dormir, endormir, rendormir

ByFast French

The French verbs dormir, endormir, and rendormir all relate to sleep but have distinct meanings and uses. They can be used in their transitive, intransitive, or pronominal forms.

1. Dormir (to sleep)

  • Meaning: To sleep.
  • Form: Intransitive (does not take a direct object).
  • Etymology: From Latin dormire, meaning “to sleep.”

Conjugation:

  • Present:
    Je dors, tu dors, il dort, nous dormons, vous dormez, ils dorment.
  • Passé Composé:
    J’ai dormi, tu as dormi, il a dormi, nous avons dormi, vous avez dormi, ils ont dormi.

Examples:

  • Je dors huit heures par nuit.
    (I sleep eight hours a night.)
  • Hier, j’ai dormi jusqu’à midi.
    (Yesterday, I slept until noon.)

2. Endormir (to put to sleep, to fall asleep)

  • Meaning:
  • Transitive: To put someone or something to sleep.
  • Pronominal (s’endormir): To fall asleep.
  • Etymology: From Latin in- (into) + dormire (to sleep).

Conjugation:

  • Present:
    J’endors, tu endors, il endort, nous endormons, vous endormez, ils endorment.
  • Passé Composé:
    J’ai endormi, tu as endormi, il a endormi, nous avons endormi, vous avez endormi, ils ont endormi.

Examples:

  • Transitive:
    La musique endort le bébé.
    (The music puts the baby to sleep.)
  • Pronominal:
    Je m’endors toujours devant la télé.
    (I always fall asleep in front of the TV.)
  • Hier, je me suis endormi à 22 heures.
    (Yesterday, I fell asleep at 10 p.m.)

3. Rendormir (to put back to sleep, to fall back asleep)

  • Meaning:
  • Transitive: To put someone or something back to sleep.
  • Pronominal (se rendormir): To fall back asleep.
  • Etymology: From Latin re- (again) + dormire (to sleep).

Conjugation:

  • Present:
    Je rendors, tu rendors, il rendort, nous rendormons, vous rendormez, ils rendorment.
  • Passé Composé:
    J’ai rendormi, tu as rendormi, il a rendormi, nous avons rendormi, vous avez rendormi, ils ont rendormi.

Examples:

  • Transitive:
    Elle a rendormi son enfant après le cauchemar.
    (She put her child back to sleep after the nightmare.)
  • Pronominal:
    Je me suis rendormi après le bruit.
    (I fell back asleep after the noise.)

Key Differences:

  • Dormir: Simply means “to sleep.”
  • Endormir: Focuses on the act of falling asleep or making someone sleep.
  • Rendormir: Focuses on returning to sleep or making someone sleep again.

Don’t miss new articles!

Get 1 email a week with new articles about French

We don’t spam! Read more in our privacy policy

Similar Posts

  • Irregular verbs update

    ByFast French

    The article with the list of important irregular verbs in French has just been updated. New information has been added. Errors have been corrected. If you haven’t already read it, it’s worth checking out. I suggest you memorise at least the first nine (9) verbs on the list. These are être, avoir, faire, aller, venir,…

  • à la fois

    ByFast French

    The French expression à la fois means “at the same time” or “both.” It is used to describe actions, qualities or states that occur or apply simultaneously. The phrase is versatile and appears often in both spoken and written French. One common use of à la fois is to describe someone or something with multiple…

  • bouder

    ByFast French

    Bouder is a common French verb meaning to show displeasure by withdrawing, sulking, or deliberately refusing to engage. It is frequently used to describe emotional reactions by children and adults, and it also extends to situations where someone avoids an activity, a person, or an offer. Meaning and core use At its core, bouder describes…

  • six & dix

    ByFast French

    The pronunciation of the French words “six” (6) and “dix” (10) is a bit unusual. There are three ways of pronouncing the final “x.” When counting, eg from 1 to 10, “six” is pronounced SEESS and “dix” is pronounced DEESS. So the last letter sounds like a soft “s” sound. When saying something like “six…

  • contact vs aspect

    ByFast French

    Some French words, like contact, have a clearly pronounced -ct, while others, like aspect, have a silent -ct. This difference is due to phonetic evolution, word stress, and borrowing history. 1. The Role of Stress and Borrowing History 2. When is -CT Pronounced in French? The -ct is pronounced when: 3. When is -CT Silent?…

  • On s’en doute

    ByFast French

    The French phrase on s’en doute translates literally as “one doubts it” or “we doubt it.” In practice, it means the opposite of what the words suggest. When a French speaker says on s’en doute, they mean “I/we could guess,” “that’s obvious,” “I suspected as much,” or “it figures.” The phrase works by using doubt…