bonne nuit et fais de beaux rêves
In French, the phrase "good night and sweet dreams" is expressed as bonne nuit et fais de beaux rêves.
This phrase is used to wish someone a restful sleep and pleasant dreams before they go to bed. Note that bonne nuit is used specifically when someone is going to sleep, whereas bonne soirée is used to wish someone a good evening while they are still awake and socializing.
What does it mean word for word?
The expression de beaux rêves translates literally to "beautiful dreams," which is how "sweet dreams" is expressed in French. The phrase fais de beaux rêves uses the imperative form of the verb faire (to do/make) to issue the wish, meaning "have beautiful dreams."
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase changes from fais to faites when addressing someone formally or when addressing more than one person. Using faites makes the phrase Bonne nuit et faites de beaux rêves appropriate for formal or plural contexts.
Did you know?
- Unlike English, where 'good night' can be a greeting upon arriving at a party late in the evening, bonne nuit is strictly for when someone is leaving to sleep.
- In French, you do not 'have' dreams as you do in English, but you 'make' them using the verb faire.
- The word et meaning 'and' was often written simply as e in Old French before the Latin spelling was restored in the 12th century.
Examples in context
- Bonne nuit et fais de beaux rêves.Good night and sweet dreams.This sentence demonstrates the use of bonne nuit et fais de beaux rêves.Tatoeba #10859 by Eldad, translation #64653 by Eldad
- Bonne nuit et fais de beaux rêves, mon chéri.Good night and sweet dreams, my darling.
Example conversation
Lucas and Manon are saying goodbye before going to their separate rooms.
- LucasJe vais me coucher, Manon.I am going to bed, Manon.
- ManonD'accord, bonne nuit et fais de beaux rêves, Lucas.Okay, good night and sweet dreams, Lucas.
- LucasMerci, toi aussi.Thank you, you too.
- ManonÀ demain !See you tomorrow!
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries de, et, nuit, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
