午睡 (wǔ shuì) — to take a nap after lunch

Definition

verb

to take a nap after lunch

午睡。
Wǒ měi tiān zhōng wǔ dōu wǔ shuì.
I take a nap after lunch every day.
午睡。
wǔ shuì Duì shēn tǐ hěn hǎo.
Taking a nap after lunch is good for your health.
午睡？
Nǐ wǔ shuì le ma?
Have you taken a nap after lunch?

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.

午 points to midday and 睡 to sleep, so it means taking a nap around noon.

Characters in this word

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

The shape of 午 comes from a drawing of a pestle, a heavy tool used for pounding.

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

目垂睡

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

垂

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.

Appears in