dans la nuit
The English phrase "in the night" is expressed in French as dans la nuit.
The phrase is used to describe something that occurs during the period of darkness between sunset and sunrise.
Which one should you use?
While dans la nuit describes being inside the darkness or the duration of the night, pendant la nuit is more commonly used to emphasize the duration of an event occurring throughout the night. Furthermore, when you want to express that something happens generally at night (for example, "I work at night"), French speakers often use the adverbial form la nuit without the preposition dans.
What mistakes should you avoid?
Avoid using en la nuit to say "in the night". English speakers often make this mistake by following English word order, but dans la nuit is the correct prepositional phrase in French.
Did you know?
- While dans la nuit refers to the time, French also uses nuit in the expression faire une nuit blanche to describe staying awake all night.
- The word nuit shares a common ancient ancestor with the English word 'night', tracing back to the Proto-Indo-European root *nókʷts.
- In French, the phrase nuit et jour is used as a common idiom meaning 'constantly' or 'around the clock', mirroring the English 'day and night' but often reversing the order.
Examples in context
- Je marche dans la nuit par un chemin mauvais, ignorant d'où je viens, incertain où je vais.I walk in the night down the wrong path, not knowing where I come from, unsure of where I'm going.This sentence shows the use of dans la nuit in a descriptive context.Tatoeba #6909640 by Adelpa, translation #6911772 by kaiperkins271
- La conférence aura lieu au beau milieu de la nuit.The conference will take place in the middle of the night.
- On se retrouve durant la nuit pour une promenade.We'll meet during the night for a walk.
Example conversation
Gabriel and Léa are talking about a dream.
- GabrielTu as bien dormi, Léa ?Did you sleep well, Léa?
- LéaNon, j'ai fait un cauchemar dans la nuit.No, I had a nightmare in the night.
- GabrielC'était quoi ton cauchemar ?What was your nightmare?
- LéaJe ne me rappelle plus exactement.I don't remember exactly.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries dans, la, nuit, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
