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酣睡 (hān shuì) — to sleep soundly, to be in a deep sleep

Definition

酣睡 is a literary verb for sleeping deeply and peacefully, used in writing rather than everyday speech. Compared to 沉睡, it emphasizes sound, restful sleep in a person or animal, not the dormant or figurative sense.

verb
to sleep soundlyto be in a deep sleep

Examples

  • 酣睡。
    Yīng ér zài yáo lán lǐ hān shuì.
    The baby is sleeping soundly in the cradle.
  • 酣睡，。
    Māo zài shā fā shàng hān shuì, bú yào chǎo xǐng tā.
    The cat is sleeping soundly on the sofa — don't wake it up.
  • ，酣睡。
    Tā jīn tiān tài lèi le, huí jiā hòu dǎo tóu biàn hān shuì.
    He was so tired today that he fell into a deep sleep as soon as he got home.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

酣hāndeep
睡shuìsleep

Sleep that is deep and carefree.

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
酉酉yǒualcohol<!--
Sound part声符shēngfú
甘
甘gān酣hān
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

酣 joins 酉, tied to alcohol, with 甘, a part that supplies the sound and also means sweet.

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 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

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