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熟睡 (shú shuì) — to sleep soundly; to be fast asleep

Definition

verb
to sleep soundlyto be fast asleep

Examples

  • 熟睡。
    Tā tǎng xià hòu hěn kuài jiù shú shuì le.
    He fell fast asleep soon after lying down.
  • 熟睡。
    Yīng ér zài mā ma huái lǐ shú shuì.
    The baby is sleeping soundly in its mother's arms.
  • ，熟睡。
    Tīng dào shēng yīn, tā cóng shú shuì zhōng xǐng lái.
    Hearing a sound, she woke up from her deep sleep.

Origin

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.

熟shúdeep
睡shuìsleep

熟 and 睡 combine for deep, sound sleep.

Characters in this word

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

熟 combines 孰 (cooked; ripe) with 灬 (fire), showing food cooked with fire.

Open 熟 →

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
Daily Routine

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