You wake after a long night sipping sangria and painting the town red. Your Spanish-speaking friend stumbles half-asleep down the stairs and greets you with a warm yet tired smile, and you fire off a “good morning”
Buenos Días!
After they take a seat, you decide to ask them how well they slept.
So…what do you say?
“How Did You Sleep in Spanish?”
¿Cómo dormiste? is how you ask, “how did you sleep?” in Spanish. But it’s not the only way to ask this question.
¿Cómo dormiste? is formal, so it’s what you say to a friend, family member, or loved one, as in the above scenario with your hungover buddy.
If you’re at a conference and meeting your boss or supervisor the next day, you need something a little more formal:
- ¿Cómo durmió?= How Did You Sleep? (informal)
If you’re addressing a man, add señor. If you’re addressing a woman, add señorita:
- ¿Cómo durmió, señor? = How Did You Sleep, Sir (formal)
- ¿Cómo durmió, señorita? = How Did You Sleep, Miss? (formal)
Asking Multiple People
If you’re asking more than one person, you need to use the following:
- ¿Cómo durmieron? = How Did You [all] Sleep? (plural)
Other Ways to Ask How Someone Slept in Spanish
If you’re a complete beginner, it’s best to stick with the basics, as mentioned above. But if you’re a little more advanced or want to say something more specific, try the following options:
- ¿Qué tal has dormido? = How did you sleep?
- ¿Cómo ha dormido? = How did you sleep?
- ¿Cómo ha pasado la noche? = How was the night?
- ¿cómo dormiste anoche? = How did you sleep last night?
- ¿Cómo amaneciste? = How did you wake up?
- ¿Dormiste bien? = Did you sleep well?
- ¿Cómo dormía por las noches? = How did you sleep at night?
- ¿qué tal anoche? = How did you sleep last night?
- ¿Y que tal dormiste? = So, how did you sleep?
As you can see, there are several ways of asking this question. The literal translation of these might differ, but you’re basically asking the same question for all of them.
How to Respond to This Question
Asking a question in someone’s native tongue is a great way to get their attention, make a good first impression, or just cheer them up in the morning, as is the case with your bleary-eyed friend. But for this question to work, you need to understand the answers, as well!
Here are a few ways a question like ¿Cómo dormiste? might be answered:
- Muy bien = Very well
- Muy bien, gracias = Very well, thank you
- Bien, ¿y tú? = Well, and you?
- Es muy cómoda = It was very comfortable
- Hacía demasiado calor = It was too hot
- No dormí = I didn’t sleep
- Dormí como un bebé = I slept like a baby
- Muy bien. ¿Qué tal dormiste? = Very well, how did you sleep?
How to Say “Sleep” in Spanish
Dormir is the verb “to sleep” in Spanish while Sueño is the noun. This means that you use the former when referring to the act of sleeping, such as when you’re asking someone how their night went. But you use sueño in the following phrases:
- Hablar en sueños = To talk in your sleep
- Me gusta el sueño = I like sleep
Sueño is also the Spanish word for “dream”.
- Dormir Conjugation (Present)
- yo duermo = I sleep
- tú duermes = you sleep (informal)
- usted duerme = you sleep (formal)
- él/ella duerme = he/she sleeps
- nosotros dormimos = we sleep
- vosotros dormís = you all sleep (informal)
- ellos/ellas/ustedes duermen = they sleep/you all sleep
- Dormir Conjugation (Past)
- yo dormí = I slept
- tú/vos dormiste = you slept
- él/ella durmió = he/she slept
- nostros dormimos = we slept
- vosotros dormisteis = you slept
- ellos/ellas/ustedes durmieron = they slept/you all slept
Similar Sleep-Phrases to Use
If you find yourself in Spanish-speaking countries and want to converse with the locals at night or in the morning, add the following phrases to your Spanish vocabulary:
“I’m Sleepy” In Spanish = Tengo Sueño
The direct translation for this phrase is something like “I have sleep”, but it’s often used in Spanish to indicate that you are tired.
You can add mucho to the middle (tengo mucho sueño) to indicate that you are very sleepy or, for a direct translation, you “have a lot of sleep”.
“I’m Tired” in Spanish = Estar cansado/cansada
Cansado is masculine for “tired” and cansada is feminine while estar is the verb meaning “to be”. This phrase can be used to say, “I am tired”.
Alternatively, you can say no estoy cansado or no estoy cansada to express that you are not tired.
“I’m Going to Sleep” = Me voy a dormir
Me voy a dormir is what you say when you’re announcing that you’re going to sleep. You can also pair it with the phrase above to state that you are tired.
“Have a Good Night” = Que Pases Buenas Noches
Before you part with your friends and loved ones for the night, be sure to wish them a good night using the phrase Que Pases Buenas Noches.
Etymology Check
It helps to know where a word comes from. It’s interesting, but it also helps that word to take root in your mind.
So, as always, here’s our customary etymology check for “sleep” words in Spanish.
Etymology of Dormir
The word dormir traces its roots back to the Latin word “dormire”, which also meant “to sleep”. It is believed to have entered Latin from Proto-Indo-European, which is a theoretical language that serves as the ancestor of most European languages.
Incidentally, the English word “dormitory” also has the same roots, beginning with “dormir” and then evolving into “dormitorium”, which was used as a noun.
Etymology of Sueño
Unsurprisingly, Sueño also has Latin roots. It comes from the Latin word “somnus”, which was the noun for “sleep”. Latin words that contained “mn” usually transformed into “ñ” when moving into Spanish, and there are several more examples.
“Somnus” has influenced many English words, as well. It’s from “somnus” that we get the word “insomnia”, a sleep disorder characterized by an inability to fall asleep, and “somnolent”, a state of chronic drowsiness.