入眠 (rù mián) — to fall asleep (formal/literary) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Formal/literary way to say 'fall asleep', used in writing or poetic contexts. 比 everyday 睡觉 or 睡着 more elegant and rarely used in casual speech.

verb

to fall asleep (formal/literary)

Examples

入眠。
Tā tǎng zài chuáng shàng hěn jiǔ cái rù mián.
He lay in bed for a long time before finally falling asleep.
，。
Zuó wǎn wǒ fān lái fù qù, zěn me yě rù bù liǎo mián.
Last night I tossed and turned and simply couldn't fall asleep.
，。
Tā hē le bēi rè niú nǎi, hěn kuài jiù rù le mián.
She drank a glass of warm milk and quickly fell asleep.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

入 suggests entering, and 眠 sleep, so together they mean to fall asleep.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

入 is drawn as an arrowhead, indicating 'to enter'.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

目民眠

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.

Appears in

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