This page covers a list of reflexive verbs and vocabulary for talking about your daily routine in French. For example, Je me lève (I get up) and Je me couche (I go to bed). We’ve broken the lists down into the following categories: morning routines, midday routines and evening routines.

French Daily Routine Reflexive Verbs & Vocabulary

French daily routine reflexive verbs and vocabulary

Morning routine

The following list describes all the activities we do in the morning including getting up and getting ready for school or work.

This list contains many reflexive verbs. Note the subtle difference: Je me réveille means “I wake up” while Je me lève means “I get up”.

For brushing your teeth you can say both “Je me lave les dents” and “Je me brosse les dents”.

French daily routine example: La jeune femme se brosse les dents (the young lady is brushing her teeth).

to wake up se réveiller
to get up se lèver
early tôt, / de bonne heure
late tard
to sleep dormir
to sleep in faire la grasse matinée
to be early, late être en avance, late
to hurry, rush se dépêcher
to wash yourself se lave
to take a shower prendre une douche / se doucher
to brush your teeth se brosser / se laver les dents
to put on makeup se maquiller
to get dressed s’habiller
to change clothes se changer
to put on your shoes se chausser
to have a coffee prendre un café
to have breakfast prendre le petit-déjeuner

Example sentences for morning routine

Je me lève à sept heures. I get up at 7am.
Je m’habille et je me maquille. I get dressed and put on my makeup.
Je me douche et après je me rase. I take my shower and after I shave.
Je prends une douche avant de prendre le petit-déjeuner. I take a shower before having breakfast.
Je prends un café et je me dépêche un peu. I have a coffee and I hurry a bit.

Midday activities

The following list describes activities we do from the moment we leave the house to the moment we get home.

Note the use of the verb, partir, which means to leave. Je pars de la maison means I leave the house. The verb sortir means to go out. “Je sors de la masion a 8h00” means I go out (of the house) at 8 o’clock.

Many people are curious about how to say commute. The noun for commute is le trajet, or literally a trip. The verb for “to commute” is faire la navette.

to leave the house partir de la maison
to take (for transportation in this context) prendre
…the metro le métro
…the bus le bus
…the car la voiture
…the train le train
to drive conduire
to go aller
…to work au travail
…to the office au bureau
…to school à l’école
…to the library à la bibliothèque
…to the gym à la salle de sport
…to the café to the café
…to a restaurant au restaurant
…to a friend’s house chez des amis
…to the doctor chez le médecin
…to the dentist chez le dentiste
to have lunch déjeuner
to work travailler
to study étudier
to go grocery shopping, run errands faire les courses
to go to the market aller au marché

Example sentences for midday activities

Je pars de la maison à huit heures. I leave home at 8am.
Je prends le métro pour aller au travaille. I take the metro to work.
Je déjeune avec mes collègues. I have lunch with my colleagues.
J’ai rendez-vous avec mes clients. I have a meeting with my clients.
Je vais à la salle de sport après le travail. I go to the gym after work.
Je fais les courses pour la famille. I go grocery shopping for the family.

French daily routine example: Les gens font la navette (The people are commuting).

Late-afternoon/evening routine

The following vocabulary can be used to describe activities we do from the moment we leave work or school to the moment we go to bed.

Note that the verbs rentrer, revenir and retourner all mean to return (home) and can be used synonymously.

Hence, “Je rentre à la maison”, “Je reviens à la maison” and “Je retourne à la maison” all mean I come home. The word, chez moi can also be used: Je rentre chez moi. Here’s a complete lesson covering chez.

French daily routine example: La femme se couche (The lady is going to bed).

to come home rentrer/revenir/retourner à la maison
to prepare a meal préparer un repas
to have dinner prendre le dîner
to cook faire la cuisine
to set the table mettre la table
to serve the meal servir le repas
to clear the table débarasser la table
to do the dishes faire/laver la vaisselle
to do the laundry faire la lessive
to iron repasser le linge
to do household chores faire le ménage
to clean nettoyer
to sweep balayer
to relax se reposer, se détendre
to take a nap faire une sieste
to read lire
…a novel a novel
…a newspaper le journal
to listen écouter
…to music de la musique
…to the radio la radio
to watch TV regarder la télévision
to go to bed aller au lit
to go to bed se coucher
to fall asleep s’endormir

Sample sentences of late-afternoon/evening activities

Je retourne/rentre chez moi. I go home.
Je retourne/rentre a la maison. I go home.
Je fais le ménage. I do household chores.
Je me repose un peu. I rest a bit.
Je prepare le dîner. I make dinner.
Je regarde la télé et je lis un roman. I watch TV and read a novel.
Je me couche à vingt-et-une heures. I go to bed at 9pm.

Conclusion

Congratulations! You now have a very solid grasp of daily routine words! Now check out our lesson covering French reflexive verbs. Speaking of daily routine, French Today has a great post about how to add French to your daily life. Check it out!