Les comptines

Frère Jacques: the French words, what they mean, and how to sing it

Frère Jacques asks a sleepy monk, Brother Jacques, whether he's sleeping, and tells him to ring the bells for morning prayers. The English version, Are You Sleeping, Brother John, changes the ending: there, the bells are already ringing.

Frère Jacques

  • Frère Jacques, frère Jacques, Brother Jacques, Brother Jacques,
  • Dormez-vous ? Dormez-vous ? are you sleeping? Are you sleeping?
  • Sonnez les matines ! Sonnez les matines ! Ring the morning bells! Ring the morning bells!
  • Ding, daing, dong. Ding, daing, dong. Ding, dang, dong. Ding, dang, dong.

Say the lines first

  • Frère Jacques Brother Jacques Say it frair ZHAHK
  • Dormez-vous ? Are you sleeping? Say it dor-may VOO
  • Sonnez les matines Ring the morning bells Say it so-nay lay ma-TEEN
  • Ding, daing, dong Ding, dang, dong Say it ding, dang, DONG

What the words mean

Frère is brother, here a monk. Dormez-vous ? is a polite are you sleeping. Les matines are matins, the prayers before dawn, and Jacques has slept through the bell he was meant to ring. In the English version, the bells ring without him.

How to sing it

It’s a round: one voice starts, and a second comes in when the first reaches the second line. With a toddler, skip the round. Sing it slowly and rock side to side on ding, daing, dong.

As a lullaby

Sung slowly and quietly, it’s one of the three songs on the lullaby page. The joke still works at bedtime: a brother who won’t wake up.

One thing to do tonight

Sing it at the bedroom door instead of saying goodnight. If your child sings ding, daing, dong back, the song has landed.

Where it lives in your day Le Dodo · Bedtime in French The ten sentences that turn lights-out into French, every single night

Free bedtime script

From the song to the bedroom door

Sing it, then say it: the Le Dodo script gives you ten bedtime phrases to follow the song.

Ten bedtime phrases, each with a say-it guide, on one page for the bedroom door.

Three emails over your first week to get bedtime started, and you can leave whenever you like.

Questions parents ask

What does Frère Jacques mean in English?

Brother Jacques. Frère means brother, and here it means a monk.

What are les matines?

Matins, the prayers said before dawn. The bell for matins is the one Jacques has slept through.

Is Frère Jacques the same song as Are You Sleeping, Brother John?

Same tune, different ending. In English the morning bells are already ringing; in French, Jacques is told to go and ring them.

How old is Frère Jacques?

It has been sung in France for more than two hundred years. Nobody is sure who wrote it; one old manuscript credits the composer Rameau.

Keep going

All the songs and rhymes →

Updated 16 October 2026