彻夜不眠 (chè yè bù mián) — to be sleepless all night; to stay up all night (due to worry, work, or excitement)

Definition

A formal idiom meaning 'sleepless through the whole night' — 彻 emphasizes the whole night, 不眠 adds the 'without sleep' meaning. Implies wakefulness due to worry, work, or strong emotion rather than insomnia.

idiom
to be sleepless all nightto stay up all night (due to worry, work, or excitement)

Examples

  • ，彻夜不眠。
    Wèi le wán chéng fāng àn, tā chè yè bù mián dì gōng zuò le yì zhěng yè.
    He worked the whole night without sleep to finish the plan.
  • ，彻夜不眠。
    Tīng dào zhè ge hǎo xiāo xi, tā jī dòng dé chè yè bù mián.
    She was so excited by the good news that she couldn't sleep all night.
  • ，彻夜不眠。
    Hái zi shēng bìng shí, mǔ qīn cháng cháng chè yè bù mián dì zhào gù.
    When a child is sick, the mother often stays up all night caring for them.

Origin

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 徹; 彻 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 徹 comes from a picture of 又 (hand) taking a 鬲 (pot) away after eating; 彻 is the simplified form of 徹.

Open 彻 →

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
夕夕xīmoon
Sound part声符shēngfú
亦
亦yì夜yè
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The form 夜 pairs 亦 as a sound part with 夕 as a moon part, for night. In the modern shape, the 亦 part is broken up and one stroke merges into 夕.

Open 夜 →

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

The picture in 不 originally showed a flower’s calyx; the “no” sense came later from a related character, not from this picture.

Open 不 →

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

眠 uses 目 (eye) to show the idea of closing the eyes, with 民 giving the sound.

Open 眠 →

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