Spanish Bedtime Phrases Every Parent Should Know
The essential Spanish bedtime phrases for parents raising bilingual kids. A free printable cheat sheet plus how to use them to build a nightly Spanish routine.
Bedtime is one of the highest-leverage moments in a bilingual household. It’s quiet, routine, and emotionally connected. Kids absorb more vocabulary at bedtime than almost any other time of day.
This post gives you a starter vocabulary for bilingual bedtime — the Spanish phrases you need to run your entire nightly routine in Spanish, even if your Spanish is imperfect. Print this list, tape it inside your child’s closet door, and start using it tonight.
The core bedtime vocabulary
Getting ready
- Hora de bañarse — Time for a bath
- Vamos a cepillarnos los dientes — Let’s brush our teeth
- Ponte el pijama — Put on your pajamas
- ¿Necesitas hacer pipí? — Do you need to pee?
Settling in
- A la cama — To bed
- Acomódate — Get comfortable
- Dame un abrazo — Give me a hug
- Dame un beso — Give me a kiss
Reading
- ¿Qué libro quieres leer? — Which book do you want to read?
- Escoge un libro — Pick a book
- Vamos a leer — Let’s read
- Una página más — One more page
- Ya terminó — It’s finished
Saying goodnight
- Buenas noches — Good night
- Que sueñes con los angelitos — May you dream with the little angels
- Te quiero mucho — I love you a lot
- Hasta mañana — Until tomorrow
- Dulces sueños — Sweet dreams
Lullabies and wind-down
- Cierra los ojos — Close your eyes
- Respira profundo — Breathe deep
- Todo está bien — Everything is okay
- Mamá/Papá está aquí — Mom/Dad is here
Common bedtime resistance phrases
For the inevitable negotiations:
- Otra vez mañana — Again tomorrow
- Se acabó por hoy — It’s done for today
- Es hora de dormir — It’s time to sleep
- No más — No more
- Suficiente — Enough
- Mañana jugamos — Tomorrow we’ll play
How to actually use these
If your Spanish is strong, speak it freely. If your Spanish is rusty or limited, pick five phrases from this list and commit to using them every single night for a month. Don’t try all 30 at once.
The magic of Spanish bedtime vocabulary isn’t that you learn a lot of words. It’s that the same warm phrases get spoken to your child every night, until they associate Spanish with the most loving, safest moment of their day.
Building the Spanish bedtime library
Alongside phrases, you need Spanish-language books. A bedtime library of 5–10 Spanish books that get rotated through the week is the backbone of a bilingual home.
Recommended starter set:
- Buenas noches, Luna (Spanish edition of Goodnight Moon)
- La oruga muy hambrienta (The Very Hungry Caterpillar)
- Dónde están mis besos (Where Are My Kisses)
- Carmela Full of Wishes / Los deseos de Carmela
- Alma y cómo obtuvo su nombre
For a deeper list: 10 Best Bilingual Children’s Books →
The bilingual personalized book
One book on your child’s shelf should be one where they are the hero — written in Spanish and English. Akoni Books makes these; you upload one photo, choose your story theme, and the entire book is generated with English on one part of the page and Spanish on the other. Parents tell us it becomes the most-requested bedtime book in the house.
Create a bilingual bedtime book starring your child →
Free printable
We’ve assembled all the phrases in this post into a single printable cheat sheet. Print it, fold it, tape it to your nightstand or your kid’s closet door. Use it until you don’t need it anymore.
[Email signup for the printable goes here — coming soon]
A final thought
Spanish at bedtime is one of the few places where the dominant language (English) doesn’t win by default. The room is quiet. The child is receptive. The parent is fully present. Use it.
Your child will remember the phrases you said to them at bedtime for the rest of their lives. Make them Spanish phrases. Make them specific. Make them warm.
Buenas noches, mi amor. That’s the one to start with, tonight.