Why Dormir Is a Great Chunk Verb
Dormir is an irregular stem-changing verb (duermo, durmió), and the best way to handle that is to learn it inside fixed phrases. These six frames cover how you slept, how you fell asleep, and how you describe nights good and bad.
Pattern 1: Dormir bien / mal / poco — How you slept
Use an adverb right after the verb. This is the standard small-talk question and answer.
- ¿Dormiste bien? — Did you sleep well?
- Anoche dormí fatal. — I slept terribly last night.
- Duermo poco últimamente. — I've been sleeping little lately.
Chunk to learn:
Dormir + bien / mal / poco / fatal
Pattern 2: Dormirse — "To fall asleep"
The reflexive form marks the moment of falling asleep, not the state of sleeping.
- Me dormí en el sofá. — I fell asleep on the sofa.
- Se durmió enseguida. — He fell asleep right away.
- No consigo dormirme. — I can't get to sleep.
Chunk to learn:
Dormirse / Me dormí
Pattern 3: Quedarse dormido — "To oversleep / doze off"
Use it when sleep happens by accident. It pairs with the verb in [Quedar] Chunks.
- Me quedé dormido y llegué tarde. — I overslept and arrived late.
- Se quedó dormida en el cine. — She dozed off at the movies.
- No te quedes dormido. — Don't fall asleep.
Chunk to learn:
Quedarse dormido/a
Pattern 4: Dormir la siesta — "To take a nap"
The siesta is a word and a habit. Spanish uses dormir or echar with it.
- Voy a dormir la siesta. — I'm going to take a nap.
- Después de comer, siesta. — After lunch, a siesta.
- Duerme una siesta de veinte minutos. — Take a twenty-minute nap.
Chunk to learn:
Dormir / Echar la siesta
Pattern 5: No pegar ojo — "Not to sleep a wink"
An idiom for a sleepless night. Literally not to stick an eye shut. Compare with the ability frames in [Poder] Chunks.
- Anoche no pegué ojo. — I didn't sleep a wink last night.
- No pude pegar ojo por el ruido. — I couldn't sleep a wink because of the noise.
- No he pegado ojo en toda la noche. — I haven't slept all night.
Chunk to learn:
No pegar ojo
Pattern 6: Dormir como un tronco — "To sleep like a log"
The opposite of the previous one: deep, uninterrupted sleep. Como un lirón (like a dormouse) works too.
- Dormí como un tronco. — I slept like a log.
- El bebé duerme como un lirón. — The baby sleeps like a log.
- Dormimos como troncos. — We slept like logs.
Chunk to learn:
Dormir como un tronco / un lirón
Sleep Well in Spanish
Daily small talk about sleep is easy with these six frames.
Start with ¿dormiste bien? and me quedé dormido. You will use both the next time you speak Spanish.
This post is part of the Spanish Chunk Series — a growing collection of chunk patterns for natural Spanish.