Se coucher is the verb you use every night before you fall asleep. It is the standard French way to say go to bed, and it has a clean parallelism with se lever (get up): the day ends with one and begins with the other. Underneath the pronominal sits the transitive coucher (to put someone to bed, to lay something down) and a euphemistic coucher avec (to sleep with). It is a regular -er verb with no spelling change — which makes it a clean template for the entire pattern of pronominal -er verbs.
This page is the full reference: every paradigm, the transitive uses, the idioms about beds and sunsets, and the predictable English-speaker mistakes.
The simple tenses
These are the tenses formed without an auxiliary. The reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nous, vous, se) precedes the conjugated verb in every tense except the affirmative imperative.
Présent de l'indicatif
A perfectly regular -er verb. No spelling change anywhere.
| Person | Form | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| je | me couche | /mə kuʃ/ |
| tu | te couches | /tə kuʃ/ |
| il / elle / on | se couche | /sə kuʃ/ |
| nous | nous couchons | /nu kuʃɔ̃/ |
| vous | vous couchez | /vu kuʃe/ |
| ils / elles | se couchent | /sə kuʃ/ |
Je me couche tôt en semaine, mais le week-end je traîne jusqu'à minuit.
I go to bed early on weekdays, but on the weekend I stay up till midnight.
À quelle heure tu te couches d'habitude ?
What time do you usually go to bed?
Le soleil se couche à dix-huit heures trente en cette saison.
The sun sets at six thirty in this season.
Imparfait
Standard -er imparfait, formed from the nous stem couch- plus the regular endings.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | me couchais |
| tu | te couchais |
| il / elle / on | se couchait |
| nous | nous couchions |
| vous | vous couchiez |
| ils / elles | se couchaient |
Quand j'étais enfant, je me couchais à neuf heures pile.
When I was a child, I went to bed at nine o'clock sharp.
On se couchait toujours sans dîner pendant les vacances chez ma grand-mère.
We always went to bed without dinner during vacations at my grandmother's.
Futur simple
Stem coucher- (the full infinitive) plus the regular futur endings.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | me coucherai |
| tu | te coucheras |
| il / elle / on | se couchera |
| nous | nous coucherons |
| vous | vous coucherez |
| ils / elles | se coucheront |
On se couchera tôt ce soir, on a un long trajet demain.
We'll go to bed early tonight, we've got a long drive tomorrow.
Le soleil ne se couchera pas avant vingt-deux heures en juin.
The sun won't set before ten in June.
Conditionnel présent
Stem coucher-, imparfait endings.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | me coucherais |
| tu | te coucherais |
| il / elle / on | se coucherait |
| nous | nous coucherions |
| vous | vous coucheriez |
| ils / elles | se coucheraient |
Je me coucherais bien, mais je dois finir ce dossier avant demain.
I'd love to go to bed, but I have to finish this file before tomorrow.
Subjonctif présent
Stem couch- plus the standard subjunctive endings.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| (que) je | me couche |
| (que) tu | te couches |
| (qu')il / elle / on | se couche |
| (que) nous | nous couchions |
| (que) vous | vous couchiez |
| (qu')ils / elles | se couchent |
Il faut que les enfants se couchent avant neuf heures.
The kids need to be in bed before nine.
Je ne pense pas qu'elle se couche très tard.
I don't think she goes to bed very late.
Impératif
The reflexive pronoun follows the verb with a hyphen; te becomes toi.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| (tu) | couche-toi |
| (nous) | couchons-nous |
| (vous) | couchez-vous |
In the negative, the pronoun stays before the verb: ne te couche pas, ne nous couchons pas, ne vous couchez pas.
Couche-toi, il est plus de minuit.
Go to bed, it's past midnight.
Ne vous couchez pas trop tard, on part tôt demain.
Don't go to bed too late, we're leaving early tomorrow.
Participles
- Participe passé: couché (feminine couchée, plural couchés / couchées)
- Participe présent: (se) couchant
- Gérondif: en (se) couchant
En me couchant, j'ai entendu un bruit étrange dans la cuisine.
