Спать — "to sleep / be asleep" (the state) Засыпа́ть / Засну́ть (or Усну́ть) — "to fall asleep, drop off" (the transition into sleep) Ложи́ться / Лечь спать — "to go to bed" (the action of lying down to sleep)
English makes you say "sleep," "fall asleep," and "go to bed" with three different verbs, and Russian does the same — but it draws the lines in a place English speakers often miss. The trickiest split is between being asleep (спать, an ongoing state) and the moment you drop off (засну́ть, a single instantaneous event). They are not the same verb in different tenses; they are different verbs. This page focuses on the fall-asleep family and how it dovetails with спать; for the full paradigm of спать itself (the mutation сплю, the impersonal Мне не спи́тся), see the dedicated спать page.
The core split: state vs. transition
Think of sleep as having three phases, each with its own verb:
| Phase | Verb(s) | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ложи́ться / лечь (спать) | to go to bed |
| засыпа́ть / засну́ть (усну́ть) | to fall asleep, drop off |
| спать | to sleep, be asleep |
The key insight: спать is a state with no boundary ("I am asleep / I sleep"), while засну́ть is a boundary — the instant of crossing from awake to asleep. You can спать for eight hours, but you засну́ть only once (at the start). English blurs this because "I fell asleep" and "I slept" share the root "sleep"; Russian uses two unrelated roots, сп- and -сн-.
Я до́лго не мог засну́ть, а пото́м спал как уби́тый.
I couldn't fall asleep for a long time, and then I slept like a log. — засну́ть = the transition; спать = the state that followed.
Ребёнок засыпа́ет то́лько под коро́ткую пе́сню.
The baby only falls asleep to a short song. — засыпа́ет (impf): the gradual process of dropping off.
Засыпа́ть (imperfective) — the process of dropping off
засыпа́ть is a regular first-conjugation -ать verb (like чита́ть). It describes the gradual process of falling asleep — drifting off — and is the verb for habits ("I fall asleep quickly," "I'm falling asleep" right now) and repeated events.
| Person | засыпа́ть — PRESENT |
|---|---|
| я | засыпа́ю |
| ты | засыпа́ешь |
| он / она́ / оно́ | засыпа́ет |
| мы | засыпа́ем |
| вы | засыпа́ете |
| они́ | засыпа́ют |
Past: засыпа́л / засыпа́ла / засыпа́ло / засыпа́ли (all stem-stressed). Future (imperfective): бу́ду засыпа́ть. Imperative: засыпа́й / засыпа́йте ("drift off, go to sleep").
Я обы́чно засыпа́ю че́рез пять мину́т.
I usually fall asleep within five minutes. — засыпа́ю (impf): a habit, the regular process of dropping off.
Не разгова́ривай со мной, я уже́ засыпа́ю.
Don't talk to me, I'm already drifting off. — засыпа́ю: the process happening right now (note: it's not yet complete).
В по́езде он всегда́ засыпа́ет под стук колёс.
On the train he always drops off to the clatter of the wheels. — засыпа́ет: a recurring pattern.
Засну́ть / Усну́ть (perfective) — the instant of dropping off
The perfective partner is засну́ть (or the near-synonym усну́ть), built on the root -сн- with the "instantaneous" suffix -ну-. It marks the single completed moment of falling asleep — "I dropped off, I fell asleep (and that's done)." Because it is perfective, it has no present tense; its "present-looking" forms are the simple future.
| Person | засну́ть — FUTURE | усну́ть — FUTURE |
|---|---|---|
| я | засну́ | усну́ |
| ты | заснёшь | уснёшь |
| он / она́ / оно́ | заснёт | уснёт |
| мы | заснём | уснём |
| вы | заснёте | уснёте |
| они́ | засну́т | усну́т |
Past: засну́л / засну́ла / засну́ло / засну́ли (and усну́л / усну́ла…). Imperative is rare in practice ("fall asleep!" isn't a natural command) but exists: засни́ / засни́те. The verbal adverb засну́в ("having fallen asleep") turns up in writing.
засну́ть vs усну́ть: they are very close. засну́ть is the everyday default. усну́ть leans slightly more "literary / final" and is the standard verb in the euphemism for death (усну́ть наве́ки "to fall asleep forever") and in lullaby-style language. In ordinary speech you can use either for "drop off"; засну́ть is the safer choice.
