se réveiller Present Tense Conjugation in French

The present of se réveiller — wake up — is the form you need for habits, facts and things happening now. se réveiller is the verb for describing waking up: it comes up whenever you talk about talking about the morning or explaining an early start. This page gives you the complete present table for se réveiller, how it is formed, when to use it, the mistakes learners make with it, and a quiz to check yourself. The first example shows it in action: “Je me réveille tôt.” — “I wake up early.”

Present conjugation of se réveiller

Every form in the table below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for se réveiller. se réveiller is regular (regular in the present), so watch out for the forms that break the pattern — they are the ones learners need to memorise.

Present — se réveiller

Person Form
je réveille
tu réveilles
il/elle réveille
nous réveillons
vous réveillez
ils/elles réveillent

The gerund of se réveiller is en réveillant and the past participle is réveillé. The participle matters here because the present is often confused with the other past tenses — keep them apart.

How the present of se réveiller is formed

The present of se réveiller is formed from its stem with the present endings. The six forms are réveille, réveilles, réveille, réveillons, réveillez and réveillent. Copy them from the table above exactly as written — do not guess a form from the infinitive.

A note on spelling: the forms in the table are the verified forms. If a form carries an accent, the accent is part of the spelling — for example réveille — so always write it exactly as shown.

The present is the tense to learn first for se réveiller: every other tense in the full table is built from patterns you meet here, and the present is the form you will use most often in conversation.

When to use the present of se réveiller

Habits and routines

Use the present for something you do regularly. For example: “Je me réveille tôt.” — “I wake up early.”

Facts and general truths

Use the present for facts that are true in general. For example: “Il se réveille à six heures.” — “He wakes up at six o'clock.”

Things happening now

Use the present for what is happening at this moment. For example: “Nous nous réveillons tous les matins.” — “We wake up every morning.”

Near future plans

French often uses the present with a time word for a plan that is already fixed. For example: “Je me réveille en forme.” — “I wake up feeling fresh.”

Present vs passé composé: se réveiller finished, se réveiller in progress

The present and the passé composé are the two tenses learners confuse most with se réveiller. The present is for habits, facts and things happening now; the passé composé is for recent past actions and life experience; this is the everyday spoken past tense, the passé composé. Compare the pairs below — the present form comes from this page, the passé composé form from the full conjugation table.

  • Present: “Je me réveille tôt.” — “I wake up early.”

  • Passé composé: “Je me suis réveillé tôt cette semaine.” — “I have woken up early this week.”

  • Present: “Il se réveille à six heures.” — “He wakes up at six o'clock.”

  • Passé composé: “Il se est réveillé à six heures cette semaine.” — “He has woken up at six o'clock this week.”

  • Present: “Nous nous réveillons tous les matins.” — “We wake up every morning.”

  • Passé composé: “Nous nous sommes réveillé tous les matins cette semaine.” — “We have woken up every morning this week.”

Example sentences: se réveiller in the present

Six sentences using only the present of se réveiller, with English translations. Read them aloud — saying the forms is the fastest way to fix them in memory.

  • “Je me réveille tôt.” — “I wake up early.”
  • “Tu te réveilles à six heures.” — “You wake up at six o'clock.”
  • “Il se réveille tous les matins.” — “He wakes up every morning.”
  • “Nous nous réveillons en forme.” — “We wake up feeling fresh.”
  • “Vous vous réveillez tôt.” — “You wake up early.”
  • “Ils se réveillent à six heures.” — “They wake up at six o'clock.”

Common mistakes in the present of se réveiller

1. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Je réveillons tôt.”

✓ Right: “Je réveille tôt.”

réveillons is the nous form. With je the present form is réveille.

2. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Je se réveiller à six heures.”

✓ Right: “Je réveille à six heures.”

The infinitive se réveiller never takes a subject. After je you need réveille.

3. Using the passé composé for a habit

✗ Wrong: “Tous les jours, j'suis réveillé tous les matins.”

✓ Right: “Tous les jours, je réveille tous les matins.”

A habit needs the present réveille, not the passé composé.

4. Using the present where the imperfect belongs

✗ Wrong: “Avant, je réveille en forme tous les jours.” (said of a repeated habit)

✓ Right: “Avant, je réveillais en forme tous les jours.”

For something you did regularly in the past, use the imperfect réveillais.

5. Mixing up tu and je

✗ Wrong: “Tu réveille tôt.”

✓ Right: “Tu réveilles tôt.”

With tu the present form is réveilles, not réveille. Copy the form for the right person from the table.

Quiz: test yourself on the present of se réveiller

Ten questions on se réveiller. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.

  1. What is the je form of se réveiller in the Present indicative?

    • A) réveille
    • B) réveilles
    • C) réveillons
    • D) réveillent

  2. What is the tu form of se réveiller in the Present indicative?

    • A) réveillons
    • B) réveillent
    • C) réveillez
    • D) réveilles

  3. What is the il/elle form of se réveiller in the Present indicative?

    • A) réveille
    • B) réveillons
    • C) réveilles
    • D) réveillez

  4. What is the nous form of se réveiller in the Present indicative?

    • A) réveillons
    • B) réveilles
    • C) réveillez
    • D) réveille

  5. What is the vous form of se réveiller in the Present indicative?

    • A) réveilles
    • B) réveillons
    • C) réveillez
    • D) réveillent

  6. What is the ils/elles form of se réveiller in the Present indicative?

    • A) réveille
    • B) réveillons
    • C) réveillent
    • D) réveilles

  7. What is the je form of se réveiller in the Present perfect?

    • A) êtes réveillé
    • B) sommes réveillé
    • C) suis réveillé
    • D) sont réveillé

  8. What is the gerund of se réveiller?

    • A) dormant
    • B) réveillant
    • C) buvant

  9. What is the past participle of se réveiller?

    • A) bu
    • B) réveillé
    • C) dormi

  10. What does se réveiller mean in English?

  • A) sleep
  • B) wake up
  • C) drink
  • D) open

Answer key

  1. A) réveille — The je form of se réveiller in the present indicative is réveille.
  2. D) réveilles — The tu form of se réveiller in the present indicative is réveilles.
  3. A) réveille — The il/elle form of se réveiller in the present indicative is réveille.
  4. A) réveillons — The nous form of se réveiller in the present indicative is réveillons.
  5. C) réveillez — The vous form of se réveiller in the present indicative is réveillez.
  6. C) réveillent — The ils/elles form of se réveiller in the present indicative is réveillent.
  7. C) suis réveillé — The je form of se réveiller in the present perfect is suis réveillé.
  8. B) réveillant — The gerund of se réveiller is en réveillant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
  9. B) réveillé — The past participle of se réveiller is réveillé; perfect tenses use être + réveillé.
  10. B) wake up — se réveiller means “wake up” in English.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the present of se réveiller?

Use it for habits, facts and things happening now. For se réveiller that covers describing waking up, talking about the morning and explaining an early start.

Is the present of se réveiller regular?

se réveiller is regular. In the present it is regular — copy the forms from the table on this page.

What is the past participle of se réveiller?

The past participle is réveillé. You need it for the passé composé, which uses être + réveillé.

How do I say “I wake up” in the present?

Say “Je me réveille tôt.” — “I wake up early.” The je form is réveille.

Pronunciation

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for se réveiller, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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