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昏昏欲睡 (hūn hūn yù shuì) — drowsy, sleepy (to the point of falling asleep)

Definition

Chengyu meaning 'drowsy and on the verge of falling asleep' — a vivid, written description of sleepiness, stronger and more literary than the plain 困 or 累.

idiom
drowsysleepy (to the point of falling asleep)

Examples

  • 昏昏欲睡。
    Xià wǔ de huì yì ràng rén hūn hūn yù shuì.
    The afternoon meeting made people drowsy.
  • 昏昏欲睡，。
    Tā yì liǎn hūn hūn yù shuì de yàng zi, xiǎn rán méi shuì hǎo.
    He looked drowsy, clearly not having slept well.
  • 昏昏欲睡。
    Mēn rè de tiān qì ràng rén hūn hūn yù shuì.
    The muggy weather makes people feel sleepy.

Origin

Characters in this word

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

昏 combines 日 (sun) with 氏, a part showing lowering or going down. The picture is the sun going down at dusk.

Open 昏 →

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

昏 combines 日 (sun) with 氏, a part showing lowering or going down. The picture is the sun going down at dusk.

Open 昏 →

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
欠欠qiàn
Sound part声符shēngfú
谷
谷gǔ欲yù
Same sound today

欲 is made of 谷, which supplies the sound, and 欠, which relates to the meaning.

Open 欲 →

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
Idioms & Set PhrasesIllness & Symptoms

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