As I was getting into bed, I heard a strange noise in the kitchen.
The compound tenses
Se coucher is pronominal, so the auxiliary is always être. The reflexive pronoun is the direct object (the subject acts on themselves), so the participle agrees with the subject in gender and number.
Passé composé
être (présent) + couché(e)(s)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | me suis couché(e) |
| tu | t'es couché(e) |
| il / on | s'est couché |
| elle | s'est couchée |
| nous | nous sommes couché(e)s |
| vous | vous êtes couché(e)(s) |
| ils | se sont couchés |
| elles | se sont couchées |
Je me suis couchée à deux heures du matin, je suis épuisée.
I went to bed at two in the morning, I'm exhausted. (female speaker)
Les enfants se sont couchés sans faire d'histoires.
The kids went to bed without a fuss.
On s'est couchés très tard hier — la soirée s'est éternisée.
We went to bed very late yesterday — the evening dragged on.
Plus-que-parfait, futur antérieur, conditionnel passé
Standard pattern: être in the relevant tense + couché(e)(s).
Quand tu m'as appelée, je m'étais déjà couchée.
When you called, I had already gone to bed.
Si je m'étais couché plus tôt, je ne serais pas si fatigué.
If I had gone to bed earlier, I wouldn't be so tired.
The transitive coucher
Without the reflexive, coucher is transitive and means to put (someone) to bed or to lay (something) down. You apply the action to someone or something else.
Je couche les enfants à huit heures, ensuite je peux travailler tranquille.
I put the kids to bed at eight, then I can work in peace.
Couche le bébé sur le dos, jamais sur le ventre.
Lay the baby on its back, never on its stomach.
Le vent a couché tout le maïs.
The wind has flattened all the corn.
The intransitive coucher without a pronoun also exists: it means to spend the night, to sleep over. It is more old-fashioned than dormir and tends to imply lodging — sleeping somewhere away from home.
On a couché à l'auberge du village, c'était parfait.
We slept at the village inn, it was perfect.
Coucher avec quelqu'un — the euphemism
Coucher avec quelqu'un (without the reflexive) is the standard euphemism for sleeping with someone in the sexual sense. It is direct without being crude — comparable to English sleep with. Use with awareness of register.
Ils ont couché ensemble une fois, et puis plus rien.
They slept together once, and then nothing more.
Elle ne couche pas avec n'importe qui.
She doesn't sleep with just anyone.
The reflexive se coucher never carries this meaning. Je me couche always means I go to bed (alone, to sleep). For the sexual sense the verb must be transitive coucher avec.
The core uses
1. Go to bed (for the night)
The default reading. Se coucher without further context means get into bed at the end of the day.
Couche-toi, demain tu as école.
Go to bed, you have school tomorrow.
Je me couche rarement avant minuit.
I rarely go to bed before midnight.
2. Lie down
For lying down anywhere — on the couch, on the floor, on the grass — to rest. Less specifically about for the night.
Couche-toi un peu, tu as l'air épuisé.
Lie down for a bit, you look exhausted.
Le chien s'est couché à mes pieds.
The dog lay down at my feet.
3. Set (sun, moon, stars)
The sun se couche the way it se lève. The pair runs through everyday weather and time vocabulary.
Le soleil se couche derrière les montagnes — c'est magnifique.
The sun is setting behind the mountains — it's magnificent.
On regardera le coucher du soleil depuis la terrasse.
We'll watch the sunset from the terrace.
The noun le coucher du soleil (sunset) is built from the infinitive used as a noun — same pattern as le lever du soleil (sunrise).
High-frequency idioms
- se coucher tôt / tard — to go to bed early / late
- se coucher avec les poules — to go to bed very early (literally: with the chickens)
- au coucher du soleil — at sunset
- aller se coucher — to go to bed (informal); also figuratively to give up on something
- envoyer quelqu'un se coucher — to dismiss or rebuff someone
- comme on fait son lit, on se couche (proverb) — as you make your bed, so you must lie in it (you reap what you sow)
Mon grand-père se couche avec les poules et se lève avec le soleil.
