# Dormir Conjugation — Every Tense of the French Verb “To Sleep”

> **Dormir** means “to sleep”. Présent: **je dors, tu dors, il dort, nous dormons, vous dormez, ils dorment**. It is only the sleeping itself — *falling* asleep is **s’endormir** and going to bed is **se coucher**, and French keeps all three apart.

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Updated: 2026-09-16

## Présent — the m that drops

The same pattern as partir and sortir: the final consonant of the stem — here the m — disappears in the singular and comes back in the plural. Dors, dors, dort, then dormons, dormez, dorment.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| je dors | I sleep |
| tu dors | you sleep |
| il / elle dort | he / she sleeps |
| nous dormons | we sleep |
| vous dormez | you sleep |
| ils / elles dorment | they sleep |

**Not a finir verb** — The infinitive ends in -ir, but there is no -iss- in the plural: it is nous dormons, never nous dormissons. French -ir verbs come in two unrelated families and this is the smaller, older one.

## Sleeping, falling asleep, going to bed

Three verbs, three different moments. Mixing them up will be understood, but it is the kind of thing that marks a sentence as translated.

| French | Means | The moment |
|---|---|---|
| se coucher | to go to bed | getting into it |
| s’endormir | to fall asleep | dropping off |
| dormir | to sleep | being asleep |
| se réveiller | to wake up | the end of it |

**⚠ “I slept at 11” doesn’t work** — J’ai dormi à onze heures means you were asleep at eleven o’clock. If you mean you went to bed then, you want je me suis couché à onze heures. And if you could not drop off, that is je n’arrivais pas à m’endormir — not dormir.

Two more worth having: faire la grasse matinée is to have a lie-in, literally “to do the fat morning”, and dormir comme une marmotte — to sleep like a marmot — is what French says where English says “like a log”.

## Passé composé — dormi

With avoir, participle dormi — no agreement to worry about. J’ai bien dormi, “I slept well”, is the standard answer to tu as bien dormi ? at a French breakfast table.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| j’ai dormi | I slept / have slept |
| tu as dormi | you slept / have slept |
| il / elle a dormi | he / she slept / have slept |
| nous avons dormi | we slept / have slept |
| vous avez dormi | you slept / have slept |
| ils / elles ont dormi | they slept / have slept |

## Imparfait — was sleeping

From dormons, so the m is everywhere: je dormais. This is the natural tense for the verb — sleeping is a state that lasts, and states take the imparfait. Je dormais quand tu as appelé, “I was asleep when you called”.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| je dormais | I used to sleep / was sleeping |
| tu dormais | you used to sleep / was sleeping |
| il / elle dormait | he / she used to sleep / was sleeping |
| nous dormions | we used to sleep / was sleeping |
| vous dormiez | you used to sleep / was sleeping |
| ils / elles dormaient | they used to sleep / was sleeping |

## Futur and conditionnel

The infinitive is the stem, with nothing removed: je dormirai.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| je dormirai | I will sleep |
| tu dormiras | you will sleep |
| il / elle dormira | he / she will sleep |
| nous dormirons | we will sleep |
| vous dormirez | you will sleep |
| ils / elles dormiront | they will sleep |

## Conditionnel — would sleep

Je dormirais mieux sans bruit — “I’d sleep better without the noise”.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| je dormirais | I would sleep |
| tu dormirais | you would sleep |
| il / elle dormirait | he / she would sleep |
| nous dormirions | we would sleep |
| vous dormiriez | you would sleep |
| ils / elles dormiraient | they would sleep |

## Subjonctif — dorme

Regular, from the ils stem. Il faut que tu dormes — “you need to sleep”.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| je dorme | (that) I sleep |
| tu dormes | (that) you sleep |
| il / elle dorme | (that) he / she sleep |
| nous dormions | (that) we sleep |
| vous dormiez | (that) you sleep |
| ils / elles dorment | (that) they sleep |

## Impératif — sleep well

Dors bien ! and dormez bien ! are ordinary goodnights. The most common bedtime phrase of all, though, uses a different verb entirely: fais de beaux rêves, “sweet dreams”.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| dors ! | sleep! (to one person you know) |
| dormons ! | let’s sleep! |
| dormez ! | sleep! (formal, or to a group) |

## Plus-que-parfait — had slept

Je n’avais pas dormi — “I hadn’t slept” — usually offered as the excuse for something that followed.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| j’avais dormi | I had slept |
| tu avais dormi | you had slept |
| il / elle avait dormi | he / she had slept |
| nous avions dormi | we had slept |
| vous aviez dormi | you had slept |
| ils / elles avaient dormi | they had slept |

## FAQ

### How do you conjugate dormir in the present tense?

Je dors, tu dors, il / elle dort, nous dormons, vous dormez, ils / elles dorment. The m disappears in the singular and returns in the plural.

### Is dormir a regular -ir verb?

No. Regular -ir verbs follow finir and add -iss- in the plural. Dormir belongs with partir, sortir, sentir and servir instead.

### What is the difference between dormir and s’endormir?

Dormir is being asleep; s’endormir is the moment of falling asleep. “I couldn’t get to sleep” is je n’arrivais pas à m’endormir.

### How do you say “I went to bed at eleven” in French?

Je me suis couché à onze heures, using se coucher. J’ai dormi à onze heures would mean you were asleep at that time.

### What is the past participle of dormir?

Dormi, with avoir and no agreement: j’ai bien dormi.

### How do you say “sleep well” in French?

Dors bien to someone you know, dormez bien otherwise. Fais de beaux rêves — “sweet dreams” — is just as common.

## Related guides

- Partir conjugation: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides/partir-conjugation
- Sortir conjugation: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides/sortir-conjugation
- French verb conjugation: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides/french-verb-conjugation
- All free French guides: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides