bonne nuit je t'aime
The English phrase "goodnight I love you" is translated into French as bonne nuit je t'aime.
Bonne nuit je t'aime is the standard way to say "Goodnight, I love you" in French. It is a phrase used to express affection to someone before they go to sleep.
Which one should you use?
While bonne nuit je t'aime expresses strong romantic or familial love, adding bien to the end to create bonne nuit je t'aime bien actually weakens the sentiment to mean "I like you" or a much milder form of affection. For a more affectionate and playful expression, you can say Passe une bonne nuit, gros bisous je t'aime, which means "Have a good night, lots of kisses, I love you".
How does it change in a sentence?
If you are expressing affection to more than one person, or if you are using the formal vous with a single person, use the form bonne nuit je vous aime.
What mistakes should you avoid?
Be careful not to add bien to the end of your expression of love if you mean to express deep affection. Doing so changes the meaning to "I like you".
Did you know?
- While je t'aime means 'I love you', the French language has no single word for 'crush' and instead uses the phrase avoir le béguin, which literally means 'to have the nightcap'.
- In French culture, the phrase bonne nuit is used only when someone is actually going to sleep, whereas bonsoir is used as a general greeting or farewell throughout the entire evening.
- In some romantic contexts, a French speaker might replace bonne nuit with fais de beaux rêves, which tells the other person to 'make beautiful dreams'.
Examples in context
- Dors bien, bonne nuit je t'aime.Sleep well, goodnight I love you.
- Bonne nuit je t'aime, mon chéri.Goodnight I love you, my darling.
Example conversation
Chloé and Hugo are going to bed.
- ChloéJe suis fatiguée, je vais dormir.I am tired, I am going to sleep.
- HugoMoi aussi. Bonne nuit, Chloé.Me too. Goodnight, Chloé.
- ChloéBonne nuit je t'aime, Hugo.Goodnight I love you, Hugo.
- HugoJe t'aime aussi. Dors bien.I love you too. Sleep well.
