How to Say Good Night in French: 16 Expressions for Every Occasion

The Short Answer

The most common way to say good night in French is Bonne nuit (bun NWEE). Use it when someone is heading to bed or when the night is ending. But French has a three-part evening system that trips up nearly every learner, and getting it wrong can sound awkward or confusing to native speakers.

French distinguishes sharply between greeting someone in the evening (Bonsoir), wishing someone a good remaining evening (Bonne soirée), and saying good night at bedtime (Bonne nuit). English collapses all of these into "good night," which is why this is one of the trickiest areas for anglophone French learners.

"The distinction between nuit and soirée reflects a fundamental feature of French temporal vocabulary: the language encodes not merely the time of day, but the social activity expected during that time."

(Alain Rey, Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, 2016)

This guide covers 16 essential good-night expressions organized by category: the core evening trio, bedtime phrases, romantic expressions, and casual ways to say good night. Each entry includes pronunciation, cultural context, and a real-world example so you know exactly when to use it.

Quick Reference: French Good Night Expressions at a Glance

The Evening Trio: Bonsoir, Bonne soirée, Bonne nuit

Understanding these three expressions is the single most important thing in this guide. They divide the French evening into distinct social moments, and using the wrong one marks you immediately as a non-native speaker.

Think of it this way: Bonsoir opens the evening, Bonne soirée closes a social interaction while the evening continues, and Bonne nuit closes the entire day. Master this and you have the French evening figured out.

Bonne nuit

Bonne nuit combines bonne (good, feminine) with nuit (night, also feminine). The pronunciation requires the French "u" sound: round your lips as if saying "oo" but try to say "ee" instead. The result, somewhere between the two, is the French u in nuit: bun NWEE.

The key cultural point: Bonne nuit means the day is over. You are going to sleep, or the person you are speaking to is going to sleep. It is not a casual evening farewell. If you leave a dinner party at 9 PM and the hosts are staying up, you say Bonne soirée, not Bonne nuit.

Bonsoir

Bonsoir is an arrival greeting. You use it when you walk into a restaurant in the evening, greet someone at a dinner party, or run into a neighbor after dark. It functions exactly like Bonjour but for the evening hours.

The transition from Bonjour to Bonsoir in France typically happens around 6 PM (18h00). According to the Académie française, there is no fixed rule; it depends on the season, region, and personal habit. In winter, when the sun sets before 5 PM in northern France, people switch to Bonsoir earlier. In the long summer evenings of Provence, Bonjour can linger past 7 PM.

Bonne soirée

Bonne soirée is the expression that has no clean English equivalent, which is precisely why it confuses learners. It means "have a good (rest of the) evening" and is used when parting ways while the night is still young.

Here is the critical distinction: soirée refers to the social, active part of the evening: dinner, drinks, a party. Nuit refers to nighttime and sleep. When a waiter says Bonne soirée as you leave the restaurant, they are wishing you a good time for whatever you do next. When you finally get home and tell your partner you are going to bed, that is when Bonne nuit takes over.

Bedtime Expressions

These are the phrases French speakers use at home, in text messages, and on phone calls when the night is winding down. They range from practical to poetic.

Fais de beaux rêves

The French version of "sweet dreams" is beautifully literal: make beautiful dreams. It is one of the most affectionate bedtime phrases and is used widely with children, partners, and close friends. Note that rêves uses the circumflex accent (ê), which signals a historical "s" that disappeared from Old French.

The tu form (Fais) is standard in intimate contexts. If you were addressing someone formally (though it would be unusual to say "sweet dreams" formally) the vous form is Faites de beaux rêves.

Dors bien

Dors bien is the practical, everyday "sleep well." It comes from dormir (to sleep), and the final "s" is silent (say "dohr," not "dorss"). It is less poetic than Fais de beaux rêves but just as warm, and it is probably used more frequently in daily life because of its simplicity.

You will often hear it combined with Bonne nuit: Bonne nuit, dors bien is one of the most natural bedtime sequences in French.