Я засну́л пря́мо за столо́м, так уста́л.
I fell asleep right at the table, I was so tired. — засну́л (pf): one completed moment of dropping off.
Никак не могу́ засну́ть из-за сосе́дей.
I just can't get to sleep because of the neighbours. — засну́ть (pf infinitive) after не могу́: failing to achieve the single act.
Малы́ш напла́кался и наконе́ц усну́л.
The little one cried himself out and finally fell asleep. — усну́л (pf): the completed transition; усну́ть has a slightly softer, more literary feel.
Ложи́ться / Лечь спать — "to go to bed"
Note the trap built into English: "go to bed" is not "fall asleep." Russian keeps them separate. ложи́ться спать (imperfective) / лечь спать (perfective) means to lie down in order to sleep — the action of getting into bed, which happens before you actually drop off.
- ложи́ться (impf): ложу́сь, ложи́шься, ложа́тся; past ложи́лся / ложи́лась — for habits ("I go to bed at eleven") and the process.
- лечь (pf): future ля́гу, ля́жешь, ля́гут; past лёг / легла́ — for one completed "going to bed."
Я обы́чно ложу́сь спать в оди́ннадцать.
I usually go to bed at eleven. — ложу́сь спать (impf): a daily habit.
Дава́й ля́жем спать пора́ньше, за́втра ра́но встава́ть.
Let's go to bed a bit earlier, we have to get up early tomorrow. — ля́жем (pf, лечь): one planned action.
The chain in full: ложи́ться спать → засыпа́ть → спать → просыпа́ться → встава́ть. You lie down, drop off, sleep, wake up, and get up — five stages, each its own verb. See просыпаться / проснуться and вставать / встать for the morning end of the chain.
The impersonal "Мне не спи́тся" — sleep won't come
Russian has a special impersonal way to say you can't get to sleep even though you'd like to. It uses the reflexive спи́тся in a fixed 3sg form, with the experiencer in the dative and usually with не: Мне не спи́тся — literally "it isn't sleeping itself to me." It conveys an involuntary inability, not a refusal or a ban.
Мне совсе́м не спи́тся, в голове́ одни́ мы́сли.
I just can't get to sleep at all, my mind's racing. — impersonal: dative мне + reflexive не спи́тся.
Ему́ не спало́сь — за́втра был ва́жный день.
He couldn't sleep — there was an important day ahead. — past impersonal не спало́сь + dative ему́.
This dative-experiencer pattern is everywhere in Russian; the dative pronoun forms (мне, тебе́, ему́…) are on dative forms. Note the difference from засну́ть: не спи́тся = "I'm lying here unable to sleep (the whole state won't come)," while не могу́ засну́ть = "I can't make the drop-off happen." They overlap, but спи́тся stresses the lingering wakefulness.
Common Mistakes
❌ Вчера́ я спал в де́сять часо́в.
Confuses state with transition — 'I fell asleep at ten' is the single event засну́л, not the state спал. (спал в де́сять could only mean 'I was asleep at ten o'clock'.)
✅ Вчера́ я засну́л в де́сять часо́в.
Yesterday I fell asleep at ten o'clock.
❌ Я засну́ под му́зыку ка́ждый ве́чер.
Aspect error — a repeated habit needs the imperfective засыпа́ю; the perfective засну́ marks one future act ('I'll drop off'), which clashes with 'every evening'.
✅ Я засыпа́ю под му́зыку ка́ждый ве́чер.
I fall asleep to music every evening.
❌ Сейча́с я засну́, не меша́й.
Perfectives have no present — for 'I'm dropping off right now' use the imperfective present засыпа́ю. засну́ is the future ('I'll fall asleep').
✅ Сейча́с я засыпа́ю, не меша́й.
I'm drifting off now, don't disturb me.
❌ Я засну́л спать в одиннадцать.
Mixing two ideas — 'went to bed' is лёг спать; 'fell asleep' is засну́л. Don't combine засну́ть with спать. Pick the one you mean.
✅ Я лёг спать в оди́ннадцать, а засну́л в по́лночь.
I went to bed at eleven, but didn't fall asleep until midnight.
❌ Я не могу́ спать сего́дня, никаки́х причи́н.
