午觉 (wǔ jiào) — afternoon nap, siesta | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

afternoon napsiesta

午觉。
Wǒ měi tiān zhōng wǔ dōu yào shuì yí gè wǔ jiào.
I take an afternoon nap every day at noon.
午觉。
Shuì wǔ jiào néng ràng rén xià wǔ gèng yǒu jīng shén.
Taking a nap can make you more energetic in the afternoon.
午觉。
Tā xí guàn zài bàn gōng shì pā zhe shuì wǔ jiào.
He is used to taking a nap by lying face down in the office.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

午wǔafternoon

午 gives afternoon and 觉 gives sleep, together meaning an afternoon sleep.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 午 comes from a drawing of a pestle, a heavy tool used for pounding.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 覺; 觉 is its simplified writing.

𦥯見覺

Meaning part形符xíngfú

見見jiànsee

Sound part声符shēngfú

𦥯

𦥯𦥯覺jué

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 覺 pairs 見, a part that means see, with 𦥯, a part that gives the sound; simplified 觉 is a later abbreviation.

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