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
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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.