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睡觉 (shuì jiào) — to sleep; to go to bed

Definition

A set verb meaning 'to sleep / to go to bed' — you can split it and insert a duration (睡了八个小时). The standalone verb 睡 is the same idea, used more in writing or with objects.

verb
to sleepto go to bed

Examples

  • 睡觉。
    Wǒ wǎn shàng shí diǎn shuì jiào.
    I go to bed at ten in the evening.
  • 睡觉？
    Nǐ shuì jiào le ma?
    Did you sleep?
  • 。
    Tā shuì le yí gè jué jiù qǐ chuáng le.
    He slept (for a while) and then got up.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

睡shuìsleep
觉juésleep; rest

The part 睡 means sleep, and 觉 refers to a period of sleep or rest, so together they express sleeping.

Characters in this word

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 →

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 覺; 觉 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
見見jiànsee
Sound part声符shēngfú
𦥯
𦥯𦥯覺jué
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 覺 pairs 見, a part that means see, with 𦥯, a part that gives the sound; simplified 觉 is a later abbreviation.

Open 觉 →
Appears in
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