French word

recoucher

Pronunciation

IPA/ʁəkuʃe/

Meaning

  • verbgo back to bed

Example

Après le film, je vais me recoucher un peu.

After the movie, I'm going to go back to bed for a while.

Illustration for recoucher (go back to bed)

More examples

Le bébé, fatigué, va se recoucher après la sieste.

The tired baby is going back to bed after the nap.

Core concept

Someone gets up, then lowers themselves onto the bed again, while the transitive form shows another person being laid down there again.

Common phrases

  • se recoucher le matin

    go back to bed in the morning

  • se recoucher après une sieste

    go back to bed after a nap

Similar words

se rendormir: Fall asleep again after waking up.
retourner au lit: Return to bed and lie down.
se rallonger: Lie down again.
se coucher: Lie down in bed or on the floor to sleep.

Definition in French

Retourner au lit pour dormir de nouveau (se recoucher) ; au transitif, remettre quelqu'un au lit ; au registre familier, coucher de nouveau avec quelqu'un.

Word origin

Recoucher is a re- formation of coucher, an Old French verb from Latin collocare, with re- marking repetition of the action.

Usage tips

  • Recoucher avec quelqu'un is a familiar expression with a sexual meaning, so retourner au lit avoids that ambiguity when sleep is intended.

Other meanings

  • put back to bedverb

Opposites

  • se réveillerwake upverb

Word lists with this word