醒来 (xǐng lái) — to wake up | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

醒来 (xǐng lái) is a separable verb meaning to wake up — the split is 醒 (醒过来 / 醒得早) and 来 acts as a directional complement, not a separate 'come'.

verb

to wake up

醒来。
Wǒ měi tiān qī diǎn xǐng lái.
I wake up at seven every day.
醒来。
Tā cóng mèng zhōng xǐng lái le.
She woke up from a dream.
醒来。
Nào zhōng yì xiǎng tā jiù xǐng lái le.
He woke up as soon as the alarm rang.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

醒 means wake and 来 adds a sense of coming into that state, so together they describe waking up.

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.

酉星醒

Meaning part形符xíngfú

酉酉yǒualcohol

Sound part声符shēngfú

星

Same sound today

醒 combines 酉, which stands for alcohol, with 星, which gives the sound.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 來; 来 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 來 shows a wheat plant: a central ear, upward leaves, and downward stem and roots. The simplified 来 is a later shorthand.

Appears in