睡熟 (shuì shóu) — to sleep soundly / to sleep deeply

Definition

A verb phrase meaning to fall into a deep, sound sleep — emphasizes how deeply one is asleep, not just the act of sleeping.

verb
to sleep soundly / to sleep deeply

Examples

  • 睡熟，。
    Wǒ zuó tiān wǎn shàng shuì shóu le, yì zhí méi xǐng.
    I slept soundly last night and didn't wake up at all.
  • ，。
    Tā tài lèi le, shuì dé hěn shú.
    He was so tired that he slept very deeply.
  • ，。
    Wǒ zuó wǎn shuì bù shú, zǒng shì xǐng.
    I couldn't sleep soundly last night; I kept waking up.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

睡shuìsleep
熟shúripe/deep

睡 'sleep' reaches a 熟 'ripe/deep' state, meaning to sleep soundly.

Characters in this word

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 →

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

熟 combines 孰 (cooked; ripe) with 灬 (fire), showing food cooked with fire.

Open 熟 →

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