Passe une bonne nuit

This expression adds a verb to the basic Bonne nuit, turning it from a static phrase into an active wish. It translates roughly to "have a good night" and feels slightly warmer because it takes more effort to say. The vous form, Passez une bonne nuit, works well in professional contexts, for example when ending a late business call.

Repose-toi bien

Repose-toi bien carries more weight than Dors bien. It suggests you are not just wishing someone sleep but genuine rest and recovery. Use it when someone has had a long day, is feeling ill, or is clearly exhausted. The reflexive construction (se reposer) is characteristic of French, where many body-related actions use reflexive pronouns.

Dors du sommeil du juste

This elegant expression has biblical roots, referring to the peaceful sleep of someone with a clear conscience. In modern use, it is somewhat literary and can carry a gentle, humorous tone, as if to say "you have earned your rest." You will encounter it more in writing than in speech, but it is a beautiful phrase that native speakers recognize and appreciate.

Romantic Good Night Expressions

French has a well-earned reputation for romance, and bedtime is one of the moments where the language shines. These expressions are for partners, lovers, and anyone you want to make feel special at the end of the day.

Bonne nuit, mon amour

Mon amour (my love) is the most universal French term of endearment, and it is gender-neutral: both mon amour for a man and mon amour for a woman. This makes it different from terms like mon chéri / ma chérie, which change based on the gender of the person addressed. Bonne nuit, mon amour is the standard romantic good-night and is used daily by millions of French-speaking couples.

Bonne nuit, mon cœur

Calling someone mon cœur (my heart) is one of the most intimate things you can say in French. It is used between romantic partners and also by parents speaking to young children. The word cœur contains the œ ligature (o-e joined together), pronounced like the "u" in English "fur." According to the Académie française, this term of endearment dates back to medieval French poetry.

Bonne nuit, ma chérie

Chéri(e) comes from the verb chérir (to cherish) and is perhaps the most internationally recognized French term of endearment. Unlike mon amour, it is gendered: mon chéri for a man, ma chérie for a woman. It works for romantic partners and also for close family members. A mother might say Bonne nuit, ma chérie to her daughter.

Doux rêves

The compact version of Fais de beaux rêves, consisting of just two words: doux (sweet, soft) and rêves (dreams). It is particularly popular in text messages where brevity matters, and it carries a gentle, poetic quality. You will see it frequently in French novels and films as a whispered bedtime farewell.

Casual and Practical Farewells

These expressions pair naturally with good-night phrases and are essential for wrapping up evening conversations smoothly.

À demain

À demain is one of the most useful phrases in the French evening vocabulary. It works in every setting: say it to your colleagues when leaving the office, to friends after a dinner, or to your partner before bed. The à (until) pattern extends to other time frames: À lundi (see you Monday), À ce soir (see you tonight), À bientôt (see you soon).

À la prochaine

When you do not know exactly when you will see someone next, À la prochaine (until next time) is the perfect parting phrase. It is warmer than the standard Au revoir and pairs naturally with Bonne nuit or Bonne soirée depending on the hour.

Je vais me coucher

This is how you announce you are going to bed before saying Bonne nuit. The reflexive verb se coucher (to put oneself to bed) is one of the first reflexive verbs taught in French courses. In conversation, Je vais me coucher functions as a polite signal that you are wrapping up for the night.

Bonne nuit à tous

The group version of Bonne nuit. Use it when leaving a dinner party, signing off from a group chat, or heading to bed at a family gathering. Note the gendered distinction: à tous for a mixed or all-male group, à toutes for an all-female group.

How to Respond to Good Night Wishes

Knowing what to say back is just as important as initiating the farewell.

Practice With Real French Content

The best way to internalize these expressions is to hear them spoken naturally by native speakers. French films are full of evening and bedtime scenes: Amélie for poetic nighttime monologues, Les Intouchables for casual between-friends goodnights, and Blue Is the Warmest Color for intimate romantic dialogue.

Wordy lets you watch French movies and shows with interactive subtitles, where you can tap any phrase to see its meaning, pronunciation, and context instantly. Instead of memorizing Bonne nuit from a list, you absorb it from a scene where two characters are actually saying good night, with authentic emotion, intonation, and body language.

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