Хорошо спалось?
Khorosho spalos'?
The English phrase "did you sleep well?" is translated into Russian as Хорошо спалось? (Khorosho spalos'?)
Хорошо спалось? is a question used to ask if someone had a good night's rest.
Which one should you use?
Хорошо спалось? uses an impersonal construction. In contrast, you can use the active voice by saying Ты хорошо спал? to a male or Ты хорошо спала? to a female, though these require you to know the gender of the person you are addressing.
How does it change in a sentence?
The default form Хорошо спалось? is an impersonal construction that does not specify a subject.
How do you pronounce it?
Khorosho spalos'?
When do people say it?
A common natural response to this question is Да, хорошо, спасибо.
Did you know?
- Russian has a specific word переспать which looks like it means 'to sleep a lot', but it actually means 'to have sex' or 'to oversleep'.
- The impersonal construction Хорошо спалось? allows a speaker to avoid using the pronouns ты or вы, which helps avoid the social dilemma of choosing between informal and formal registers.
- In many Russian households, asking this question is less about the physical act of sleep and more as a standard linguistic ritual of morning hospitality.
Examples in context
- Спали ли вы ночью хорошо?Did you sleep well at night?
- Ты хорошо выспался вчера?Did you sleep well yesterday?
- Хорошо спалось?Khorosho spalos'?Did you sleep well?
Example conversation
Alexander wakes up Olga in the morning.
- Александр AleksandrПривет, Ольга! Хорошо спалось?Privet, Ol'ga! Khorosho spalos'?Hi, Olga! Did you sleep well?
- Ольга OlgaДа, очень крепко.Da, ochen' krepko.Yes, very soundly.
- Александр AleksandrЯ рад это слышать.Ya rad eto slyshat'.I am glad to hear that.
- Ольга OlgaА тебе, Александр?A tebe, Aleksandr?And you, Alexander?
