bonne nuit
/bɔn nɥi/
The English phrase "good night" is translated into French as bonne nuit.
bonne nuit is a farewell phrase used when parting ways with people who are retiring for the night or going to bed.
Meaning: a farewell (phrase)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of the feminine adjective bonne (good) and the feminine noun nuit (night).
Which one should you use?
Use bonne nuit only when someone is actually going to sleep or the night is ending. Do not use it as a greeting when arriving somewhere in the evening. Unlike bonne nuit, bonsoir can be used both as a greeting when arriving and as a farewell during the evening.
How do you pronounce it?
/bɔn nɥi/
Did you know?
- In French, the phrase faire des rêves d'or is a poetic way to wish someone 'golden dreams' alongside bonne nuit.
- The French word nuit is a linguistic sibling to the English word 'night' because both evolved from the same ancient Proto-Indo-European root *nókʷts.
- The word nuit is feminine, which is why the adjective bon changes to bonne. In Latin, the ancestor nox was also feminine.
Examples in context
- Bonne nuit à tous !Good night, everyone!Tatoeba #1226174 by sacredceltic, translation #1082672 by MUIRIEL
- J'ai dit bonne nuit.I said good night.Tatoeba #7284178 by Rockaround, translation #2405824 by CK
- Bonne nuit, ma chère.Good night, my love.Tatoeba #5859110 by dufromage, translation #5857232 by OsoHombre
- Bonne nuit, Monsieur Dupont.Good night, Mr. Dupont.
- Dormez bien, à demain.Sleep well, see you tomorrow.
- Bonne nuit, mon amie.Good night, my friend.
- Dors bien, chérie.Sleep well, sweetheart.
- Fais de beaux rêves, petit(e) cousin(e).Have beautiful dreams, little cousin.
- 45 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Léa and Gabriel are leaving a dinner party to go home.
- ChloéIl est tard, je vais y aller.It is late, I am going to go.
- LucasD'accord, bonne nuit, Léa.Okay, good night, Léa.
- ChloéBonne nuit, Gabriel, à demain.Good night, Gabriel, see you tomorrow.
- LucasÀ demain !See you tomorrow!
Sources
- Wiktionary, “good night” translations and entries bonne nuit, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries nuit, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
