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合眼 (hé yǎn) — to close one's eyes; to get to sleep (often used in negative constructions like 合不上眼)

Definition

A concrete verb meaning 'close one's eyes', usually to fall asleep or rest briefly. It is not used figuratively — that sense belongs to 顺眼 ('pleasing to the eye').

verb
to close one's eyesto get to sleep (often used in negative constructions like 合不上眼)

Examples

  • ，。
    Tā tài lèi le, yì tǎng xià jiù hé shàng le yǎn.
    He was so tired that he closed his eyes as soon as he lay down.
  • ，。
    Zuó wǎn wǒ hē le kā fēi, zěn me yě hé bú shàng yǎn.
    Last night I drank coffee and just couldn't fall asleep.
  • ，。
    Tā hé le yí huì r yǎn, yòu jì xù gōng zuò.
    He closed his eyes for a while and then continued working.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

合héclose
眼yǎneyes

The 合 action 'close' and 眼 'eyes' combine to mean closing the eyes, hence falling asleep.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

合 shows 亼 and 口 arranged as two mouths speaking together.

Open 合 →

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
目目mùeye
Sound part声符shēngfú
艮
艮gèn眼yǎn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

眼 combines 目, which is an eye, with 艮, which gives the character's sound.

Open 眼 →
Appears in
Body PartsDaily Routine

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