Evening French Phrases
Once you’ve learned the difference between soir and soirée, cement your knowledge with some idioms and set expressions featuring these somewhat synonyms.
Expressions with soir
à prendre matin midi et soir | | to be taken three times a day |
arriver un beau soir | | to (just) turn up one evening |
au soir de sa vie | | to be in the evening of his life |
l’autre soir | | the other night |
bonsoir (one word!) | | good evening |
ce soir | | tonight, this evening |
ce soir-là | | that night |
les cours du soir | | night classes |
demain soir | | tomorrow night / evening |
du matin au soir | | from morning til night |
du soir au matin | | from night till morning; bed and breakfast |
l’étoile du soir | | Venus |
être du soir | | to be a night owl |
hier soir | | last night, yesterday evening |
matin, midi et soir | | morning, noon, and night |
le repas du soir | | evening meal |
une robe du soir | | evening gown |
le soir de la vie | | end of life |
le soir descend / tombe | | evening is closing in |
la veille au soir | | the previous evening |
Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir ? | | Do you want to sleep with me tonight? |
Proverb with soir
Araignée du matin, chagrin, araignée du soir, espoir. | | a spider in the morning is bad luck, a spider at night is good luck |
Expressions with soirée
bonne soirée | | have a nice evening |
le capitaine de soirée | | designated driver |
une soirée | | party, evening performance |
une soirée dansante | | dance |
la tenue de soirée | | formal wear, evening dress |
la tenue de soirée de rigueur | | black tie |
Related lessons
Why would a person use the formal ‘voulez-vous ‘rather than the familiar ‘veux-tu’ when suggesting an intimate rendezvous?
Good question – native French speakers wouldn’t. This is an expression that English speakers like to use. It’s incorrect for several reasons; I’ll be writing a lesson on it soon.