My grandfather goes to bed with the chickens and gets up with the sun.
Tu as voulu lui faire confiance — comme on fait son lit, on se couche.
You wanted to trust him — you made your bed, now you lie in it.
Va te coucher, on n'a pas besoin de tes commentaires.
Get lost, we don't need your comments. (informal, dismissive)
The last example shows the informal use of va te coucher / aller se coucher as a brusque dismissal. It is sharp without being vulgar — somewhere between get lost and give it a rest.
Comparison with English
English splits the territory of (se) coucher across several verbs.
- Go to bed vs lie down vs go to sleep. English distinguishes go to bed (the routine of retiring for the night), lie down (briefly, often during the day), and go to sleep (the moment of losing consciousness — French s'endormir). French uses se coucher for the first two and reserves s'endormir for the third. Je me suis couché à dix heures et je me suis endormi à minuit = I went to bed at ten and fell asleep at midnight. Two distinct events.
- The reflexive vs the transitive. English go to bed has no transitive parallel — you don't bed someone in the routine sense. French keeps both: je couche les enfants (I put the kids to bed) ≠ je me couche (I go to bed myself).
- Setting vs going down. English the sun goes down uses a phrasal verb where French uses the simple reflexive se couche. The image is the same — the sun lying down at the horizon — but the syntax is different.
Common Mistakes
Mistake 1: Forgetting the reflexive pronoun.
❌ Je couche à dix heures.
Wrong if you mean 'I go to bed at ten' — without the reflexive, coucher is transitive ('I put X to bed') or means 'spend the night somewhere'.
✅ Je me couche à dix heures.
I go to bed at ten.
Mistake 2: Using avoir in the passé composé.
❌ J'ai couché tard hier soir.
Wrong for 'I went to bed late' — pronominal verbs use être. Note: 'j'ai couché tard' is grammatical but archaic, meaning 'I lodged somewhere late.'
✅ Je me suis couché tard hier soir.
I went to bed late yesterday.
Mistake 3: Confusing se coucher with s'endormir / dormir.
❌ Je me couche en cinq minutes.
Wrong if you mean 'I fall asleep in five minutes' — that's je m'endors. Se coucher is the act of getting into bed.
✅ Je m'endors en cinq minutes.
I fall asleep in five minutes.
Mistake 4: Forgetting participle agreement.
❌ Elles se sont couché tard.
Wrong — the reflexive se is the direct object referring to a feminine plural subject, so the participle must agree: couchées.
✅ Elles se sont couchées tard.
They (f.) went to bed late.
Mistake 5: Using the reflexive for the sexual sense.
❌ Ils se sont couchés ensemble.
Wrong if you mean 'they slept together (sexually)' — that's ils ont couché ensemble (no reflexive). The reflexive only means going to bed to sleep.
✅ Ils ont couché ensemble.
They slept together. (sexual sense)
Key takeaways
Se coucher is the everyday verb for going to bed, lying down, and (for the sun) setting. It is a perfectly regular -er verb with no spelling change — je me couche, nous nous couchons, je me coucherai — making it the cleanest possible template for pronominal -er verbs.
The verb is pronominal, so compound tenses use être with full participle agreement: elle s'est couchée, ils se sont couchés. The transitive coucher (to put someone to bed, to lay something down) is the same verb minus the reflexive pronoun and is what you use for putting children to bed or laying a baby on its back. Coucher avec quelqu'un (without the reflexive) is the standard euphemism for sleeping with someone — never use se coucher for that meaning.
Together with se lever (get up), se coucher frames the entire daily routine: je me lève à sept heures et je me couche à onze heures. Master both and you have the rhythm of every day in French.
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- Dormir: Full Verb ReferenceA1 — Dormir means to sleep — a 3e-groupe -ir verb conjugated like partir, sortir, sentir. This page gives the full paradigm in every tense, the constellation of sleep-related idioms, and the auxiliary (avoir) for compound tenses.
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- Passé composé: être + maison d'être verbsA1 — How to form the passé composé of verbs of motion and change of state with être, and why the past participle agrees with the subject like an adjective.