Le bain: the ten phrases you'll use every day

Bathtime in French

Audio for this is coming. The phrases work now.

C'est l'heure du bain. It's bath time. Say it from the doorway.

On enlève les chaussettes. Socks off. Do the action as you say it.

Une chaussette… et deux. One sock… and two. Counting. Free repetition.

L'eau est chaude ? Is the water warm? A question they can answer with a nod.

Doucement, ne glisse pas. Gently, don't slip. You'll say this a lot.

On lave les cheveux. Let's wash your hair. Pair with the action; skip the translation.

Ferme les yeux. Close your eyes. Instruction plus demonstration.

Encore un peu d'eau. A bit more water. Encore again, it earns its keep.

C'est fini, on sort. All done, out we get. The closing marker.

Dans la serviette ! Into the towel! End warm.

Print the le bain card Stick it inside the bathroom cabinet or laminate it for the bath edge, so the script is there while the water runs

Bathtime runs the same sequence every night, undress, in, wash, out, dry, so the same ten sentences work every time. It's also private: if your accent is rough, the only person who hears it is someone who thinks you invented language.

Why le bain works

The sequence is fixed, so you're not improvising.

Every sentence has a matching action, so your child gets the meaning from what's happening, no translation needed.

No one's watching. It's the lowest-stakes place to practise out loud.

When they answer in English

"I want the duck"

Tu veux le canard ? Voilà le canard.

"no hair wash"

Tu ne veux pas laver les cheveux ? On le fait vite alors.

Don't correct. Don't ask them to repeat. Just say the thing back in French and carry on. That's a recast, and it's the single most effective move in parent-led bilingualism. More on La Reprise.

By age

18 months – 3 years

Narrate. Name the object in their hand. Expect nothing back for weeks.

3 – 5 years

Ask. Où est le canard ? Il est de quelle couleur ? Accept English answers and recast.

The full le bain module is coming. Start with Le Dodo, complete now, with audio on every line.

See Le Dodo