The Ultimate Guide to 200+ Sleep Words in Spanish

Have you ever wondered how to say “good night” in a different way than buenas noches? 

Have you ever gone to Zara Home in Spain or another Spanish-speaking country to buy bedsheets and got lost with mysterious names and weird sizes? 

Have you ever heard your friend saying that he couldn’t pegar ojo all night, and you didn’t get why he wanted to” glue his eye”?

If you’re confused with Spanish vocabulary related to sleeping and the world of dreams, then keep reading. Here’s the ultimate guide with 200+ hundred expressions and sleep words in Spanish! 

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Sleep Verbs: How To Say ‘To Sleep’ in Spanish

There are two verbs that you need to know when talking about sleeping in Spanish:

1. dormir (to sleep) and
2. soñar (to dream). 

Both are stem-changing verbs, where -o- changes either to –u- or –ue-.

You can look at the full article on the dormir conjugation and lesson here and look at soñar conjugation here.

But many other verbs are synonyms to dormir. 

Let’s take a look!

Spanish Verbs To Say “To Sleep” 

Let’s see how you can use some of them in a sentence:

Ayer me acosté muy tarde.
Yesterday, I went to bed very late.

Se adormeció a causa de la medicina.
He fell asleep because of the medicine. 

Pernoctamos en un hotel.
We spent the night in a hotel.

Le gusta reposar un rato después de comer.
He likes to rest a while after lunch.

Se tendió a dormitar bajo una sombrilla en la playa.
He stretched out to snooze beneath a sunshade on the beach.

Los dos amigos yacían en el prado a mirar las estrellas.
The two friends lay in the meadow looking at the stars.

Opposites of ‘To Sleep’ in Spanish

How do you say “to get up”? Or “not to sleep,” and “to be awake”?

Se desveló a causa de sus preocupaciones.
He couldn’t sleep because of his worries.

Nos levantamos temprano.
We got up early.

¿Estás despierto?
Are you awake?

Me desperté a las cinco de la mañana. 
I woke up at five in the morning.

Sleeping Positions in Spanish

There are also different ways you can sleep at night. Choose your favorite position:

Me gusta dormir boca arriba, pero mi marido duerme boca abajo.
I like to sleep on my back, but my husband sleeps on his stomach.

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Sleep-Related Nouns in Spanish

There are also many useful nouns that can be used to talk about sleep-related topics.

Note! It’s not the same to tener sueño (to be sleepy) that to tener un sueño (to have a dream).

Example Sentences About Sleep in Spanish

Tengo sueño. Me voy a dormir.
I’m sleepy. I’m going to bed.

Tengo el sueño ligero. 
I am a light sleeper.

Tuve un sueño terrible.
I had a terrible dream.

Do you know what you call a room where you sleep in Spanish? 

Well, you have three options. You can use them as synonyms, although the second one is used mainly in Latin America.

1. cuarto (para dormir)
2. recámara
3. dormitorio

La recámara de mis padres es grande.
My parents’ bedroom is big.

Mi dormitorio es pequeño.
My bedroom is small.

Quiero tener mi propio cuarto de dormir.
I want to have my own bedroom.

It’s also good to know the types of beds in Spanish—especially if you want to do some shopping in Ikea in Madrid!

Types of Beds in Spanish

Bed Sheets in Spanish

And if you want to buy some bed linens, you might need these vocab words:

Sleep-Related Adjectives in Spanish

Adjectives are necessary to express yourself more precisely. You might need specific words to describe the type of sleep you have or the dream you had last night. 

Remember that the word sueño is masculine, so your adjectives need to finish in -o or -e.

Adjectives To Describe Good Dreams

Unfortunately, not all dreams are good, and you might need some words to describe nightmares. 

Adjectives To Describe Bad Dreams

Me dormí con este sueño pesado y profundo que solo tienes después de un duro trabajo físico.
I fell asleep in this deep, heavy sleep that you only get after hard physical work.

Ayer tuve un sueño horrible. Me desperté y ya no pude dormir.
Yesterday I had a horrible dream. I woke up and couldn’t sleep anymore.

But not all the dreams can be classified as good or bad, sometimes they are simply weird:

Adjectives To Describe Weird Dreams

Other Spanish Adjectives To Describe Dreams

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Common Phrases To Talk About Sleeping and Dreaming in Spanish

If you need some ready-to-go phrases, these are common among Spanish-speakers.

How To Say ‘I’m Sleepy’ in Spanish

And if you’re well-rested, just say: Estoy descansado(a) or Estoy bien descansado(a).

And if you want to say “I can’t sleep” just say: No puedo dormir.

How To Say ‘Goodnight’ in Spanish

You can also have a look at this video with the bilingual version of the famous bedtime story Goodnight Moon/Buenas Noches Luna.

Or listen to this famous lullaby that kids in Mexico used to fall asleep with: Hasta mañana. 

And what if you want to send the kids to bed? 

How To Say ‘Go to bed’ in Spanish

And what about if you’re at a gathering and want to tell everybody that you’re going to bed?

How To Say ‘I’m going to bed’ in Spanish

Handpicked for you:

• It’s Bedtime! Say ‘Goodnight’ in Spanish and 40+ Sleepy Phrases

And do you know what to say if you meet someone early in the morning?

How To Ask ‘Did you sleep well?’ in Spanish

20 Spanish Idiomatic Expressions To Talk About Sleeping

Let’s have a look at some idiomatic expressions that you may use to impress your Spanish-speaking friends when talking about the realm of Morpheus.

