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就寝 (jiù qǐn) — to go to bed (formal, used in written or official contexts)

Definition

Formal/written verb for 'to go to bed', used in announcements, schedules, and official notices rather than everyday speech. It is more literary than the everyday 睡觉.

verb
to go to bed (formal, used in written or official contexts)

Examples

  • 就寝，。
    Qǐng tóng xué men àn shí jiù qǐn, bǎo chí chōng zú shuì mián.
    Students, please go to bed on time and get enough sleep.
  • 就寝。
    Sù shè lóu měi wǎn shí yī diǎn tǒng yī jiù qǐn.
    The dormitory building has a uniform bedtime of 11:00 PM every night.
  • 。
    Jiù qǐn qián qǐng guān dēng bìng suǒ hǎo mén chuāng.
    Please turn off the lights and lock the doors and windows before going to bed.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

就jiùgo toward
寝qǐnsleeping place

就 means to go toward, and 寝 is the place of sleeping, so together they mean retiring for the night.

Characters in this word

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

An older form paired 享, a temple, with 京, a tower, showing sacrifice at a high place; in 就 the temple part was dropped and a right part for going upward was added.

Open 就 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 寢; 寝 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
宀宀miánroof
爿爿pánbed
Sound part声符shēngfú
𠬶
𠬶𠬶寢qǐn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 寢 has a 宀 roof and a 爿 bed, with a 𠬶 broom-and-hand part that gives the sound; the simplified 寝 is a later shorthand.

Open 寝 →
Appears in
Daily Routine

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