se coucher
The English phrase 'to go to bed' is translated into French as se coucher.
se coucher is used to express the act of getting into bed in order to sleep.
What does it mean word for word?
The verb is a reflexive form of coucher, literally meaning 'to lay oneself down'.
Which one should you use?
While se coucher focuses on the act of lying down to sleep, the phrase aller au lit is a more literal way to say 'to go to the bed'.
How does it change in a sentence?
For example, the first-person singular conjugation is je me couche (I go to bed) and the first-person plural conjugation results in a double 'nous' in the phrase nous nous couchons (we go to bed).
Did you know?
- French has a specific expression coucher le soleil, which refers to the sun setting. In this context, the sun is imagined as 'lying down' for the night.
- The verb coucher is a linguistic double of the French word colloquer, as both trace their roots back to the Latin word collocāre, meaning 'set in place'.
- In French, the phrase faire dodo is a common baby-talk version of se coucher. It uses a reduplicated word for 'sleep' that sounds like a lullaby.
Examples in context
- C'est l'heure de se coucher.It's time to go to bed.This sentence is useful for stating when it is time to use se coucher.Tatoeba #182126 by trotter, translation #31220 by CK
- C'est l'heure d'aller se coucher.It is time to go to bed.Tatoeba #13634 by Archibald, translation #31223 by CC
- Les enfants doivent aller se coucher immédiatement.The children need to go to bed immediately.This sentence is useful for expressing the necessity of children to use se coucher.Tatoeba #8442941 by Aiji, translation #3423954 by AlanF_US
- Je vais me coucher tôt ce soirI'm going to bed early tonight
- Il est l'heure de me retirerIt's time for me to go to bed
- Je vais dormir maintenantI'm going to bed now
- Excusez-moi, je vais me coucher maintenantExcuse me, I'm going to bed now
- Je suis fatigué, je vais au dodoI'm tired, I'm going to beddy-byes
- Il est tard, il est temps pour moi de me retirerIt's late, it's time for me to go to bed
- 9 more sentences on Tatoeba
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries coucher, se, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
