bonne nuit, dors bien
The English phrase 'goodnight, sleep tight' can be translated into French as bonne nuit, dors bien.
This phrase is a friendly way to wish someone a good night's sleep. A common alternative you might use instead of dors bien is fais de beaux rêves, which literally means 'make beautiful dreams'.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is a literal translation of 'good night, sleep well', where bonne nuit means 'good night' and dors bien means 'sleep well'.
Which one should you use?
The form dors bien is used when speaking to a single person in an informal setting, such as a friend or a child. In contrast, if you are speaking to more than one person or using a formal tone, you should use the form bonne nuit, dormez bien.
Did you know?
- In France, people often say bonne nuit only when someone is actually going to bed, whereas bonsoir is used as a general greeting for any time after dusk.
- While dors bien is common, parents often tell children fais dodo, where dodo is a redundant baby-talk word for sleep.
- Unlike the English 'sleep tight', which may refer to tightening bed ropes, the French dors bien focuses purely on the quality of the rest.
Examples in context
- Bonne nuit et faites de beaux rêves.Goodnight and have sweet dreams.
- Passez une bonne nuit et dormez bien.Have a good night and sleep well.
- Bonne nuit et fais de beaux rêves.Goodnight and have nice dreams.
- Dors bien et passe une bonne nuit.Sleep well and have a good night.
- Fais de beaux rêves.Have sweet dreams.
- Bonne nuit, dors bien, mon petit chat.Goodnight, sleep tight, my little kitten.
- Bonne nuit, dors bien, à demain !Goodnight, sleep tight, see you tomorrow!
Example conversation
Nathan and Léa are saying goodbye at the end of a phone call.
- NathanBonne nuit, dors bien, Léa.Goodnight, sleep tight, Léa.
- LéaMerci, toi aussi, Nathan.Thanks, you too, Nathan.
- NathanÀ demain matin.See you tomorrow morning.
- LéaSalut !Bye!
