. This statement roughly translates into, “I am going to bed.”
Je means “I.”
Vais is derived from the French verb “aller,” which translates into “to go.”
Coucher is a verb meaning “to put to bed.” By adding the me before it, you are saying “putting myself to bed.”
Pronounce the entire statement as zhuh vay meh koo-shay.
3 Use slang by saying Je vais pieuter. This is a French slang term that also roughly means, “I am going to sleep.”
Je means “I.”
Vais is derived from the French verb “aller,” which translates into “to go.”
Pieuter is a slang verb meaning “to sleep.”
The statement should be pronounced as zhuh vay pyuh-teh.
4 Casually explain Je vais roupiller. This is another French slang phrase. Essentially, it means, “I am going to snooze.”
Je means “I.”
Vais is derived from the French verb “aller,” which translates into “to go.”
Roupiller means “to snooze.”
Pronounce the statement as zhuh vay ru-pii-jeh.
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Other Ways to Say Goodnight
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1 Offer a Dormez bien. This phrase means “sleep well.”[5]XResearch source
Dormez is derived from the French verb dormir, meaning “to sleep.”
Bien means “well” or “good.”
Pronounce the phrase as door-meh byang.
2 Wish Fais de beaux rêves. Use this phrase if you want to tell someone, “sweet dreams.”
Fais is derived from the French verb faire, meaning "to do" or "to make."
De means "of."
Beaux translates into "beautiful."
Rêves translates into "dreams."
The sentence should be pronounced as feh duh bo RAI-vuh.
3 State "J'espère que vous dormez tranquille." This essentially translates into, “I hope you sleep soundly.”
J'espère is a phrase meaning, "I hope."
Que translates into "that."
Vous means "you."
Dormez is derived from the French verb dormir, meaning “to sleep.”
Tranquille means "quiet," "tranquil," "calm," or "peaceful."
Pronounce the entire sentence as zeh-spehr ker voo door-meh trahn-KEEL.
4 Say "Dormez comme un loir." Use this phrase if you want to tell someone, “Sleep like a log.”
Dormez is derived from the French verb dormir, meaning “to sleep.”
Comme means "such as" or "like."
Un loir usually translates into "a dormouse," but within this particular phrase, it typically means "a log.”
The phrase should be pronounced as door-meh cohm eu lwar.
5 Depart with "Dormez comme un bébé." This phrase should be used if you want to tell someone, “Sleep like a baby.”
Dormez is derived from the French verb dormir, meaning “to sleep.”
Comme means "such as" or "like."
Un bébé translates into “a baby.”
Pronounce the phrase as door-meh cohm eu beh-beh.
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Sample Ways to Say Goodnight
Sample Ways to Say Goodnight in FrenchSample Evening Conversation in French
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Question What is "see you tomorrow" in French? Dodo47 Top Answerer "See you tomorrow" would be translated as "à demain." Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.Thank you for your feedback. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow Yes No Not Helpful 0 Helpful 18
Question What if it's the morning? Ollieoxenfree Community Answer Use bonjour. Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.Thank you for your feedback. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow Yes No Not Helpful 1 Helpful 10
Question How do I say, "Good night, world" in French? Ollieoxenfree Community Answer Bonne nuit le monde. Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.Thank you for your feedback. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow Yes No Not Helpful 3 Helpful 12
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Co-authored by: Lorenzo Garriga French Translator & Native Speaker This article was co-authored by Lorenzo Garriga. Lorenzo is a native French speaker and French language connoisseur. He has many years of experience as a translator, writer and reviewer. He is also a composer, pianist, and globe-trotter, who has been travelling the world on a shoestring for almost 30 years with a backpack. This article has been viewed 716,407 times. 71 votes - 89% Co-authors: 20Updated: February 24, 2025 Views: 716,407 Categories: Featured Articles | FrenchArticle SummaryX
To say “Goodnight” in French, say “Bonne nuit.” Alternatively, if you want to greet someone at night by saying “Good night” or “Good evening,” tell them “Bonsoir!” To let people know that you’re going to sleep, say “Je vais dormir.” However, if you want to say that you’re going to bed, you’d tell them “Je vais me coucher.” For a more conversational, slang way of saying your going to bed, say “Je vais pieuter,” or “Je vais roupiller,” which essentially means “I am going to snooze.” To learn other ways to say goodnight, keep reading!Did this summary help you?YesNo
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Sep 5, 2016
"Really helpful! Took 2 years of French, and just needed a quick refresher!"
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Yes No Advertisement Cookies make wikiHow better. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Co-authored by: Lorenzo Garriga French Translator & Native Speaker Co-authors: 20Updated: February 24, 2025 Views: 716,40789% of readers found this article helpful. 71 votes - 89% Click a star to add your vote
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"Really helpful! Took 2 years of French, and just needed a quick refresher!"
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Jul 16, 2016
"So many different ways to say something. Beautifully explained, thank you."
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"Super. I'm French Canadian, and all of the post is very interesting."
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Co-authored by: Lorenzo Garriga French Translator & Native Speaker This article was co-authored by Lorenzo Garriga. Lorenzo is a native French speaker and French language connoisseur. He has many years of experience as a translator, writer and reviewer. He is also a composer, pianist, and globe-trotter, who has been travelling the world on a shoestring for almost 30 years with a backpack. This article has been viewed 716,407 times. 71 votes - 89% Co-authors: 20 Updated: February 24, 2025 Views: 716,407 Categories: Featured Articles | French Article SummaryX
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1 Say goodnight with Bonne nuit! This literally means “good night” and is used whenever someone intends to retire for the evening or go to sleep for the night.[3] 
2 Greet someone at night with Bonsoir! This translates to “good night” or “good evening.” Use it when saying hello to someone at night, rather than saying it as you bid farewell at night.[4] 
1 Announce Je vais dormir. This phrase essentially translates into, “I'm going to sleep.” 
2 State Je vais me coucher. This statement roughly translates into, “I am going to bed.” 
3 Use slang by saying Je vais pieuter. This is a French slang term that also roughly means, “I am going to sleep.” 
4 Casually explain Je vais roupiller. This is another French slang phrase. Essentially, it means, “I am going to snooze.” 
1 Offer a Dormez bien. This phrase means “sleep well.”[5] 
2 Wish Fais de beaux rêves. Use this phrase if you want to tell someone, “sweet dreams.” 
3 State "J'espère que vous dormez tranquille." This essentially translates into, “I hope you sleep soundly.” 
4 Say "Dormez comme un loir." Use this phrase if you want to tell someone, “Sleep like a log.” 
5 Depart with "Dormez comme un bébé." This phrase should be used if you want to tell someone, “Sleep like a baby.” 
Sample Ways to Say Goodnight in French 
Sample Evening Conversation in French 
Dodo47 Top Answerer "See you tomorrow" would be translated as "à demain." Thanks! We're glad this was helpful. Thank you for your feedback. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow Yes No Not Helpful 0 Helpful 18 