寝 (qǐn) — (bound form) sleep; go to bed (in compounds like 就寝, 寝食); (bound form) bedroom (in compounds like 寝室); (bound form) imperial tomb; mausoleum (in compounds like 陵寝)
Definition
Bound form meaning 'sleep' or 'bedroom' — almost never used alone, appearing only in set compounds like 就寝 ('go to bed') or 寝室 ('dorm room'). Its literary sense of 'imperial tomb' (陵寝) belongs to formal/historical writing.
bound form
sleepgo to bed (in compounds like 就寝, 寝食)bedroom (in compounds like 寝室)imperial tombmausoleum (in compounds like 陵寝)
Examples
- 。Tā de qǐn shì hěn zhěng jié.His bedroom is very tidy.
- 。Xué shēng men wǎn shàng shí diǎn jiù qǐn.Students go to bed at 10 pm.
- 寝。Zhè zuò líng qǐn shì míng cháo xiū jiàn de.This imperial tomb was built in the Ming dynasty.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost 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 寢; 寝 is its simplified writing.
Meaning part形符xíngfú
宀宀miánroof
爿爿pánbed
Sound part声符shēngfú
𠬶
𠬶𠬶寢qǐn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.
The traditional form 寢 has a 宀 roof and a 爿 bed, with a 𠬶 broom-and-hand part that gives the sound; the simplified 寝 is a later shorthand.
Appears in
Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.