昏昏沉沉 (hūn hūn chén chén) — drowsy; groggy; not fully conscious

Definition

Reduplicated AABB pattern describing a state of drowsiness or mental fog — used as an adjective or after 得 / 地 to modify a verb (e.g. 昏昏沉沉地睡着了).

bound form
drowsygroggynot fully conscious

Examples

  • ,昏昏沉沉。
    Gǎn mào de shí hou, wǒ zhěng tiān dōu hūn hūn chén chén de.
    When I have a cold, I feel groggy all day.
  • ,昏昏沉沉。
    Tā zuó wǎn méi shuì hǎo, xiàn zài hái yǒu diǎn hūn hūn chén chén.
    He didn't sleep well last night and still feels a bit drowsy.
  • ,昏昏沉沉,。
    Chī le yào yǐ hòu, tā biàn de hūn hūn chén chén de, hěn kuài jiù shuì zháo le.
    After taking the medicine, she became groggy and fell asleep quickly.

Origin

Reduplicated word
构词法gòucífǎ
重叠chóngdiéReduplication

A syllable said twice — for affection, for softness, or simply because that is how the word is said.

昏昏drowsy
昏hūndrowsy昏hūndrowsy
沉沉heavy
沉chénheavy沉chénheavy

The 昏昏 and 沉沉 together intensify drowsy heaviness.

Characters in this word

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

昏 combines 日 (sun) with 氏, a part showing lowering or going down. The picture is the sun going down at dusk.

Open 昏 →

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

昏 combines 日 (sun) with 氏, a part showing lowering or going down. The picture is the sun going down at dusk.

Open 昏 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 沉 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 沉 →

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