rêve
/ʁɛv/masculine
The English word dream translates to French as rêve. If unsure, use rêve. Wiktionary also lists songe.
Meaning: imaginary events seen while sleeping (noun)
Ways to say it
| French | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| rêve | /ʁɛv/ (Europe) /ʁaɛ̯v/ (Canada) |
masculine |
| songe | /sɔ̃ʒ/ | masculine |
The primary way to refer to imaginary events seen while sleeping is with the masculine noun rêve, which is the most common and general term in French. To say you have a dream, use the phrase faire un rêve and to say you have premonitory dreams, use faire des rêves prémonitoires. Relatedly, the verb rêver is used to mean both seeing imaginary events while sleeping and creating an imaginary experience. To express the act of dreaming about a specific person or thing, use the construction rêver de.
Which one should you use?
While rêve is the standard word for a dream, songe is a more literary or poetic term used in formal writing or classical literature.
Related words
How do you pronounce it?
/ʁɛv/
Did you know?
- While English speakers 'have' a dream, French speakers faire un rêve, which literally means they 'make' a dream.
- French has a specific term, rêverie, to describe the act of daydreaming, which was adopted directly into English to describe a state of wistful longing.
- In the French language, the word songe shares an ancestral root with the Spanish sueño and Italian sogno, though it is the least common form in France.
Examples in context
- Tu es un rêve.You're a dream.This sentence uses rêve to describe someone as a dream.Tatoeba #2213817 by Aiji, translation #2213808 by frpzzd
- Je ne rêve pas.I don't dream.This sentence uses the verb form of rêve to say you don't dream.Tatoeba #4580512 by sacredceltic, translation #2939908 by CK
- Faut pas rêver !Don't dream!This sentence uses the verb form of rêve as an instruction not to dream.Tatoeba #525335 by Snout, translation #8324604 by francaisr0wlet
- J'ai fait un rêveI had a dream
- Il est souvent plongé dans ses rêveriesHe is often lost in his dreams
- J'ai fait un songe étrange cette nuitI had a strange dream last night
- Ma grand-mère dit qu'elle fait souvent des rêves prémonitoiresMy grandmother says she often has premonitory dreams
- 393 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Léa and Gabriel are having breakfast together.
- LéaJ'ai fait un rêve bizarre cette nuit.I had a weird dream last night.
- GabrielC'était quoi ton rêve ?What was your dream?
- LéaJe ne m'en souviens plus vraiment.I don't really remember it anymore.
- GabrielC'est dommage, je voulais savoir !That's a shame, I wanted to know!
Sources
- Wiktionary, “dream” translations and entries rêve, songe, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries rêve, songe, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
