Core daily-routine vocabulary — morning to night
The key verbs and nouns for describing a day, with pronunciation and English meaning.
Let's start by collecting the words you will use again and again. Most actions in a daily routine are reflexive verbs (more on those in the next section), so each French verb below is given in its dictionary form starting with se or s' (which means "oneself").
| French (infinitive) | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| se réveiller | suh ray-vay-YAY | to wake up |
| se lever | suh luh-VAY | to get up |
| se laver | suh la-VAY | to wash (oneself) |
| se doucher | suh doo-SHAY | to have a shower |
| se brosser les dents | suh bro-SAY lay DON | to brush one's teeth |
| s'habiller | sa-bee-YAY | to get dressed |
| prendre le petit déjeuner | prondr luh puh-TEE day-zhuh-NAY | to have breakfast |
| aller à l'école | a-LAY a lay-KOL | to go to school |
| rentrer | ron-TRAY | to come/go home |
| faire les devoirs | fair lay duh-VWAR | to do homework |
| dîner | dee-NAY | to have dinner |
| se coucher | suh koo-SHAY | to go to bed |
| s'endormir | son-dor-MEER | to fall asleep |
Some useful time-of-day nouns to anchor your sentences:
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| le matin | luh ma-TAN | the morning |
| l'après-midi | la-preh-mee-DEE | the afternoon |
| le soir | luh swar | the evening |
| la nuit | la nwee | the night |
| tous les jours | too lay ZHOOR | every day |
| d'habitude | da-bee-TĂśD | usually |
Worked mini-example. String three verbs together with the right "oneself" words: Je me réveille, je me lève et je me lave (I wake up, I get up and I wash). Notice every verb keeps its little pronoun — me — because the action happens to me.
- Routine verbs are mostly reflexive: se réveiller, se lever, se laver, s'habiller, se coucher.
- Anchor sentences with time-of-day nouns: le matin (morning), le soir (evening).
- tous les jours (every day) and d'habitude (usually) signal a routine.
- Non-reflexive routine verbs also appear: dîner (to have dinner), rentrer (to go home).