1. Dormir como un tronco.

It literally means to sleep like a log. If you sleep like a log, you sleep intensely and deeply, and you probably didn’t hear your alarm clock in the morning.

No sé cómo lo hace, pero siempre duerme como un tronco.
I don’t know how he does it, but he always sleeps like a log.

2. Dormir a pierna suelta.

This expression also means to sleep soundly, with great satisfaction and happiness.

Mi perro no se preocupa de nada y duerme a pierna suelta.
My dog doesn’t worry about anything and sleeps soundly.

3. Pasar la noche en blanco.

If you pasas la noche en blanco it means that you’re not able to fall asleep and you probably suffer from insomnia.

Te ves horrible. ¿Pasaste la noche en blanco?
You look awful. Did you stay up the whole night?

4. Pasar la noche en vela.

This expression also means not being able to fall asleep. 

Estaba muy preocupada y pasé la noche en vela.
I was very worried and I stayed up all night.

5. Pasar una noche de perros.

It means having a really bad night and not being able to sleep. If you think of dogs waking up to every sound they hear you’ll understand why.

Después de lo que me dijo pasé una noche de perros.
After what he told me, I had a hell of a night.

6. Ser un dormilón.

It means to be a sleepyhead.

Mi bebé es un dormilón. No hace otra cosa. 
My baby is a sleepyhead. He does nothing else.

7. Dormir la mona.

It’s an informal expression that means to sleep off a hangover.

A dormir la mona muchachos. Mañana hay que trabajar.
Let’s sleep it off, guys. Tomorrow we have to work.

8. Dormir como un lirón.

Another expression that means to sleep like a log. It literally means to sleep like a dormouse.

Mi maestro de educación física me cansó tanto que dormí como un lirón.
My physical education teacher made me so tired that I slept like a log.

9. La vida es sueño.

It’s the title of a play by a Spanish playwright Calderón de la Barca that explores the famous literary motif that life is nothing but a dream. 

People use it nowadays, to question the meaning of life.

“¿Qué es la vida? Una ilusión,
una sombra, una ficción,
y el mayor bien es pequeño:
que toda la vida es sueño,
y los sueños, sueños son.”

― Pedro Calderón de la Barca, La vida es sueño

“What is this life? A frenzy, an illusion,
A shadow, a delirium, a fiction.
The greatest good’s but little, and this life
Is but a dream, and dreams are only dreams.”

10. Dormir como una marmota.

To sleep like a top, to sleep very well.

Después del maratón, dormí como una marmota.
After the marathon, I slept like a log.

11. Pegarse las sábanas a alguien.

It means to oversleep, to sleep longer than one has intended.

Lo siento, se me pegaron las sábanas y no pude levantarme.
Sorry, I overslept and I couldn’t get up.

12. Dormir al raso.

This expression means to sleep out in the open.

Pasaremos dos semanas en el bosque y dormiremos al raso.
We will spend two weeks in the forest and we will sleep out in the open.

13. Dormir como un bendito.

To sleep like a baby.

Quisiera poder dormir como un bendito.
I would like to sleep like a baby.

14. Dormir como un santo.

Another expression that means to sleep like a baby. Apparently, the saints have nothing to worry about and can enjoy a sound sleep.

Mi hermana duerme como un santo.
My sister sleeps like a saint.

15. Dormirla.

It’s an informal expression that means to sleep it off after a party with too many high spirits.

Oye chico, ya fue suficiente. Ahora a dormirla.
Hey kid, that’s enough. Now it’s time to sleep it off.

16. Dormir la siesta.

To take a nap. This expression is very common in Spain.

Me quiero dormir la siesta.
I want to have a nap.

17. Dormirse en/sobre los laureles.

To rest on one’s laurels. It means to depend too much on one past success and make no further efforts. 

Ganamos pero no nos podemos dormir sobre los laureles.
We won but we cannot rest on our laurels.

18. Ser de poco dormir.

To not need much sleep. 

Mi jefe es de poco dormir. Manda correos a las 3 de la mañana.
My boss is a short sleeper. He sends emails at 3 o’clock in the morning.

19. Dormir a sueño suelto.

It means to sleep intensely and with tranquility.

Ella duerme a sueño suelto en cuanto se mete en la cama.
She falls deeply asleep as soon as she gets in bed.

20. Dormir a cortinas verdes.

This expression means to sleep out in the open.

Me gusta viajar y dormir a cortinas verdes.
I love to travel and sleep in the open field.

21. Quedarse dormido.

To oversleep.

Lo siento maestra por llegar tarde. Me quedé dormido.
Sorry teacher for being late. I overslept.

22. Dormir el sueño de justos.

To sleep the sleep of the righteous. The same as with saints and blessed, the righteous have nothing to worry about and can enjoy a good and sound sleep.

Hicieron lo que pudieron. Ahora pueden dormir el sueño de justos.
They did what they could. Now they can sleep the sleep of the righteous.

23. Vivaquear

To spend the night outdoors.

A mi papá le encantaba vivaquear.
My dad loved bivouacking.

Practice Sleep Words in Spanish With a Native Speaker!

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Olga Put

Freelance Writer at Homeschool Spanish Academy

I'm a Spanish philologist, teacher, and freelance writer with a Master's degree in Humanities from Madrid. I speak Polish, Spanish, and English fluently, and want to get better in Portuguese and German. A lover of literature, and Mexican spicy cuisine, I've lived in Poland, Spain, and Mexico and I'm currently living and teaching in Madeira, Portugal.

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