Unidiomatic for 'sleep just won't come' — the natural impersonal is Мне не спи́тся. (Я не могу́ спать fits 'I'm unable/not allowed to sleep at all', e.g. on duty.)
✅ Мне сего́дня почему́-то не спи́тся.
For some reason I just can't sleep tonight.
Key Takeaways
- State vs. transition: спать = be asleep / sleep (ongoing, no boundary); засну́ть / усну́ть = the single instant of dropping off (perfective). Different roots: сп- vs -сн-.
- засыпа́ть (impf) = the process / habit of falling asleep (засыпа́ю = "I'm drifting off / I drop off"); засну́ть (pf) = the completed fall (засну́л = "I fell asleep"; future засну́). Perfectives have no present.
- усну́ть ≈ засну́ть, but a touch more literary; it's the verb in усну́ть наве́ки ("pass away").
- ложи́ться / лечь спать = "go to bed" — the lying-down action, separate from actually dropping off (ложу́сь спать; future ля́гу спать, past лёг/легла́).
- The chain: ложи́ться спать → засыпа́ть → спать → просыпа́ться → встава́ть.
- Мне не спи́тся = the idiomatic impersonal "I can't get to sleep" (dative experiencer + reflexive 3sg).
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- Спать (to sleep)A1 — Complete conjugation-and-usage reference for спать 'to sleep': a second-conjugation verb with the п→пл mutation in the 1sg (сплю), end-stress in the present (спишь, спит, спят), the gender-marked past спал/спала́ (end-stressed feminine), the imperative спи(те), the perfectives поспа́ть ('sleep a while') and вы́спаться ('get enough sleep'), and the everyday impersonal construction Мне не спи́тся ('I can't get to sleep').
- Verbal Aspect: The Big PictureA2 — Aspect is the spine of the Russian verb: nearly every verb belongs to a pair — imperfective (process, repetition, general fact) and perfective (a single completed whole with a result). This page explains the pair, the consequences for the tense system (perfectives have no present), and why you must decide 'process or result?' before you even pick a tense.
- Dative: FormsA2 — The dative (да́тельный паде́ж) answers кому? (to whom?). Singular: masc/neuter -у/-ю (столу́, музе́ю, окну́, мо́рю), feminine -а/-я → -е (кни́ге, неде́ле), feminine -ь → -и (но́чи), and the -ия/-ие → -ии exception (Росси́и, ле́кции). Plural is uniform across all genders: -ам/-ям (стола́м, кни́гам, моря́м, музе́ям). The pronoun datives are мне, тебе́, ему́/ей, нам, вам, им, себе́. The trap: the feminine dative singular looks identical to the prepositional (both кни́ге), so the FORM is shared but the FUNCTION differs.
- Просыпаться / Проснуться (to wake up)A2 — Complete conjugation-and-usage reference for the reflexive daily-routine pair просыпа́ться / просну́ться 'to wake up (by oneself)'. An intransitive reflexive verb (просну́сь, проснёшься, просну́тся; imperative просни́сь) that must be distinguished from its transitive counterpart буди́ть / разбуди́ть 'to wake SOMEONE up'. Covers the reflexive vs transitive split, time with в + accusative, and the -ну́ться perfective pattern.
- Встать / Вставать (to get up / stand up)A2 — Complete conjugation-and-usage reference for the aspect pair встава́ть / встать 'to get up, stand up, rise': the imperfective встава́ть keeps the -ва- only in the infinitive and past but DROPS it in the present (встаю́, встаёшь, not *вставаю), while the perfective встать takes -ну-/-н- endings (вста́ну, вста́нешь). The everyday daily-routine verb (Я встаю́ в семь 'I get up at seven'), with the -ва- imperfective model and its government (в + accusative for clock time, с + genitive 'rise from').
- Лежать / Лечь / Ложиться (to lie / lie down)B1 — Complete conjugation-and-usage reference for the three-way 'lie' set: the stative imperfective лежа́ть (лежу́, лежи́шь) 'to be lying, be situated' versus the lie-DOWN aspect pair ложи́ться (ложу́сь) / лечь (ля́гу, ля́жешь, ля́гут; past лёг/легла́) — one of the most irregular perfectives in the language — with the imperatives ложи́сь and ляг, the government лечь на/в + accusative, the everyday ложи́ться спать, and the traps that mirror the сиде́ть / сесть split.