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嗜睡 (shì shuì) — drowsiness; somnolence (a medical condition of excessive daytime sleepiness)

Definition

A medical term for excessive daytime sleepiness (somnolence), not ordinary tiredness — use it for clinical contexts like sleep disorders, not for just feeling sleepy.

noun
drowsinesssomnolence (a medical condition of excessive daytime sleepiness)

Examples

  • 嗜睡，。
    Tā zuì jìn zǒng shì shì shuì, kě néng shì shēn tǐ chū le wèn tí.
    He's been drowsy lately — there might be something wrong with his body.
  • 嗜睡。
    shì shuì Shì yì zhǒng cháng jiàn de shuì mián zhàng ài.
    Somnolence is a common sleep disorder.
  • 嗜睡。
    Zhè zhǒng yào wù huì dǎo zhì shì shuì hé tóu yūn.
    This medication can cause drowsiness and dizziness.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

嗜shìcraving
睡shuìsleep

嗜 means a strong craving, and 睡 is sleep, so it describes excessive sleepiness.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 嗜 →

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
垂
垂chuí睡shuì
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

睡 combines 目, an eye, with 垂, which gives its sound.

Open 睡 →
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