Le dodo: the ten phrases you'll use every day

Bedtime in French

C'est l'heure du dodo. It's bedtime. Say it from the doorway. The announcement is the cue.

On met le pyjama. Pyjamas on. Do the action as you say it. No translation.

Un bras… et deux. One arm… and two. Counting. Free repetition, every night.

On brosse les dents. Let's brush your teeth. Pair with the action; skip the English.

Tu choisis un livre ? Do you want to choose a book? A question they can answer by pointing.

Encore une page. One more page. Encore is the most useful word you'll learn.

On éteint la lumière. Lights out. The transition marker. Same words, every night.

Fais dodo. Go to sleep. The phrase the ritual is named for.

Je suis là. I'm here. The one they'll ask for. Learn it well.

Bonne nuit, mon chéri. Good night, my darling. End warm. The last line is the one they remember. For a girl: ma chérie.

Print the le dodo card Tape it to the bedroom door or stand it beside the bed, so the script is right where bedtime happens

The bedtime script, all ten phrases on one page

Download as PDF

Print it at home, or forward the email to your print shop.

Bedtime is the ritual you'll still be running on a bad day, which makes it the best place for French to live. The sequence never changes, pyjamas, teeth, story, lights, so the same ten sentences work every night, and repetition is what makes language stick.

Why le dodo works

The sequence is fixed, so you're not improvising, the same words in the same order at the same time each night. That predictability is exactly what a young child's language system is built to exploit.

It's the ritual that survives a bad day. Dinner gets rushed, bath gets skipped, but bedtime almost always happens, which makes it the most reliable daily slot for French in your whole week.

It ends in affection. Bedtime is where a second language stops being a project and becomes the way you say good night. That's what keeps families going past month three.

When they answer in English

"one more story"

Encore une histoire ? D'accord, une dernière.

"I'm not tired"

Tu n'es pas fatigué ? On se repose quand même.

Don't correct. Don't ask them to repeat. Just say the thing back in French and carry on. That's a recast, and it's the single most effective move in parent-led bilingualism. More on La Reprise.

By age

18 months – 3 years

Narrate, don't question. Name what's happening, the pyjamas, the book, the light. Expect nothing back for weeks; comprehension runs months ahead of speech.

3 – 5 years

Ask. Tu choisis quel livre ? Accept English answers warmly and recast them in French. Never ask them to repeat.

The complete le dodo pack is on its way: the whole routine, thirty-six phrases, audio on every line, and the printed card. It will be $29, once, and the waitlist hears first.

See pricing