How to Say Good Night in French (+ the Bonsoir Trap)

Good night in French is bonne nuit — pronounced bun NWEE — but here’s the thing English speakers get wrong on day one: bonne nuit is only for when someone is actually going to bed. Leaving a dinner party at 11pm? That’s bonne soirée or bonsoir, never bonne nuit — unless you want to imply your hosts should go to sleep. French splits the evening into zones, each with its own phrase, and using the wrong one is the single most common evening mistake learners make. Let’s map the zones.

The main way to say it

Bonne nuit — bun NWEE.

Breaking it down:

• Bonne = good (feminine, because nuit is feminine); nuit = night. Literally “good night,” used exactly like the English bedtime good night — to someone heading to sleep, or as the last thing you say before lights out.
• The ui in nuit is a quick glide: “nwee,” one syllable, not “noo-ee.” Say “we” with an n in front and you’re basically there.
• The -onne in bonne is a full “un/bun” sound, not nasal — unlike bon, where the n disappears into the vowel. Bonne = “bun”; bon = “boh(n).”

The natural companion is fais de beaux rêves (feh duh boh REV) — “sweet dreams,” literally “make beautiful dreams.” That’s the tu form; with someone you address formally it becomes faites de beaux rêves (fet duh boh REV). Add dors bien (dor BYAN, “sleep well”) and you have the full French bedtime kit.

Variations

Phrase	Meaning	When to use it
Bonne nuit !	Good night!	Bedtime only — someone is going to sleep
Fais de beaux rêves !	Sweet dreams!	Affectionate, tu form — kids, partners, close friends
Faites de beaux rêves !	Sweet dreams!	Same, vous form
Dors bien ! / Dormez bien !	Sleep well!	Warm add-on after bonne nuit (tu / vous)
Bonne soirée !	Have a good evening!	Leaving someone who still has an evening ahead
Bonsoir !	Good evening!	Evening greeting — and a formal evening goodbye
À demain !	See you tomorrow!	Perfect companion when parting at night

The evening map — this is the part that matters:

• Bonsoir = the evening hello (from dusk onward, replacing bonjour). In more formal contexts it also works as an evening goodbye.
• Bonne soirée = the evening goodbye when the other person’s evening is still in progress — leaving the office at 7pm, leaving a restaurant, ending a call at 9pm. It wishes them a good rest of the evening.
• Bonne nuit = strictly the bedtime goodbye. You say it to your kids, your partner, your roommate heading to their room — or to overnight guests as everyone turns in.

The rule of thumb: if the person is about to be asleep within the hour, bonne nuit. If they’re about to be out having fun (or just awake), bonne soirée. If you’re arriving, bonsoir.

Hear it in context

A family evening at home (bedtime):

— Allez, au lit. Bonne nuit, ma puce. — Bonne nuit, papa. Tu me lis une histoire ? — Une seule, alors. Et après, dodo. Fais de beaux rêves.

— Come on, off to bed. Good night, sweetie. — Good night, Dad. Will you read me a story? — Just one, then. And after that, sleepy time. Sweet dreams.

Leaving a dinner party at 11pm (the trap, done right):

— Merci pour cette soirée, c’était délicieux. Bonne soirée à vous ! — Merci d’être venus ! Rentrez bien. — À bientôt. Bonsoir !

— Thanks for this evening, it was delicious. Enjoy the rest of your evening! — Thanks for coming! Get home safe. — See you soon. Good evening!

Notice what nobody said: bonne nuit. The hosts aren’t going to bed — they’re doing the dishes.

Common mistakes

• Saying “bonne nuit” when leaving a party or restaurant. The classic. Bonne nuit to someone who isn’t going to bed sounds like you’re tucking them in. Use bonne soirée (they still have an evening) or bonsoir (neutral, more formal).
• Using “bonne nuit” as an evening greeting. It’s never a hello. Walking into a bar at 9pm, you say bonsoir. Bonne nuit as a greeting is as odd as walking into a party and announcing “sleep tight.”
• “Noo-ee” instead of “nwee.” Nuit is one syllable with a glide. Two syllables instantly reads as beginner.
• Forgetting the tu/vous switch on the extras. Fais de beaux rêves and dors bien are tu forms. To someone you vouvoie — or to several people — it’s faites de beaux rêves and dormez bien.
• Confusing “bonsoir” and “bonne soirée.” Bonsoir greets (and can close, formally); bonne soirée only closes, and wishes the person a good rest-of-evening. Saying bonne soirée when you arrive somewhere is backwards.

Related phrases

The other end of the day — and the rest of the toolkit:

• How to say good morning in French — the bonjour rules are their own minefield.
• How to say I love you in French — often the sentence right before bonne nuit.
• Struggling with sounds like the nuit glide? Our guide to French pronunciation breaks them down.

FAQ

What’s the difference between “bonne nuit” and “bonsoir”? Bonsoir is the evening greeting (hello from dusk onward) and a formal evening goodbye. Bonne nuit is only said to someone about to go to sleep. Mixing them up is the most common learner mistake of the French evening.

How do you say “sweet dreams” in French? Fais de beaux rêves (tu) or faites de beaux rêves (vous) — literally “make beautiful dreams.” Usually said right after bonne nuit.

Can I say “bonne nuit” when leaving a party? Only if the hosts are visibly heading straight to bed. Otherwise say bonne soirée — it wishes them a good rest of the evening, which is what you actually mean.

Is “bonne nuit” formal or informal? Neutral. What changes with register is the companions: dors bien / fais de beaux rêves with tu, dormez bien / faites de beaux rêves with vous.

How do the French text “good night”? Bonne nuit works fine, often shortened to bonne nuit :) with à demain (“see you tomorrow”). Affectionate texts add fais de beaux rêves or simply des bisous.

---

Want the nwee glide and the bonsoir/bonne nuit reflex to become automatic — not something you compute mid-goodbye? Practicing out loud with Amélie, an AI French tutor with a Parisian accent, gets you there before your next dinner in French.